Eng 101 Blog

This is my final post for this blog. Looking back the past couple months have really opened my eyes on what I was grateful for, I experienced the loss of a family pet, gained a new relationship with my husband and kids. Also, spoke more with my mom and brother whom I haven't spoken to or seen in quite some time. I think that before this class I was always grateful when someone would help me out. But I didn't realize that it goes a lot further than that. being grateful ties in with how you feel but also how you make others feel. It shows how much you care and how much you love one another. I think moving forward I will look at things in a different way and be more grateful for the things that I have in life now and in my future.

Today I am grateful that my mother called and wanted to talk with me and my kids and catch up. It is very rare that she does this so it was nice to actually talk to someone that was not one of my kids.

Today I am grateful that my nephew on my husbands side is graduating high school. He has struggled a lot with growing up and I think that he has a good future ahead of him. Pleased to say that he chose to go to college in the Fall rather than waiting to go to school and make something with his life.

Today I am grateful that I was able to get a day off from work, it allowed me to catch up on house chores that I noticed were not being done. Being in a clean house is a refreshing feeling.

Today I am grateful for the job that I have and my manager. Working in healthcare can be mentally draining for health professionals. And if it wasn't for a good manager that was understanding of me needing a break today than I would have been a complete mess. My job isn't always the easiest and I enjoy seeing my co-workers and patients but sometimes a break is needed, and that is what I got today.

I talked about paying it forward in one of my essays, and today someone actually did that for me at the coffee stand. It has never happened to me before so I was pretty happy. I also kept it going by paying for the car behind me.

Today I am grateful that my kids got up on time for school without me having to keep telling them to get up. They got to school on time and I didn't feel rushed getting to work. Happy Monday!!

Today my husband went out of his way and created a little memorial for our dog in the back yard. I know the loss of our dog affected him too, but to see him out there planting flowers and putting a light-up statue gave me some comfort.

Today I am grateful that my kids continue to talk about our deceased dog Roxy. To me it feels that they know she is gone but they know how hard it is for me that she is no longer here. I enjoyed that they drew pictures of Roxy and hung them on the fridge.

Today I am grateful for the time that I have with my kids, I don't always get a day off from work. Today I used one of my PTO days and spent it studying for tests that I have today. Once done with that I was able to pick up my kids from school and took them out for ice cream. It was a great surprise for them and I am sure they enjoyed seeing mom so early in the day.

Today was a hard day for me, our family dog Roxy passed away suddenly. I have dealt with the heartbreak and crying from all my children, as well as, from my husband. A piece of my heart went away with our dog Roxy today. And although its been a rough and sad day, I am also happy that I was able to spend the time she had with us. The memories that we have with her will never be forgotten and I am glad that she was here with us and spent the time with us. She will always remain in our hearts and my kids will never forget her.

I am grateful that my husband cooked dinner for the kids and got them in bed before 8pm today.

I am grateful that my kids cleaned up the house today before I got home from working a long shift.

One thing I am grateful for today is spending time with my kids. They haven’t gotten much one on one time lately due to my work and school schedule. But being home with them tonight and watching movies before bedtime was so worth it. And I really enjoyed snuggling with my two youngest children.

Today I am grateful that my kids are so focused on doing well in school. I feel that it is a learned behavior. They see me doing homework all hours of the night so I think that in a way I am motivating them to do theirs as well.

I am grateful that my daughter met her reading goal in school. She has been complaining how she gets really close and never gets a reward. I kept encouraging her to keep reading and she came home with a free pizza coupon.

Today I am grateful for my husband. He mowed the lawn today and didn't hesitate to continue cleaning the outside of the house that I have been complaining about. He cleaned it up really well in the time that he did it.

I am grateful that my youngest son has a cousin close to his age that he can share his secrets with and they can both grow up and be close. I missed out on having that in life. I wished that I had cousins close to my age that I could connect with but I didn't. I am glad my son shares that joy and will have many memories for the years to come with his "best friend" Kratos.

I am grateful for my husband. He has helped me grow into a better person each day and encourages me to continue on with my school. We often talk about our future and where my career will be at in the next few years. He has been a great support and without him I would not be able to continue my education. The days I feel like a failure, he's there to remind me to not give up and to keep pushing myself.

This is my mom and my oldest daughter together. I have not been close to my mom growing up. I was always angry at the fact that our family has torn apart from each other when I was young. The last few years my mom has reached out to me and has tried to reconnect and I appreciate her effort. I enjoy seeing her with my kids and making memories with them as I didn't have that growing up. And I enjoy seeing how happy she makes all her grandkids.

I chose this image because I think the wording of it is beautiful. I believe you should be grateful for anything you have in your life. Especially surrounding yourself with the ones that you love. Everyone is going to leave this Earth someday and spending the time that you have here now will make an impact on all the people that you love and care for.

Today I found this image, it's a good reminder that we are not promised to be here tomorrow. Spending time with family is important because once they are gone there is no going back.

I am grateful for my little boy who loves dragging me outside with him to play. I am not the best at wanting to be outdoors, especially when it is hot out and he pushes me to get up and go outside to watch him ride his bike.

I am grateful for beautiful destinations like this one. Traveling is something that I would like to do when I get older. And sticking to my goals and finishing school will get me there.

I am grateful for the six children in this picture. Each of them are special to me and hold a piece of my heart with them. Without them I wouldn't strive to be better and do better. Without them I wouldn't have six perfect smiles and six warm hugs to look forward to each day.

I think that this image stood out to me today as a reminder that everyone is going through their own battles. Starting with yourself and fixing what is wrong in your own life will win that battle.

Today was one of those days where everything felt a little off. I woke up and it was a usual morning of starting my weekend house chores. But as the day went on I felt the anger and resentment of why am I the only one working hard? I had to remind myself to take a step back and realize that one day I wont have those little clothes to wash or the small feet prints across the floor to clean. I wont have a little voice yelling for help down the hallway. I wont hear the laughter from my kids as they play outside, or be able to comfort a child because they fell off a bike and got a scratch. The anger that I felt went away and I just smiled to myself because the years feel long but the days are short that my children will be this small and then I will really miss these days.

I am grateful for an awesome co-worker who appreciates what I do for them. Also so flattered that she went out of her way to show me some attention for my birthday an showered me with amazing gifts.

Grateful that I got to spend another year on this earth! And grateful that my co-workers got me a cake which shows me that they care about me because they went out of their way just for me.

I am grateful today that no matter what happens in life I don't let it get to me and I continue to move forward no matter what obstacle gets in the way.

Proud that these kids will always share the Easter egg hunt memories for the rest of their lifetime....grateful that they take pics together, even if they’re never perfect.

Grateful for my life with these little ones. They all have their own little characters and I love each of them in their own way.

I enjoyed and was grateful for a wonderful weekend with my family.

Loved spending some time with my kids today!! 

Put more thought into the upcoming assignment, and I come to realize that I don't show my husband enough appreciation every day. Yes, we both work full time. But I fail to thank him for allowing me to go back to school and pursue my career while he's home at night being dad and taking care of the kids. I never thought of how he would feel not having his wife home to make dinner and ask how his day was as soon as he walks through the door. I need to focus on showing more appreciation to my spouse and manage time better to show him that I do appreciate what he does for me and our kids.

No picture today, but I did think about an upcoming homework assignment. Our gratitude essay and who I should present this to. I have a hard time with this one because I didn't have people to look up to in life. I looked after myself as a child and grew up quickly as I had no one around. Even to this day I don't know where my parents are or how my siblings are doing. I think this gratitude assignment would be a good one for my brother.

This is a view from one of the bay lookouts in Kailua Kona, HI. I am grateful that this was were I grew up, although it has been many years since I have been back, I plan to be here again someday. This place brings me lots of joy and reminds me of how happy I felt to be here. I am lucky to say that I not only been to Hawaii but have lived here on this island for 10 years before moving to Washington State.

I saw this on Pinterest today and it really hit me. Looking back 5-10 years ago I truly did pray that I would be where I am today. I need to remind myself of this on the days that I feel so down. And remind myself I’m only going to do better.

I am grateful for my Roxy girl. She has been with our family for the last 4 years. She is almost like a child to me and everyday with her is a new adventure as she is very active. I love how she watches my kids when they sleep and she makes sure that she cleans up their food mess that they drop on the floor. She has been the best dog that I have ever owned.