In honour of Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, eh?), I’d like to share the things that I’m thankful for this year.
The Sappy Personal Stuff.
I am thankful that our little girl is healthy and happy and am so grateful that I get to spend so much time watching her grow.
I am thankful that my husband loves me. I am thankful that I still love him.
I am thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family that are part of our lives.
The Generosity of Others
There are many families who are truly in need. Families who struggle to make ends meet and buy groceries. So, I’ve never felt that we were in any way worthy of charity from others.
Our family has chosen to live on one income and has set some aggressive financial goals. Sometimes there are things that I think at our family would really enjoy, but that just aren’t in the budget. We have the means to put them in the budget, but it would mean really giving something else up that we value more.
So, there have been a lot of cases where we have cheerfully chosen to make do or do without. Recently though I’ve learned that people out there want to help. I have been humbled and overwhelmed by the generosity from friends, family and complete strangers.
- Thank You to the Family Who Gave us a Computer.
We own several old laptops that still turn on and are functional with Linux running. Plus, we have the tablet we bought each other two Christmas’ ago. So, we can’t justify the cost of a new computer just so Mr. Me can practice networking computers for a possible career change.
So, I asked my Local Buy Nothing Project on Facebook for a computer power supply to try to get our old tower working. A woman contacted me and told me that they had recently upgraded their computer and that we could have their old one. The week before I had given this woman a few of Mr. Me’s unwanted shirts for her son’s going back to school wardrobe. I had gifted without ever expecting to receive anything back and I was blown away by her offer. - Thank You to the Little Girls who Shared their Clothes
The cold is coming and when I got the Little Miss to try on her winter clothing, it because pretty obvious that the clothes wouldn’t fit for very long. Now even though she is quite spoiled by the grandparents, we still have a healthy amount in our budget for her clothing. Honestly, though all we usually end up having to buy her is a pair of shoes once in a while.
Last week I offered a pair of winter boots to a friend with a younger daughter. The next day she and another mom contacted to me give the Little Miss some hand me downs. They ended up giving her the boots, snow suit, pants, and shirts she needed. We wouldn’t have to go shopping for her at all. - Thank You to our In Laws for Giving us a Car
I’m so thankful to have such fantastic in laws. Every week they feed us twice and give me a day off from Mom’s duty. Plus, they love their granddaughter THIIIIIIIS much! When they think our daughter could have a better view, they give us their car. It’s 11 years old, a few years old than our car, but it’s in great shape and should last just as long. Plus it’s way fancier than our old car with leather seats and more leg room.
We both have parents that have been so generous to us over the years and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
The Response to The Simple Cheap Mom Blog
I know that this blog has only just started and is still very tiny in the big world of blogging. But I’ll be honest with you that I wasn’t prepared for the response that it’s gotten.
When I started publishing my posts I wasn’t sure anyone would ever read them. For the first couple of weeks, no one did except me. But then I started to get visitors and the numbers just keep growing.
Then people were visiting, but I wasn’t sure anyone was actually reading anything. I remember telling a friend only a few weeks ago that I still hadn’t had any comments on my blog. Now, I read comments from readers every day!
I’ve also been fortunate to exchange e-mails with a few bloggers. They’ve been so supportive and have really welcomed me into the blogging community.
Thank you for being here, reading, commenting and giving me the drive to keep posting.
Conclusion
It’s easy to sometimes get lost in life’s little details and make things seem harder than they need to be. The biggest lesson that I’ve been taught lately is that people truly do want to help you and that it’s alright to ask for help. I have been amazed at the generosity that I’ve been given. I’m so thankful for all the people in my life.
What About You?
Have you been surprised when you’ve opened yourself up to help from others?
What are you thankful for in your life this year?
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