Thirty-One
Thirty-one and feeling fun? This is the only thing I could think of to say but it is a little (a lot) far from the truth. Tomorrow I turn 31. I am not sure how that is possible since I thought my thirtieth birthday last year in our first covid lockdown couldn’t possibly count. So really when you think about it I should still be twenty-nine, right? Well apparently that is not how it works, so I have lost two years of my life somehow in the course of one. Is anyone still following this ? Anywho, tomorrow is the “big” day. A second birthday in full lockdown and I have to be honest it is feeling weird. I remember saying last year, as we were supposed to go on our final beach trip as a family of three, “oh well, at least we have next year!” I think it is a safe assumption to believe we all thought we would be having more fun this year but here we are, dare I say it, having less fun . . . If you are in Ontario especially you feel this, and to be honest I know we are all sick of hearing about it, talking about it, just overall letting lockdown and covid consume us but here we are and it feels extra strange this year.
I thought thirty was going to be a big year, and I guess in some ways it still was. New baby, new blog, new work concepts coming to life, new passion for cereal, ya, I mean a lot of big things happened. However, there was a lot of things that did not happen and some days it feels hard to move past those. The last year in and out of lockdowns has felt heavy and it has definitely altered everything about our lives. I wanted to be travelling, I wanted to be enjoying the world with my family, I wanted to be spending time with my best friends who just so happened to have babies the same year as I did. But we didn’t get to do those things. We didn’t get to do everything we wanted, when we wanted it. And we still cannot. Although, as I write these words they feels a bit rude and a bit entitled. Yes there was a lot we could not, and cannot, do BUT there is also so much we have to be grateful for this past year. So I suppose this is my long winded way of saying that although I am sad to be spending another birthday in lockdown I also know I am still living a life many people only dream of. Here are 31 (yep 31) things I am grateful for from this past year, in no particular order, because we all need to appreciate the little things right now . . .
Extra time with my babies
Having my second, healthy, baby boy
Dinosaurs
Being healthy (well not being healthy in the sense of my actual physical health and fitness but staying healthy during a pandemic, it is all relative, isn’t it?)
Starting a blog
Instagram reels
My amazing Belle’s community on instagram (and IRL)
Bucket hats coming back into style (90s forever)
Cereal
Brunette the Label
Collaborating with Brunette the Label
Reality TV
The illegal deck my husband got caught building, that is now legal.
My dogs patience for our wild children
Living in a small town
Baked goods
Wine about it Wednesday
Spicy dill pickle chips
Starbucks opening in Bracebridge (my bank account is less grateful but that’s fine)
My mom living close by
My dad buying fancy bottles of wine for my mom by the dozen and being able to steal them regularly (thanks Greg).
Club Bloom / Bloom Club (I always get it backwards?) Floral Design by Allison, she makes my life more beautiful.
Smash and Tess Rompers
High rise jeans
Baileys in my coffee
Daily bubble baths
Beau’s laugh
Watty’s contagious smile
Online shopping
Puzzles
My husband’s undying love for me despite the fact the majority of the things I am grateful for from this past year are food, alcohol or spending his money, related <3
This all might seem a little bit silly but I am so happy that I sat down and did this quickly because to be honest I could have written out 100 things I am grateful for. We are so privileged and it is, especially right now, easy to lose sight of that. Yes I miss my friends (SO TERRIBLY), yes I miss being able to travel, yes I miss my business being open (that is a hard one to get over), and yes I miss “normal” life. BUT this is how it is and right now we need to find joy in the little things. I hope today this makes everyone take a closer look at what we have instead of focussing in on what we don’t have. AND if that isn’t enough (I know the wisdom I am dropping is invaluable) BUT I have an instagram giveaway going on that will definitely brighten your day so go and enter that, you’ll feel better, trust me.
Well, that’s all for today folks. Guess I will just be sitting here, waiting out my last day being thirty, and hoping that thirty one brings on some serious fun (regardless of where we are.) Cheers babes, have an extra glass of wine for me, and remember BE KIND ALWAYS.
xo
THIS IS 31
FYI this is the instagram giveaway . . . you’ll want to enter (I hope!)