Counting My Blessings

Today, out of nowhere, after weeks of really hard days of mothering, Bastien told me he wanted to take a nap. And then he took one.

People, do you even know what this does for my level of happiness? If there was a happiness meter, my little needle would break through the glass. I mean, just to be able to sit down and think, and not fight with my child in the middle of the day. It is nothing short of a luxury vacation.

So it paused me to think… What comforts have I grown dependent upon lately? And, I wonder how much they are costing me. And is that cost more or less than my bill at the insane asylum would be without them?

So I thought I would start keeping track. And also ask you – what things do you turn to to make life a little more tolerable when the going gets tough?

Here are mine (in no particular order):
Starbucks non-fat, coffee-based Frappucino with light peppermint syrup
Babysitters – specifically: Tues. 1 hr babysitter for running, Wed. 3 hr babysitter for real mid-week me-time (yoga, massage, shopping, lunch with a friend, etc.), Thurs. 2 hr babysitter for life appointments
Knitting
Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food (which has replaced my old PB Cup Blizzard addiction I might add)
Driving (thinking time)
Dave Ramsey on the drive home from teaching yoga
Car washes at Zax in Wixom, with my unlimited pass
My favorite blogs, especially Craft Gossip and Soule Mama, and Facebook
A chapter of a good book at night (Age Is Just a Number and The Last American Manare recent faves – and trying something new, reading only faith material on Sundays)
Our house cleaner
Planning vacations we may or may not be able to take

And that’s about it. What? Seem like a lot? You try walking a mile in my moccasins, Pocahontas. But seriously, now that I’ve listed them all out I realize how really, truly blessed I am to have them at my disposal. So maybe that will cut down on my whining. But I wouldn’t put any money on that.

And I would love to hear yours. Particularly the ones that don’t cost money.