Thinking {out loud}

So much has been on my mind this week.

It's been filled with thoughts and questions and to-do lists with no end.

I've been thinking a lot about this post and this post on motherhood I wrote last week, and feeling grateful for the amazing comments {thank you} that so very much strengthened what I was trying to convey.

I've been thinking about our new house while I furiously pack up this house {and then realise I've packed things I will be needing over the next week...}. And I'm feeling grateful that timing did in fact work out rather divinely {despite my cursing} in the end.

I've been thinking about being scared. In the "boo" sense. Twice I've jumped in fright this week {crept up on in hide-and-seek by my little miss almost-three, and then scared by a big black cow on our morning walk. Yep, a cow.} And normally I might not be grateful, but both times I noticed how alive and in the moment I felt.

I've been thinking about tears. I've listened to them three times this week. And it hurts to hear it, and know I can't {physically} reach the person on the end of the phone. But I'm grateful that I called when I did, that I could be there to listen. And despite the hurt that tears convey, I do think they are a good thing - all that trapped emotion has to come out somewhere, some way, somehow.

I've been thinking loads about my little sister {and how much I can't wait for her to return home}. She's in Malawi, Africa with 10 other volunteers providing aid relief, giving generously with their hands and their hearts. I'm inspired by all of them, and so grateful to read {and learn from} their stories.

I've been thinking about spontaneity {ever since Maxabella wrote this post}, and the lack that's been going on here. Our style has been rather cramped as we prepare to move, so we had a coffee date {we didn't really have time for}, a barefoot run on the grass {while the sun was shining but the air still a little icy} and a game of hide-and-seek {just before bedtime}. Little things, but grateful they brought change and laughter and big smiles too.

The question, "Are you okay?" has been on mind, too. And not just because this week marked RUOK? Day. But because I asked this question yesterday, and it was the right question to ask. And because I was asked this question too, and I felt grateful someone cared enought to ask it, and even more grateful that I am indeed okay.

But mostly this week I've been thinking about my baby and her first birthday tomorrow {and a little miss who is turning three in coming weeks}, and I've been giving thanks for my girls and all the amazing love they give.

Elisa xx

What's been on your mind this week? Anything made you feel grateful?

{Linking with gratitude to Maxabella and Kidspot's 52 Weeks of Grateful}

*image created with befunky app