11/21/12

Thanksgiving. Then and Now... 365 rewind.

(I posted this first part on tiredofbeingpregnant.com last year on Thanksgiving...)

THEN:
I know Thanksgiving is only celebrated in America, but today I invite those of you outside of the States to join me in Thanksgiving too. I am so thankful for you my readers and friends. You have no idea how much you mean to me. 

Jenny from the Block, Food Pixie, Claire, Jessika, Janelle, Lauren L, Kara Bear, Michelle, Felicia,  FTM@27, Tasha, Amabelle, Natalie, Nadia, Cindy M., Maylin, Jules, Jessica, Joss, Julie, Jessi, AMW90, Cathy, Laura, Samantha and all of you who posted as Anonymous, Thank You!  

Also, to my daily reader in Qatar, Belfast, Seoul, Newton Abbot and Brazil, thanks to my analytics, I know you are out there and really appreciate you! To all of you in my Big 4--Canada, The United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, Thank you!

You all have no idea how much I need you.  Some days I just do not want to do anything but feel sorry for my whiny, swollen, achy, annoyed, edgy, hungry, pregnant ass, but then I think of you all, and know for some crazy reason you actually enjoy hearing me piss and moan about how sorry I feel for myself. Thank you.  You all are crazy! Remember, if you ever need someone to listen to you piss and moan, send me an email, I totally owe you one!


I am of course very thankful today for my growing baby boy, my husband, my family and friends. I’m thankful for the roof over my head, food on the table and warm air pouring out of my furnace. I’m thankful for my faith and inner peace.

I am also VERY thankful that I am not in the first trimester, because I love me some Thanksgiving feast yum-yum!  To all of you still battling “morning-noon-night sickness” my heart goes out to you and I will be eating and praying for you. I promise, this too shall pass, so hopefully by Christmas you will be able to finally eat your holiday feast too.

I am just so thankful today for all of the wonderful people, readers and gifts I have in my life. I hope you as well feel the same peace and thankfulness that I do.  I am really making a conscious effort to spend the day in a state of thankful bliss and when I start to lose sight and want to focus on something crappy, I am making myself rub my belly and smile and refocus on my thankfulness. Please take a minute to think about what you are thankful for. Smile, you are having a baby!  

All the very best to you and yours,

April



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NOW:

Everything was so simple back then. My biggest issues were bloating, constipation and back pain... Funny!  Who knew those issues would become "simple" a year later?! Seriously, a baby certainly makes life a little (lot) more complicated. A baby also makes life so fulfilling and wonderful.  I wouldn't trade then for now to for anything... 

However, no freaking way could I have imagined back then what the next 365 days would bring me....

1. A beautiful healthy, very happy, baby boy.  (So Thankful)
2. Nine months of exclusively nursing my baby.   (SO! Thankful)
3. Struggle with postpartum depression. (Not thankful for PPD. Thankful I am better... most days...)
4. Struggle with postpartum weight loss. (NOT thankful) (It's a process)
5. The loss of my job. (Not thankful...ok maybe a little I hated that effing job)
6. Ability to stay home with my son and not miss a single milestone. (SO Thankful)
7. While my life is definitely more complicated.  Only the things that truly count... count. 
8. All of you listed above are STILL reading my ranting a year later!!! AND have become great friends.  Thank you cyber world! (Shay, Alissa, Kitten, Becky, Mrs. L., and everyone else who has been with me through it all and just joining me ... <3 thank you.)
9. I already am considering getting knocked up again! (Thankful for amnesia. And my siblings)
10. I'm Still Blogging! (Amazed & VERY Thankful)

And most of all.  I am 100% different and 110% better for it.  Motherhood is more than I ever could have dreamed...  

Where were you 365 days ago? What is your 365 rewind like?  What are you thankful for?


My friends...I wonder what the next 365 days will bring...

Happy Thanksgiving!

With love and prayers,

April






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Two confused parents=One amused baby Hopelessly we are trying raise a baby who is clearly smarter than both of us. April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Yay, 19??!!! That's so cool!

Wow, a year ago... I was still teaching and working 60+ hour weeks, still dealing with all day/all night sickness, carrying around a fidgety baby in my belly, and counting down the days till the end of the school year. I was so so sooo thankful for my beautiful son, my new husband (well he'd been around for years but we'd only been married a few weeks lol, my friends - especially my bestie, and my fellow preggie friends whose babes now form Isaiah's little group of buddies - pregnancy yoga, and your blog for giving me a laugh at the end of the day.

Today, I am more thankful than ever for my son, my stepsons and husband, all our health, our home and our loved ones. As cliche as it sounds, having bub made me appreciate the important stuff so much more. Oh, and your blogs still too! It's so nice to know I'm not the only person doing this :-) I'm thankful for chocolate (yummmm), cupcakes, weightloss (as slow as it is, bloody bullsh*t system lol... especially when I consider the 2 former thankful thingees and their calorific contribution) and optimism.

I know for a fact I wouldn't be kicking off my photography business if it wasn't for you - you gave me the courage to go for it! (wah wah, hug hug, sobby girlie crap and all that jazz)

Also, I am thankful for the sense of humour that the gods seem to have bestowed on me, and the idiots who provide me with endless laughing opportunities. Hurrah!

Claire said...

365 days ago I was 6mths pregnant with a 3yr old , we had just moved into our bigger house and getting ready for hubby to leave for a 3mth tour due back the week before baby was due. Now, my little boy has started school with the ups and down it bring, my baby girl is growing so quickly she turned 9mth yesterday and expect to be walking soon. I'm looking forward to Christmas with hubby at home and our complete family but dreading what will happen when the Christmas tree is out, with a cruising baby.

I'm thankful for the new friends in my life and the new drugs that make my life more pain free.

Hilary @ Peanut Butter Spoonfuls said...

Happy Thanksgiving!! SO much can happen in a year! Especially the year you become a mother. This year I am thankful for a healthy little boy, loving family, and the fact that we all survived the first year unscathed. When I look back at pictures of last Thanksgiving I barely recognize that little blob of a baby who is now my walking talking little boy, sniff.

Quirky Chrissy said...

A year ago, I had no idea that I'd be 3 jobs later this time (with no current job to show for it), but I'm thankful to have had the opportunities that I had with all three of those positions. I've moved into an apartment with just my boyfriend, out of the fully roommated house that we were living in. Things are there to be thankful for. :) Have a great holiday.

Alissa said...

April! I was just thinking about your blog 1 year ago and how much our lives have changed. 1 year ago I was 6 going on 7 months pregnant and not looking forward to spending the holidays with my husband's crazy family...

By the way... did you know yesterday you were #19 on top mommy blogs??? That is an amazing accomplishment!!

I digress.. I am so thankful to have survived this first 9 months of motherhood so far, thankful for you and your unfiltered blogging (you still bring a smile to my face every day), thankful for my baby boy James, my husband, family, friends, job, etc. I feel so blessed. I'm excited to see what the next 365 days bring. Blessings to you, FTD, and Ollie!

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Shay... Thanks for the tears of joy my firend. We have really come a long way the last 365. I look forward to the next 365 with you... even if you are a world away. One day we will consume cupcakes and wine and watch our boys play. xx

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Wow! I remember when the hubs was deployed. My heart broke for you everyday he was away. 6mos preg with a 4 year old boy and a husband flying helicopters in a war... no one should deal with that. If you were in the states I would have found a way to find you and hug you! Luckily now the whole family is safe and healthy and beautiful. I am so thankful for that. I am also thankful that I get to spend my 35th birthday in London with you!!! xx Until we meet my dear friend.... xx

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Oh Hilary... He is a big beautiful boy. I am thnakful you decided to keep blogging after the year mark! We are on your heels, so it's nice to know what to expect! Happy Thanksgiving.... I look forward to reading your next 365.

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

I published your comment from the Unemployment office applying for extended benifits! Amazing how the workforce is so unpredictable, yet we just roll with it. I'm thankful you have a positive outlook from it all. Life is about the adventures and journey. I am also happy for you to have your own place. Roommated houses and refrigerators are from hell! Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers to the next 365...

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

Alissa you are one of the wonderful people I heve met through this blog that will be in my heart for ever! You Star Wars hubs and little James are so awesome! We have Yoda babies! I cannot wait to watch our little guys grow up. What a blessing!

Yeah, #19 was soooo awesome. Thanks to my wonderful readers....

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I'm thankful to not be on bedrest this year, or to be worrying about Miami, to share my home with my husband and family, and that even through cyberspace you can find great friends :)

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

What a pregnancy and birth journey you had this time last year! I am so thankful for you and Chase... xx

Unknown said...

Lol, Claire I thought you meant you were actually preggers with a 3year old (big big BIG baby), duh!
Dunno how you do it with your husband off at war, massive kudos to you!

Unknown said...

Yay bring it on! Cupcakes and wine... yummmmm.
x

Claire said...

Thanks girls another few months and i'll be doing for the first time with 2kids, such a scary thought! And pregnant with a three year old then we most certainly wouldn't have any more.

April counting down the days i can't wait!

Anonymous said...

What a great post and how much you have overcome. Wow. It is so amazing the people and relationships we find here and build. I am so grateful for that. I am also thankful for the growth in my personal relationship with my daughter...as last year was a bit bumpy for us. = )

Irish Carter
Dedicated2Life.com
"Promoting Passionate People"

FirstTimeMomandDad.com said...

I'm certainly thankful for meeting you! I'm also glad to hear you and your daughter are doing better. I remember those years with my mom. It's hard to be a girl, and possibly even harder to be a helpless mom of one. Xx

Kristy J said...

A year ago I was 9 weeks pregnant and we hadn't told our friends yet. We were hosting our first Thanksgiving(more like an island of misfit toys kind of thing. We are stationed in Italy and wanted to make sure the single people had a place to go to have a good meal and be with friends)with about 15 people. I was tired, grumpy, and incredibly pissed off that all these people were in my house and had no intention of leaving. But once the food was ready and we told them we were expecting the evening got better and then I finally got to go to bed.
This year we have our beautiful little boy, he's almost 5 months now. I am constantly busy but never seem to get things accomplished but I wouldn't go back to "then" for all the money in the world.
I am so thankful for my husband, my sweet boy, my dog, and all the wonderful people who love and support me in my life. I am also now thankful for this blog, it's my comedic relief throughout the day.