A Heart Full of Grateful

A letter of thanks for my many blessings - especially that girl who turned 8 last Friday . . . 

November 7, 2014

Dear God,

Just a quick note of thanks for the bang up job you did on that sweet, sweet human being you made eight years (and four days) ago – Catherine “Sage” Patterson.  Honestly, I think you outdid yourself with this one.  Not only is she beautiful, inside and out, but she is smart and kind and loving too.  And that compassion for animals you bestowed her?  Well, it has us on field trips to the Humane Association or Love at First Sight almost once a week just to visit those prospective best friends.  Those hopeful kittens and puppies she holds, plays with, and loves on - reminding them of their truth, how sweet and good they are. Furry friends are some of her best friends and her eloquence and grace with animals is both grounding and inspiring.  She’s a spirit lifter; I adore that quality in her.

And last week, when I met with her three 2^nd grade teachers, they shared how helpful Sage is to her friends when they need extra encouragement.  That makes my heart happy.  You probably already know this, but she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and she practices EVERY DAY in her room, by herself (well, and her imaginary students!), for like an hour.  And she’s been doing this since she was three-years-old. She is going to be the BEST teacher someday – what a good idea you had with that.  I know her Grandpa Mundy is smiling down and so proud too.  She’s carrying on his legacy.  What a good thing.

But the very best thing?  Me getting her as my daughter to raise and grow and learn from.  It is, unquestionably, one of the very best gratefuls in my life.  So much more than a spoonful of grateful, this is like 16 cups of overflowing grateful.  With her in my life, I laugh more, strive harder to be a better mom, try to model a healthier relationship with food and body image, love and accept myself more whole-heartedly, endeavor to be the best loving partner to her dad that I can be . . . Of course, these were all lessons you wanted me to learn in this lifetime anyway.  I get that.  But the way you go about getting these lessons to us . . . genius really.

There is SO much that I am thankful for – in this month, this season of thanks - but truly in my life.  I am thankful for my health, my freedom, my family and friends. My safety. My freedom to choose what I believe. My right and privilege to vote.  The crispness in the air this time of year.  The colors of the falling leaves.  The anticipation of the holiday season (sometimes better than the holidays themselves!!). Our dog Tractor’s burrowing head when he wants a pat-pat. The sound of Rooster or Stella purring at my feet atop a soft down comforter as I go to sleep.  A full cup of hot coffee to start my day in the quiet of the early morning before the house and the day run away like wild horses . . . (or the wild horses, er kids, come tumbling out of bed and down the hall in search of me – their one and only, luckiest, favorite mom!).

God, just know this.  Though I sometimes get caught up in the craziness and lose sight of the big picture as I’m slogging through the details and managing my imperfections, I NOTICE the love letters you send me and I really do try to stop and take them in.  The coral pink sky as the sun was rising this morning? I saw it and it centered me. Thank you.  Tractor coming over to say good morning and lie next to me as I type this – like he missed me last night . . . I noticed that too.

But God? Those love letters that are my people? The most magnificent correspondence to date! I want you to know, on Sage’s birthday, but also on every single day that she and I share, my grateful is so big my heart might just burst.  I look at her thick lashes or her perfect pink lips or her little body that she is SO comfortable in and I am FULL. Of every good thing.  All is right in my world.  That handiwork of yours?  Absolutely exquisite.

And those other people that make up my sweet little family? Sage’s dad and Sage’s brother? I feel the EXACT same way about them.  They’re keepers – the whole lot (dog, cats, and frog too!). But in honor of my lovely, growing-everyday-but-I-wish-she’d stop (!) Sagie Lou, it’s all eyes on this prize: my newly turned eight-year-old girl and how she makes my life so much brighter and clearer just by being in it.  She is, indeed, my sunshine.

So thank you God.  You did, indeed, outdo yourself. But I’m not at all surprised.  Just humbled and happy and SO, SO grateful.

With a heart full-to-overflowing,

Yours Truly (Sage's Smitten Mom)