As you may or may not know, October 11th was a big day for me this year. It was the one-year anniversary of the day I was in a terrible car accident. As I reflected on this earlier in the month, I spoke with my friend Carrie (who was in the accident with me) about perspective.
We discussed how the perspective we have, when we think about the accident, is so different than the perspective our friends, family, and co-workers (who thankfully, happen to fall in a weird friend/family bucket all their own) have. This idea of perspective also leads me to think about gratitude.
Yes, I’m grateful to be here today, and for all the people in my life who helped me recover and get to where I am today. However, I’m also really grateful for all the little things in between – things that have absolutely nothing to do with my accident: sunrises on a cool fall morning, the way my dog’s tail wags uncontrollably when I walk in the door, or just a quiet evening watching TV with my husband. All those things existed before the accident, but I don’t think I was ever truly grateful for them.
Often, gratitude and thankfulness get confused for the same thing, but I believe them to be very different. To me, gratitude speaks to something much, much deeper than simply being thankful.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch with one of eQ’s clients and got to know him outside of a traditional business setting. As lunch progressed we talked about fairly average things; as you would expect. We began talking about our children, and parenting in general, and then suddenly the conversation changed for me… I still think about it often:
I made a simple comment about how my son doesn’t cry very often, and never really has—I quickly followed that up with, “We got really lucky, I know! He’s a rockstar of a baby!”
As I said those words, I couldn’t help but reflect on how awesome he really is—after all my family has been through since last October, all the changes we’ve endured, he has remained a constant, and a very, very happy constant at that. I shared this personal thought out loud and explained how un-phased Henry was when he had to be dropped off and picked up from daycare by different family members, or spend the night at his grandparent’s house for the first few weeks after my accident. Even when he switched to formula out of nowhere the day of my accident, he was unshakable. And, on top of it all, what seemed like the hardest part to me, not having his mom hold him—he did it all without the tiniest bit of protest.
I remember driving home that day, reflecting on this conversation as I’ve done so many times since… and how in that moment, I referred to my son’s good behavior as my husband and I being lucky. But, the more I thought about it, I realized, this is more than luck—he is a gift—and for that I am truly grateful. I am grateful Henry is the kind of child that has such a happy demeanor, and has the ability light up a room. He has a genuine love of life—I can only hope that I do my best to continue to foster that within him as he grows.
So today, I challenge you to look at your day a bit differently, think of all the things you’d usually chalk up to luck, or maybe not even notice at all, and reflect on them – take a moment to truly be grateful for the gifts in your life.
