Flowers from my hubby.

My health has not been the greatest over the past few years and it has been a big frustration for me. When I am unwell, I am not as able to give my all to my kids and my tasks as a homemaker and homeschool teacher and this can get me pretty down.

For the past few years I’ve been really tired and just having continual infections and illnesses. I am grateful that for the most part, they are nothing too serious, but it is still frustrating to me. I found out in March that I have hypothyroidism as well and was prescribed a medication for that that I don’t like having to take. It’s frustrating because I never used to have all of these ailments and I wonder what the cause of these are all of a sudden, or if this is just normal as I am getting older and that I have to just get used to it.

I always have tried to lead a healthy lifestyle. I don’t smoke or drink at all, I walk and do yoga daily, and am mostly vegan with some vegetarian days in my life. We all eat organic as much as possible too. I just don’t know what else I can do to help myself feel better. Sleep would be something, but that’s not exactly something I can help with a baby.

Pheonyx, my smiling cutie, 8 months old.

Amidst all of this, I am grateful still. I look at my kids and my life and feel so blessed. I remind myself that no matter what my circumstances are, things could always be worse and there are people with more difficult things to deal with out there.

Today I felt like writing out a gratitude list.

• I am grateful that I get to stay home with my kids.
• I am grateful that my husband works close to home and is never too far away.
• I am grateful for our big home and our beautiful, big yard.
• I am grateful for my son. I never saw him coming and couldn’t have imagined how great life would be with a little man in our lives.
• I am grateful that Pheonyx is a healthy and happy baby and is meeting his milestones.
• I am grateful for Serafina’s carefree spirit and happy laughter.
• I am grateful for the love and admiration Kesa has for me and Craig.
• I am grateful for how good a big sister Autumn is and how helpful she is to me.
• I am grateful to have a mother who I can talk to and complain to and who listens to me and cares about my feelings.
• I am grateful for my cousin, who is like a sister to me.
• I am grateful for the green leaves and grass that are all around us now and am looking forward to summer.
• I am grateful for the food we have and the availability of the abundance of food in this part of the world.
• I am grateful for the safety where we live.
• I am grateful for the health that I do have and I do not take it at all for granted. I truly believe that it is a gift to be mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy and I would never do something consciously to negatively affect any bit of my health.

I think we could all truly benefit from recognizing our health once in a while. You never really know health until you are sick and then you yearn for that healthy state so badly.

Instead of being in a bad mood or feeling down about whatever might be bothering you in your life right now, try and think of what you have to be grateful for. Even being able to read and write and think is a gift. Things could always be worse and I believe that everything that happens to us in life is meant to teach us a lesson.

I think one of my lessons in all of this sickness is to see how truly blessed I am in so many ways and to never take a bit of it for granted. I feel like I wasted a lot of my time in my early twenties wishing to be healthier and healthier based on blogs I followed and things I read and watched, when really I was a healthy person already. I used to want to be fitter and thinner and able to feel even better, but as I was, I was healthy.

Now I have trouble with fatigue, migraines, and easily catching illnesses, that I never had to think about even three years ago and I wish my younger self wouldn’t have taken that state for granted.

I am hoping I find more answers at my doctor appointment this Friday and maybe she can see an underlying issue for all of these things.

I wanted to also throw it out there, if any of you reading have had thyroid issues or know someone with thyroid issues, if there was anything you/they have done to naturally heal your thyroid besides medication? I would love for you to leave a comment! Any advice is appreciated.

(I hate to make so many blogs on sickness and health, but this is my life right now, so sorry if I sound like a broken record.) ❤