Well, now.
34 posts is a lot of posts! I feel like I’ve had much to say in the last month and a half. One would think I might have run out of things to say, but wait! There’s more!
I actually have a list of concluding thoughts.
Yes, a list.
1) You are all amazing.
Seriously. I feel so blessed to have you reading my blog. I’ve been posting about twice as often as usual, and yet people just kept showing up, day after day. And the comments! Oh, guys, I feel like we have some community going on here! I love it.
I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you better, and have loved trying your suggestions. It’s been so much fun.
But….
2) I am so ready to return to my normal blogging schedule!
When I decided to stop blogging five days a week, and only blog on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it was a really good decision!
The last month and a half has confirmed that for me. Blogging three times a week allows me to keep my life in balance.
3) I’m ready to write about other topics!
I was having a long-overdue conversation on the phone with a dear friend the other night, and she said, “I read your blog, and I think, ‘Oh, Kendra has the perfect life!!'”
And I thought, “Oh no!! This whole thing has failed miserably!”
It was never my intent to make it sound as though my life is perfect. I just wanted to share a bunch of things making my life happy right now.
That doesn’t mean my life is always happy.
Most of the time, I think I’m pretty honest and open on my blog. But over the last 34 posts, I’ve been writing about my favorites. Things are bound to sound pretty positive, all the time. It wasn’t a series called “34 Days of Crappy Things Happening in Kendra’s Life”. Thank goodness! Who would want to read that?!
And really, if I had to choose between sounding too positive, or too negative, I would go with positive every time. This last year has been all about choosing a good attitude, no matter what my circumstances might be.
That doesn’t mean I won’t ever have anything negative to say.
But it does mean that for the most part, I’m going to focus on the good stuff, not in an effort to be fake, but rather, to choose an attitude of thankfulness.
For example.
This is our yard right now:
The weeds are so big, I can hide in them. The girls can’t find me if I’m out in the yard. Kaylia wanders around calling, “Mommy, where are you??”
I’m just a little bit COMPLETELY SICK OF WEEDS!!
But you know what? I also took this picture in our yard.
I think it’s kinda pretty.
To me, it’s proof that you can make anything look good. It’s not fake. It’s just limiting how much of the big picture you take in at once. And I’m learning that in general, it’s usually good to keep it small.
When you keep it small, there is joy in a cup of tea.
A cup of tea does not make my life perfect.
But it makes the moment pretty good.
And life can be about moments, if you choose.
That is what I wish to leave you with, as this series ends. Celebrate the little, simple things. The big stuff gets pretty heavy, for everybody. And sometimes, people can’t share what’s all going on, for various reasons, but it doesn’t mean the big stuff isn’t there.
So keep in mind that everybody has their load to carry, but if we are able to find joy in the small things, we will never run out of joy, no matter what else is going on.
4) And we have a winner!
As I said waaaaaay back at the beginning, there is a prize. Everyone who commented on any of the last 34 posts was entered. I used a Random Number Generator, and you’ll never guess who it randomly selected – my sister, Karla!!
As soon as I saw the results, I thought, “OH, NO!!! She’s not going to like that at all!”
In the past, my sister has purposely not commented on posts involving a prize, so that my other blog readers have a chance to win, instead of her.
My parents will love it. My dad will say something about how it makes him so happy to see sisters supporting each other, or something like that. And it’s true – I do feel very supported by my sister! I love when she comments on my blog.
So Karla’s the winner. And she’s getting a copy of my favorite book of the year, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Which works out well, because I don’t actually own a copy of my own, so if I ever want to reread it, I’ll just borrow it from her!!
A huge thank you to everyone who got involved in “34 Days of Favorites”.
And I will see you on Friday! I have A TON of pictures from our summer which I can’t wait to share!
I hope your weekend left you feeling refreshed, and ready for another beautiful week!
Ordinary Days 