Rant-free sentimentality

I must warn you from the beginning of this post; I'm in a bit of a sentimental mood. A good sentimental mood though. The kind of mood where I'm remembering everything I really should feel grateful and happy for every moment of the day. Too often, I'm far too busy grumbling about something silly to realise how lucky I am.

Firstly, there's the other half. Yes, he's not perfect and we do argue. But we also laugh a lot. We sing along to songs together. We far too often simultaneously decide at some point past midnight that we both quite fancy ordering a cheeky takeaway. We can talk endlessly about nothing at all. We both love having a cuddle on the sofa while watching a nice film. He knows when I need a tub of Ben & Jerry's and when I need to be told to get off my backside and get on with my day because he knows I'd regret it if I didn't. He knows all my secrets and I'm fairly sure I know all of his. Plus, he's a pretty bloody brilliant father to the next person on my list of things to be grateful for.

My daughter. Yes, like most 2 year olds, she throws tantrums and sometimes won't stay in bed at night and is clingy at just the time I need to make dinner or carry out some other vital task. But she's also rather amazing. She learns something new every day, if not every hour. She makes me smile like a fool when she whispers "Love you Mummy" in my ear. I marvel constantly that I've created (with help, obviously) such a unique, funny, clever, beautiful little girl. She makes me laugh with delight when she dances around our living room whenever any music comes on. She makes me completely forget that I'm actually very self concious and that singing children's songs in public should really embarrass me. 

My home. We moved here about six months ago and I've never loved a place more. Our little flat is my favourite place I've ever lived. It has it's faults but never has anywhere felt more like a home. Plus it's come with the massive bonus of having two bedrooms so that me and the other half can have some private couple time, to put it delicately, in our own room rather than safely out of earshot in the living room, as we used to in our previous flat. Everything we could need is close by and everyone here is so friendly. My postman helped carry my bags of rubbish downstairs the other day because he could see I was struggling with the pushchair. The supermarket staff are entirely understanding and lovely on the rare occasion when the little monster takes some form of confectionery from a shelf and makes a gooey mess of it or even worse manages to get it out of the shop without me noticing. 

I have many other things to also be grateful for. Some lovely new friends who have made me feel very welcome in our new neighbourhood. My other half's lovely relatives who have made me feel at least partly connected to their family. Our financial situation may be a bit crap at the moment and we're on a constant budget but we're hardly short on material possessions. All in all, I think I've got it pretty good. Actually, very good. I think its important to remember that, from time to time.