by Hope
Tonight a friend and I will enjoy the fireworks the county puts on in celebration of July 4th. We decided to pack a picnic, head out early enough to get a good spot, and set up our lawn chairs to enjoy the show that won’t begin until dark. (Praying that the rain holds off!)
I am so grateful for the all free entertainment opportunities in this tiny town of mine.
I continue to be a regular at the library. Walk around the lake every morning with one of my dogs. Have three beautiful lakes within a couple of miles of my house for picnicking and cooling off. Waterfalls abound around here when I need a get away from reality. And, of course, my favorite – weekly free concerts downtown with a variety of live music bands and genres, all summer long.
(There’s also church activities, but I tend to avoid crowds.)
Still so much to be grateful for…
Life has been incredibly challenging this past 9 months – so much loss, so much change. But I can’t help but wake up grateful every morning.
- I’m grateful that for the first time in my whole life I have my own home.
- I’m grateful for working air conditioner because I can’t stand the heat.
- I’m grateful for my health and my kids’ health. God truly does give us what we can handle.
- I’m grateful for all the challenges, even these times of scarcity, because it’s these hard times that make the good times that much sweeter.
And I’m grateful for whatever is next for me…I’m ready for it.
What are you grateful for this Fourth of July when we celebrate all the freedom we enjoy here in the US? And how will you celebrate this weekend?
(Oh, and I’m also grateful for a 3 day weekend!)
Read more from Hope
Wear, wash, repeat – July, 2015
Please help me congratulate… – May, 2019
Why I am Focusing on My Student Loans – January, 2020
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
So, what do you think ?