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by Hope

We are not out of the woods yet. Contract work can be unpredictable. But we are definitely making headway. But there have been a few things latest that have left me feeling blessed.

A month or so back, I wrote about starting my day with gratitude and how much I really need that to keep my mental state from falling into a pit of despair at times. A lot of times really.

Feeling Blessed

Over the last couple of weeks, there have been some real highlights that made me feel very blessed.

• The lady from the shelter who watches our dogs in our home when we travel. She comes over twice a day, keeps them on their schedule and loves them for free. And when you are gone for 8 days as we were most recently, that is a big blessing.
• The BAD reader who referred a new website/Amazon marketplace client to me. Thank you, Sarah!
• A local man who came over and spent hours on my lawn as I felt overwhelmed with all the overgrowth and lack of proper tools. In exchange, I helped him set up his new phone and move all his data.
• Princess made the VARSITY high school volleyball team…1 of 12 out of 68 girls.
• My parents are hosting Gymnast this month, spending quality time with him as know one ever has before.

The list just goes on and on. But what I’m finding then every time I’m on the cusp of falling apart, wondering how I’m going to do it, there’s a sign, a blessing, a message that I am not alone.

Giving Back

The topic so giving back and charity has popped it’s head up several times over the years here at BAD.

• In 2016, a guest wrote about Fulfilling Charitable Resolutions without Breaking the Bank.
• In 2009, Tricia wrote ask Are Charities near you Accepting Used Goods?
• In 2015, I wrote about Giving to a Cause – Inadvertently.

With this latest slew of blessings in my own life, I wanted to find a way to give back. But I’m not in a financially stable place where I can just write a check.

Thinking Outside the Box

When our dogs’ caretaker came over Monday to return our house key, it hit me. I can do what she does for us. I could help others with their animals on a one off basis.

If I had to pay to board our dogs, it would be $45 per night minimum. Thankfully as a foster, all costs are covered. But I’m sure there are pet owners out there, like we were, that cost tips the scales for. Giving up our pets a few years ago was the 2nd hardest thing I’ve ever done (after pulling Gymnast out of gymnastics this summer.)

I thanked her profusely for what she does for us and our beloved dogs, and then told her if she ever knew someone who needed the same type of service, and she couldn’t do it, I would like to pay it forward.  Since she works at the shelter, I figured she would hear about these kind of situations.

I put my offer out there and we will see what happens!

I encourage you to find some “outside the box” way to give back today. It doesn’t have to be big, but you never know how your one act of kindness can bless someone else.  I, for one, cling to these blessings as lifelines in my darkest moments.

What do they say…Be the change you want to see in the world today.

Hope

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.