Rain.

They say when it rains, it pours. It’s been raining all week over here. And friends, I’m not talking about the weather.

It all started on Monday when Corey borrowed my debit card to run an errand. And my car. Then only returned one of those to me and it was on empty. Spoiler – I didn’t realize that until I was halfway to my dentist appointment and had no gas and no money.

Then, our bank called about some unusual activity on our card so both Corey and I logged on to our online banking (while I was stranded at the dentist) to discover that someone had cloned my husband’s debit card and spent more than two thousand dollars.

All on things I never get to spend my own money on for myself these days – like a whole spa day, dinners and brunch at some of the nicest restaurants in town, a movie night, and a little shopping spree at the mall. Sigh.

Then, on Wednesday, I lugged both kids to the grocery store only to discover that I had never gotten my debit card back from Corey.

Wednesday night we were awoken at 2am by our microwave giving us a warning alert that something was broken. I still don’t really understand what it was or how in the world it broke in the middle of the night but Madeline has not been particularly happy that her favorite pancakes are off the menu.

Followed by our downstairs air conditioning unit stopping working yesterday. Which could’ve happened last week when we had the loveliest spring weather. But it did not – it happened this week when I feel like I live in the Sahara.

Then, I opened the refrigerator to make a recipe for a collaboration that’s coming to the blog next week only to find that someone ate all of the raspberries I purchased specifically for it.

Some weeks it feels like it’s just raining nonstop. But everyone has weeks like this sometimes, don’t they?

When it is pouring over here – metaphorically, of course – I try to just stop and take a few intentional moments to think about all I am grateful for. That I have a car to drive, that bank accounts have fraud protection, that I don’t need to steal money in order to have enough for some fun outings on occasion, that I have a husband to share life with (even if he does eat all the raspberries and borrow my debit card without ever putting it back), a beautiful safe home that I’m fortunate enough to be able to maintain, two precious, healthy children, and so many other things and people that make my life what it is.

I haven’t always had this practice. I am very Type A and can get so easily overwhelmed and frustrated when it feels like nothing is going according to plan and like everything is just piling on my plate. Corey actually got me in the practice of creating a grateful list and using it to change my mindset when life is just pouring.

Friends, have you ever tried this practice? It might be all that’s keeping me sane this week! This week has been a doozy so something else I’m grateful for is that is is over. Tell me something that you are grateful for this week in the comments below.