You know how there's days that you just say to yourself, "Ugh! Is this day ever going to be over? Do I have to wake up and do this?" We all have bad days, but you know that saying "A bad day does not mean a bad life!?" Well, it's true. Life can be so much worse. Just because you have a bad day or bad report or bad anything doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

In certain moments, even certain days I catch myself thinking, ugh, is it 8pm yet? (That's bedtime in our house) or why do I have to attend this event or can everybody just leave me alone for a little peace and quiet! The fact is we all need a little peace for our sanity sometimes, we all need a little one on one with ourselves, our partners and even our children. It's important to take that time out for ourselves. The truth about it is some of us can't do that. Some of us don't have anyone that can "fill in" for us while we take a minute or a night for ourselves. The truth is some of us don't have the luxury of a night out because we are a single parent and maybe live far from family or don't have family left, maybe we can't afford a sitter or maybe we don't trust anyone because we have anxiety or have been in a bad situation before. The reason I'm saying all that is because sometimes I'm ungrateful for things that others clearly don't have.

Sitting here really makes me think about the little things I complain about and then how lucky I am. Even at the end of a rough day, there's always something to be grateful for! For instance: breathing, waking up, having a warm bed, roof over my head, food on table, so on and so forth. Do I need to go on?

Life as I know it is actually pretty great. Don't get me wrong, I do not live the perfect life at all, but I do feel blessed with the life I live. Every night before bed, I remind myself of this, I remind myself that even though there were a lot of tantrums, tears, no naptime and bedtime took over an hour, I remind myself, you are lucky! Wake up, you have 3 healthy, happy (and sad at times) children, who love to play, who love you with all they have no matter how much you suck that day! You are lucky you were able to conceive three babies, carry them on your own, pay for them, afford them, give then food and a bed. You, Jamie, are so blessed.

Like I mentioned before, I have days nothing is right and I whine about small things that others can't whine about. Back in November many people were participating in the 30 Days of Thankful Challenge. Some people get annoyed, others join in and people like me took it all in and continued it through for 5 months now. In November while doing this 30 Days of Thankful Challenge I realized it reminded me of what I have and what others might not. We all can vent and no one is perfect, no family is flawless and no relationship is totally free from fighting. Things like that make relationships and families stronger. By continuing what I call my Grateful Journal, I have found myself going to bed smiling more and waking up more grateful and less unhappy. When I hear my babes at night lately, I don't complain. Thank goodness she's crying, this means she's alive, thank goodness she wants me, this makes me feel alive, thank goodness she wants to be rocked, one day she will be too big. All these things were becoming so blurry to me, until I started my journal.

It's nice to look back and see why I'm grateful or who made me grateful. For instance, one of my good friends was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. I didn't know her then, but after she was diagnosed I heard her story and we talked and it was like I've known her for years. I can't tell you how many times I say I'm grateful she's in remission and I'm grateful for her perfect healthy baby boy who just turned one! I'm grateful for her in every way and as much as I hate cancer I'm grateful that it brought her to me and me to her. I couldn't imagine not having her around. Her strength and smile are so contagious. She's so courageous and I am just so grateful for her.

She is one example of why I keep this journal. It reminds me of who I'm grateful for and why. My lists of what I'm grateful for could go on and on. Even though I still might complain this keeps me remembering daily how much there is in this world to be grateful for!

Why not start today with what you are grateful for?

This guest blog post was written by Jamie Lee, mother, entrepreneur and photographer at Reveal Photography. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.