With Gratitude to My Family

Today I write to you from my hotel room in San Diego.  I have been away from home for five days in order to attend the BlogHer 2011 conference in San Diego.  What an amazing experience and I plan to share some take-aways with you, but I leave that for a post when I return home to Montreal.

Right now, with my head spinning about the speakers I’ve heard, the connections I’ve made and even the afternoon spent poolside when the conference was done, I feel gratitude.  I actually feel grateful to conference organizers Elisa Camahort Page, Lisa Stone & Jory Des Jardins for putting together this unbelieveable experience.  I feel grateful to all those I’ve met for the perhaps brief, yet meaningful connections we made.  Right now, however, I am most grateful to my family.

I realize my last post, prior to leaving for BlogHer also focused on expressing such gratitude, and I hope you will forgive my indulgence. It’s just that I am keenly aware that I would not be able to do what I am doing every single day with montrealmom.com without the support of my family.  I certainly would not have been able to attend BlogHer ’11 without the support of my family.

Yes, I cooked & froze meals to keep them fed while I was away.  I left step-by-step instructions and meal plans as well as pick-up and drop-off schedules.  That said, if I didn’t have the support of my husband in actually going, and the support of my in-laws in helping with camp pick-up and relieving some of the pressure off  of hubby, then Blogher 2011 would not have been a reality.  I also want to say that my kids were incredibly supportive.  I know they weren’t keen on Mommy leaving, yet they wished me luck and told me they were proud of me.  They showed support that helped to alleviate the “Mommy guilt” associated with getting on a plane and leaving for five nights.

Today I’ll say no more than a simple Thank you.  Your support means the world to me.  I thank you for the support that you give me each and every day as well as the support you showed while I attended BlogHer 2011.

Keynote speaker Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico, spoke about how her mother told her to follow her dreams and that later on in life, so did her daughters.  I thank you my family, for supporting me as I follow my dreams.  Always know that I am here to support you in yours.  Always know that of all the dreams I’ve ever pursued, you, my family, are the loveliest and most important of all dreams and I feel blessed to have you.

What is it that you are feeling grateful for today?  I’d love to hear from you…

Wishing you a wonderful and gratitude-filled day,

Tanya