So many reasons for gratitude

This year as the holiday season approaches, I am more filled with joy than ever before. While life still has its many stressors, it all seems so minute when I look at what I have.

More than anything this year, I’m grateful for a happy, healthy, beautiful little baby girl. She is the light of my life, and charms everyone she meets. Every little moment with her is a blessing, even when it’s at 3 a.m. in the nursery on little-to-no sleep.

Her uncle Connor, my brother-in-law, will be meeting her for the first time on Thanksgiving as he flies here from West Point Military Academy where he teaches. I’m so thankful they get the opportunity to spend time together.

I’m of course grateful for my husband Patrick and everything he has done for me since we’ve become parents. Not only is he an amazing dad to Eliza, he’s also a supportive partner. He makes sure I get enough sleep and does a majority of the housework while I focus on the baby.

During the day, Eliza goes to Greater Connections Childcare Center. In the time we’ve been going there, I have had nothing but great experiences with the infant staff. They keep me updated with pictures throughout the day, and take wonderful care of her.

We already have a handful of cute footprint crafts made at daycare, including a special one they made on Veterans Day to give to Patrick. Their thoughtfulness is amazing.

Just recently, the staff told me when they thought she was showing signs of thrush. As a first-time mom, I had no clue what to look for. I was able to get her into a same-day appointment right away that Friday afternoon and it was almost gone by Monday. If they hadn’t said anything, it may have been awhile before I realized something was wrong. I am so filled with gratitude at the kindness and knowledge of the staff.

The CNA staff has also been a blessing this year as they navigated having one less employee, my horrible pregnancy and my maternity leave.

Nick was instrumental in filling the meetings that needed to be covered. He jumped in to cover the Union County Board of Supervisors, the Greater Regional Health Board, Union County Conservation and Creston Water Board meetings on top of the ones he already covers.

There have been days where he has had to write numerous stories in one day, sometimes including a column. Though, like all of us, he has times of being stressed out, I appreciate his dedication to researching the topics and following up for the best articles.

He’s also been an asset for additional sports coverage when necessary. I’ve sent him several places to take team photos for me when I’m busy, and he wrote a few baseball pieces for me at the end of my pregnancy.

Also covering a few sports pieces for me was Erin, as she recapped some softball games this summer when I could not. She took on the brunt of my work when I was out, and I am forever indebted to her for that. From helping edit our other papers to facilitating and laying out the entire fall sports guide, she kept the newsroom afloat during my absence.

On a personal level, she also supported me as I navigated becoming a new mother. The day I went in to be induced, she drove to Des Moines and bought me a Jimmy John’s sub — something I had been craving for months. As we brought Eliza home and were incredibly sleep deprived, Erin came over several times to hold the baby and send me to bed. Wow, I don’t know what I would have done without her.

Mandy has gone above and beyond at work this year, developing her writing skills by taking on feature stories and court and crime standalone stories. This has helped take work off my plate. She also helps keep the newsroom in shape, doing most of the cleaning, and she always has snacks. We all appreciate the snacks.

While Erin was on vacation and I was on maternity leave, Mandy and Nick held the fort down for the week, doing the job of four people.

And of course, Larry. It’s a good thing he can never really retire because I don’t know how we would do it without him. From covering events when I can’t to coming up with stories we need to cover, our sports section would not be the same without him.

I can’t give him enough credit for how invaluable his knowledge, hard work and ideas are to us. I guess I should also thank Deb (Larry’s wife) for sharing him with us so he can cover events and write stories. But maybe she appreciates us getting him out of her hair every once and awhile.

I could go on and on. Of course my family and my in-laws have a special place in my heart. I’m grateful for them and my friends who help us with Eliza.

Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to all of our police officers, military, first responders, medical professionals, gas station employees and everyone who will be spending their Thanksgiving and other holidays at work to ensure we have access to essential services.