Hoda Kotb Stresses the Importance of Practicing Gratitude After Her Daughter's ICU Stay

On the coattails of her 3-year-old daughter being discharged from the ICU, Hoda Kotb is reflecting on the importance of practicing gratitude — even on the days that feel “crummy,” because you never know what earth-shattering events may be in store the next day.

The 58-year-old mom of two opened up about her absence from TODAY as she tended to her daughter amid health complications that led to a brief stay in the hospital. Kotb began, “I feel like life is one way on a Monday — and we all have our Mondays and we complain about them. We’re like, ‘Oh, what a crummy Monday,’ and then Tuesday rolls around and something really hits hard, and you realize that Monday was actually pretty awesome,” she said.

The Emmy award-winning journalist continued, “So for us, it was little Hope had to go to the hospital, and she was in the ICU for a few days, and then the hospital for another week, and it was really scary.” Kotb shared that while she “always talks about gratitude … [I] found myself not living in that lane because I was scared.”

“Then I decided, you know what? Let me think about this for a minute. I have a family who loves me. I have a little girl who’s home. I have a wonderful support system. My doctors, who would have done anything to make everything better, and they did,” she said. Kotb reflected on how the experience challenged her perspective, adding, “So sometimes you talk about gratitude, and then when you’re pushed to the limit in your life, it’s like, ‘Do I feel it?’”

With her daughter’s ICU stay behind her, the TODAY co-host said, “I feel blessed and grateful, really, really, really grateful. And also, anyone who’s ever gone through an illness with a child, boy I thought I understood you. But I didn’t. You don’t until you’re sitting in that position. So for every single person going through some stuff, I get it.”

It can be so easy to lose our perspective in the small annoyances of daily life, but Kotb’s frightening experience and humble admission to falling off the path of gratitude is a great reminder to focus on and truly appreciate the positive moments, no matter how ordinary they may seem.