Giving Thanks

The last few years have been tough. We said goodbye to far too many beloved family members and friends, we’ve had financial struggles, lost jobs, started new jobs, made new friends and lost touch with others.

And while I’m eternally grateful for my family and friends and all the good things, I’m also beginning to be grateful for the bad things too.

I know, who the hell would be grateful for pain and sadness? It’s through the sadness that I have learned and discovered things about myself and my world that I may not have seen without those struggles.

1. I’m grateful for crappy baseboard heat. It gives me a reason to snuggle close with my husband and our boys.
2. I’m grateful for financial struggles. Watching every penny has made me reevaluate my needs versus my wants. I can tell you, the two were very different.
3. I am grateful for loss. It has made me realize that tomorrow isn’t promised and to treasure even the most seemingly insignificant moments.
4. I’m grateful for lost friendships. In retrospect, those friendships were over long before they ended. They were just anchors.
5. I’m grateful for quitting my job. Going back to work when my youngest was just 7 weeks was awful. While we have to live more modestly, I’ll will never get this time with them again.
6. I’m grateful for the times my husband wasn’t working. He got to share in our boys growing up and I am grateful for the back up.
7. I’m grateful for failure. Enough said.

So, at Thanksgiving, it is easy to be thankful for the things that went right, but also, be grateful for the things that didn’t go so well. There just may be something in there to be thankful for.

To all of my family, friends and followers: