Friday, November 23, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving (an "I Love..." replacement)

I lieu of an "I Love" blog, I decided to run through an exercise suggested to me years ago.  When you're feeling overwhelmed by the negative aspects of your life, twist them to the point of gratefulness until you find the positive side.  It doesn't always work, but often. 

So here goes.

I am thankful for the fact that my children wake me up in the middle of the night.  It means I've managed to be the type of mother who can make their pain or fear go away through nothing but my presence.  I'm five-one, but I banish bellyaches, thieves, monsters, giant robots and vampires on a semi-regular basis. 

I am thankful for the hundred emergencies each week at work.  It means I have job stability.  I have an income.  It means I can prove my worth to myself and those around me.  It allows me the opportunity to make a positive difference.

I am thankful for my husband's griping about his job.  Similar to my own moans, it means he has an income.  It also means I have him.  Every day.  Not a husband constantly on business trips or living in another state.  Or one who won't share with me.  Or no loving husband at all.

I am thankful for hearing about Hurricane Sandy.  Of course, not for the hurricane itself and the damage it did, but the reports renewed my appreciation for what I have.  Our windows may need paint and the fence around our yard may be rotting, but we're safe, in a house with heat, clothes, furniture, family pictures and irreplaceable crafts the kids made when they were toddlers.

I'm thankful I miss my mother, because it means I loved her.  Wow, this is harder to write than I'd anticipated.  It also means the ache hasn't lessened too far - she's not lost yet.  Maybe someday she'll only be a distant memory.  I was lucky:  I had her for longer than some children have their parents.

I am thankful I live so far from my family…..  Lots of deep breaths here.   I get the opportunity to know and understand more than one culture, and my children do too.  I get to have loved ones on both sides of the Atlantic....  I'm finding this one isn't quite working.  I have to bend the rules here and say it would be much easier to be thankful if we had the technology to beam us together on occasion.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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