So on Facaebook, a challenge went out to ask people to come up with one thing they are thankful for everyday. I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to realize this was in honor of Thanksgiving. Call me Pollyanna, or saintly, or just plain brilliant, but this task was not that hard. It helps that I love history, and I know that the good old days were not so good. Sure, you could walk around at night, and probably not see much crime, and obesity and the related health issues was not really a problem. Children were pretty creative, and families did spend more time together. But the average life span was much shorter, a lot of children died before the age of 5, and pollution was pretty much unchecked. Oh, and labor laws were pretty straight forward-you did what the boss said so working 6 days a week was pretty common. Plus, any type of abuse, from spousal to drugs, as simply not talked about even though it existed. We have come a long way baby.
So if you don't follow Facebook, you might be asking yourself, what is Dena so damn thankful for. On Facebook, I have been saying one thing a day, but let me sum up here:
I am thankful for everything.
To vague?
Honestly, there is my health, and all my family. The happy home my husband and I have created. That I can fall asleep on the couch, or go to my bed, and either way have a safe place to sleep. For friends that see my through my life, in good times and bad. For good books, and good music. Food I love. Jokes to laugh at and beautiful mountains to look at.
The truth is, life is not all good. We have our down times. Running into the garage door did not make my week, and dealing with a small child racked by diarhhea was not my idea of a good time. My prescription for my post-partum pills is too much money, and my four year-old thinks it is funny to fart on me.
But, that is life, and if you focus on the bad, that is all you're going to see. The little things of life, are turly not worth stressing to me, and I read about people who are experiencing war, abuse, and other difficulties, and suddenly, the fact that I have water all over my bathroom floor doesn't seem so bad. I will complain about it, but in my heart of hearts, I know that it isn't so bad.
Maybe it is just a matter of putting everything in perspective, or maybe I really am Pollyanna.
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2 comments:
AMEN! I am thankful for it all too and try to remember it daily! I have been bad for the facebook challenge, I am trying but... I don't always feel like sharing with everyone the stupid things I am thinkful for.. I amkind of one of those who goes "thank you for this paperclip I just found when I needed it!" LOL
Thanks for recapping for those of us who are anti-facebook! Good blog and it is so important to remember the things that really count. T-don't feel silly being grateful the paper clip you found, it is the little things in life. Before we moved to Israel we had pens coming out our ears and pencils and so on, but we gave it to a local restaurant we went to because they were short on pens, always. When we moved here we had NO pens, or maybe one. It sounds dumb, but here we are, foreign country, no idea where the store even is and once we find it, forget finding a pack of bics, all we have is 4 suitcases full of stuff and we can't even find a @#!!!! pen. Those little things we take for granted are sometimes the most important things of the day. As for what I am grateful for on a daily basis. Hmmmm.....In think in no particular order, food in our cupboards, even on the those days when we are broke, that we have basic utilities, that we have a place to live, that I have friends in 4 different time zones on 3 different continents so there is almost always some one to cheer me up when I am down anytime of the day, that I have family and friends, that I am living my life as I choose to, that I have 3 healthy kids who are creative and intelligent, if it means they are frequently doing thing I would rather they weren't....and the list goes on. I am glad that you put up this little blog. Frequently living life overseas can get tedious and challenging with cultural and language differences as well as the daily ups and downs of life. It is important to always remember, that being alive and waking up every day is a blessing and being able to choose what we will do today is even more of a blessing. I agree Dena that, we can choose to see the good or the bad and how we choose to see things is what we make of ourselves and how we affect those around us and the mark we leave on the world. OK sorry this is so long. Happy Thanksgiving belated eveyone.
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