First, I'd like to congratulate my daughter, E, age 7. Yesterday she completed test 8, and lesson 80 of her second grade Horizons Math, which means she is exactly half way done with second grade math. She also took her test for week 10 in Spelling. She earned an A+ on both tests.
Last night C, age 12, told me a disturbing comment her dad made to her on his nightly phone call. He told her he "probably wouldn't be calling on Thanksgiving because he had nothing to be thankful for." Now, after 13 years of knowing her dad I am used to his negative thinking, but I was a bit appalled that he told his own daughter that!
As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and his comment was on my mind, I've been sitting here this morning thinking of all I am thankful for. I have always tended to be on the more positive end of the spectrum, and I USUALLY try to live my life with "an attitude of gratitude", as a good friend says. I thank God every day, sometimes several times a day, for the least little things in my life, and I KNOW how blessed I am. Sometimes I tend to forget, though, that not every one has such an attitude, so I thought it appropriate to take this blog and use the opportunity to just list a few of the most important things I thank God for in my life.
First and foremost I am thankful for knowing God in my life. Without Him I would have none of the following blessings.
I am thankful for my daughters, C and E, They are the loves of my life, my reason for living, and I consider it a privilege to have been entrusted by God to raise them. I am thankful for their health. I am thankful for their unique personalities and abilities. I am thankful for each day I spend with them, and I know full well how quickly I could be gone from this earth, or THEY could be gone, and I never let a day go by without telling them how special they are, and letting them hear me pray to God thanking Him for allowing me to be their mom.
I am thankful that I have the opportunity to home school my girls. I am thankful for each and every book I am able to provide for them, and each day that they are home, learning at their own pace, and not sitting a third of their day in a classroom away from me.
I am thankful for the good family life I had growing up, my childhood seems almost idyllic...all the traveling and vacations, memories, my parents, my brothers, my beautiful house and yard, and a mother who let me be me! I am thankful God gave me a dad on this earth for 17 years, and a mother that doubled as my best friend for 26.
I am thankful for all the good years I had with my ex husband, all the good times, and even for the bad times. Without the bad times we would never appreciate the good. And I'm thankful that he and I still maintain a friendship, and that he kept his promise to the girls of a year ago and calls them every night, sees them every other weekend, (sometimes more), and when the alcohol doesn't get in his way for him being a good dad.
I am thankful for a few GOOD friends, M in particular. M also accepts me for me, puts up with me, and has been there no matter what time of day or night this past year. He provides stability, consistency, food, advice, a listening ear, laughter, and moral support for the girls and I.
I am thankful for my house and yard. They are both a bit ramshackle lately, as I am not the carpenter D was, and don't have the energy or time most days to do yard work, but they are mine, and they are paid for, and they are HOME. I could be living in a card board box in Kenya, or a garbage dump in India, but God blessed me with a beautiful house and yard here in the United States, where at least we still have a FEW of our freedoms.
I am thankful for our pets....my 5 dogs, 6 cats (plus a few strays I feed outside), and the 2 dogs that D was able to take. They are expensive, and sometimes we choose between paying the bills or buying dog food, but they bring us all joy and unconditional love, and on some of the days when I'm NOT feeling so thankful there is nothing more comforting than a cat or two purring on the couch next to me.
I am thankful for so many little, material things that make my life easier or more comfortable....my couch, my computer, my books, my piano, the hot water heater, the washer and dryer, and microwave and my coffee maker. I could go on and on, but there's too many to name. Rest assured I'm thankful for everything I own materially.
I'm thankful for a working vehicle, albeit the windshield is cracked, the headlight is out, and most months I can't pay the insurance. LOL It's better than trying to walk or borrow someone else's car, or take the city buses. I don't think I've had more than a quarter tank of gas in it in over a year, but God always provides enough to get me where we need to go.
I could go on and on, but everything I mentioned above are things I am thankful for, and my girls hear me say each one of those things every night when we say prayers together.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And if you're reading this, be thankful you have a computer, and electricity to run it.
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