November is a time for self-examination and giving thought
to our many blessings and giving thanks where thanks are due. Many of my
Facebook friends have been posting one thing they are thankful for each day
this month.
I’ve never participated in this delightful idea, but felt
compelled to complete my monthly list in one fell swoop. I made the list and
entered it into One Note on a sleepless night. After reviewing the list, I
realized that I don’t remember seeing any of these items on their lists. I
always suspected my thought processes might not be the same as the average
person, but until now, I’ve kept some of the weirdness under wraps.
I am thankful for...
1.
Mice. It’s easy to think of mice as
pesky rodents with no purpose in life other than leaving droppings behind
furniture and chewing up important papers. But mice are extremely important
when it comes to medical research in general and Alzheimer’s research in
particular.
2.
Sleepless nights. On sleepless
nights, my brain goes into creative overdrive. My best ideas come to me in the
middle of the night.
3.
Wishes that didn’t come true.
Throughout my lifetime, I’ve made a lot of goofy wishes, and I’m so thankful
that they didn’t come true. I don’t think the life of a fairy princess, a rock
star, superhero or being married to Paul McCartney is what God had in mind for
me.
4.
People who hurt my feelings when I was
young. Yep, all those cruel kids made me into a rhino-hide adult. It is
almost impossible to hurt my feelings, because frankly I don’t give a poop
about what insensitive, rude people say to me.
5.
Failure.
I’ve learned more from my failures than I ever learned from my successes. Let’s
face it, when I make really bad mistakes, I try hard to not do it again.
6.
Not being beautiful. Being beautiful
is a burden I wouldn’t want to carry. Besides, I had to work a lot harder on my
personality.
7.
Hard times. There have been times in
my life when it was a challenge to figure out how to pay the bills, feed the
kids, and not have too much month left at the end of the money. Because of hard times, I’ve never had that fear of being
poor that some people have. Been there, survived, and know that happiness isn’t
based on the size of my bank account.
8.
Hard work. Without years of hard
work, I wouldn’t have done as well in my job as I did and wouldn’t be looking
forward to retirement.
9.
Having my heart broken. If a few boys
hadn’t broken my heart when I was younger, my life would have turned out
differently. I’m happy with the way it turned out, so thank you for breaking my
heart and forcing me to move on.
10. Rainy,
gloomy days. When the rain falls and the sun is elusive, it is a perfect
time to sleep in and laze around reading a book.
11. Boredom.
My life is so hectic that if I find time to be bored, I can relax...or think of
something totally fun to do.
12. Hunger.
When I’m hungry, I know I haven’t overeaten.
13. Paying
bills. When I pay bills, it means I have another month of electricity,
internet, phone service, and a zero balance on my credit cards.
14. Not
winning the lottery. I’ve always known that winning the lottery would screw
up my life, and I like it the way it is.
15. Flies
and spiders. When I’m in a murderous rage, I can squash a spider or swat a
fly and not suffer an ounce of guilt.
16. Clear
packing tape and plastic wrap. The way these two stick to themselves and
trying to figure out how to get a roll started teaches me patience.
17. Old
age. Without old age, I’d have to pay to get into ballgames and wouldn’t
get senior discounts.
18. People
who don’t like me. They teach me to stand up for myself.
19. People
who take advantage of me. They keep me on my toes and help me say “no.”
20. Running
late. It’s amazing how much time I’d waste waiting if I got to everything
early. Besides, I’ve avoided traffic tickets and dangerous driving when I
decided it was better late than never.
21. Anger.
If an injustice makes me angry, it means I am passionate enough to care.
22. Fear.
I might not be alive today if I didn’t have sense enough to be afraid from time
to time.
23. Ignorance.
Since I clearly don’t know everything, ignorance means I always have something
to learn.
24. Grumpy
old men. Without them, grumpy old women wouldn’t have anyone to argue with.
25. Lousy
TV shows. When a lousy show is on TV, it is much easier for me to turn it
off and do something productive.
26. Bratty
kids. I’m so thankful that none of those bratty kids belong to me.
27. Runny
nose. Without a runny nose, I’m sure my head would explode from the inside
out when I have a head cold and infected sinuses.
28. Thunderstorms
and lightning. We need the rain to replenish the earth and the lightning
keeps me honest since I don’t want to be struck down for telling a lie.
29. Bad
lab results. Without bad lab results, I wouldn’t have incentive to work
toward being healthier. I would have continued the same bad dietary habits with
the same results.
30. Uncertainty.
I don’t know everything that is going to happen in my future! Uncertainty keeps
me optimistic that the best is going to happen and not the worst.
One of the great things about making a list like this is
that it made me realize the thing I am most grateful for is living the life I
want and wanting the life I live. I am happy to be me and I don’t envy anybody
else’s life or want to be somebody I’m not.
Copyright © November 2013 & 2018
by L.S. Fisher
#ENDALZ
No comments:
Post a Comment