Learning to Count My Blessings

We were sick over this weekend, and I felt defeated on every front.  Not only did we not get the extra things done I would have liked for a 4 day weekend,we didn't even do Thanksgiving dinner until tonight.  From Wednesday through Saturday, I thought it was the worst Thanksgiving ever, and I was counting all the things that had gone wrong.  But when I sat down today and counted all the things that were good, they vastly outnumbered the hard things. 

My sister is going on a mission!  I was on Skype when she announced it to Mom and Dad.  It was awesome to see their faces, especially having had a conversation with them a week before about worrying and trying to find her some nice guys to date.  I said, "Whoa, I thought you were rooting for a mission, not guys right now!"  Dad said, "I don't think we've made much progress on that front."  And I just had to clamp my mouth shut.  Really tight. 

Another sister had her first baby!  I wish I was there- I love babies.  I've thought about being a doula or something occasionally, but I've never attended a birth other than my own, and I'm more than a little squeamish.  Still, I hate to miss out, and always feel like I'd like to be there helping.

On Saturday I took the children who were well enough to a birthday party.  We don't generally go to birthday parties, but I really felt like I should go to this one (which was a stressful feeling because I didn't know if I'd have any kids who were not sick!), and I was very glad we did.  Ours were the only children there for a while, and it made the little girl so happy to have other kids to play with.

We left the party early for a girl's night out I was supposed to attend.  I was upset about leaving my husband with sick children all day, and wasn't sure I should go, but he was fine, and the evening was really nice.  We decided we should do that more often and invite more friends!

Being sick is kind of miserable, but it's temporary.  The good things that happened will be much more memorable, and some are definitely more permanent. :)  We ate our Thanksgiving dinner tonight.  The kids loved it.  They pointed out all the ways we are blessed, and we had some good family time.

I took a deep breath today and sat back and watched my happy children.  They pick on each other some, but they love each other too.  I watched them play ball with the baby, delighted that he was enjoying the game.  I watched the baby take several steps at a time, happy that it was caught on camera.  He started maybe two weeks ago, but only one step and then he'd stop.  Today he really practiced.  I watched my 7 year old read a naptime story to the 2 year old, and my oldest sing him a song.  I listened to their excited chatter about the dinner, and received exuberant thanks for making a pie.  I love how they are upset if I only sing one song to them before I leave their room at night.  Little boys who love singing make me smile.  They never get tired of it, and I usually get requests for just one more. 

It was a good Thanksgiving, and I have much to be grateful for.

This one's for you Jer-- Today's Gratitude List

I am grateful for the Relief Society activity that kept me busy for the majority of the day, and that the kids could run themselves to distraction in the sealed-off parking lot.

I’m grateful for the baptism of one of Demetri’s friends that we were able to attend.  I got to answer lots of questions from the little kids, and it was nice to see them excited about being baptized and behaving so well there (okay, until the last 10 minutes!).

I’m grateful that my kids think tuna sandwiches, fruit smoothies, and popcorn for dinner is an awesome treat and that they sing my praises for letting them help out with making such a treat.

I’m grateful for friends and family who care, even though I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.

I’m grateful for my neighbors and their working internet connection which they’ve sweetly provided me access to, so that I don’t have to go to the library anymore to do my homework until the provider decides they have time to fix it.

And for those interested, I've decided to stay.  In part because I really need this van to last for approximately another year, and at 200,000 miles accompanied by some strange noises, I'm trying to prevent more wear and tear issues than absolutely necessary.  But I reserve the right to arbitrarily change my mind at any time, even if it means going without a car for 6 months (which my husband has deemed an impossible pipe dream).