I have been sick this week, another cold took me down- I will not be waving a flag of wellness for 2014, let me assure you. When I get sick, I begin thinking everything is against me, and nothing is supposed to be easy and lovely in life. When I begin thinking these thoughts, I take the advice of this wise husband of mine who says "whenever you are finding yourself upset about everything, write a list of 10 things for which you are thankful."
SO, these are five things making me thankful RIGHT NOW-
{I have ten, but I'm entirely too longwinded to write about everything}:
1. Home Sweet Home. I may be sick, but I have a home that is full of warmth and coziness and love. We have a fireplace we only dreamed of having in our first 4 homes {we moved a lot}, and we have a dishwasher, and we live in our favorite city ever. I have slippers and sweats and a cup of tea to be made as many times as necessary while I nursed my cold. I've known personally people who were without homes, and I've seen with my own eyes smoky tiny one-room huts that some large families call home. I've seen in my own beautiful city that- mere miles from us- there are homes of total depravity and hopelessness and daily hunger. It breaks my heart all the needs there are and how few of those great needs we can truly fill, and makes me incredibly grateful for our own home and the warmth and love here. It is not to be taken for granted.
2. Family. I'm talking the four of us, and I'm talking our extended family. We have some love poured on us regularly by both sides of our families and it is fuel that keeps us trucking when we're down. My parents are on vacation this week, and their absence makes me even more thankful for their part in our lives. My in-laws are far in distance, but near because of...
3. Technology. We use our technology to instantly send mundane photos and videos from the day-to-day back and forth cross-country. I'm so thankful that we live in an era where friends and family can feel close no matter what the distance is.
4. Transportation. This week, I'm thankful my mom let me borrow her car, but most weeks I'm thankful for our public transportation. I mean, it drives me nuts when I am 20 feet away from a bus stop as a bus pulls away, but generally it just means we need a lesson in patience that particular day, you know? No biggie. I can get from here to there and I am thankful for that.
5. Music. We play music so much around here... I wish this blog could play our soundtracks. Sometimes we dance crazy dances with crazy music. Sometimes we are fancy ballerinas. Sometimes we need reflective worship music to remind us that through the turmoils of life, we are held safely by our Creator and it'll all be okay. Sometimes we play our own music with a ukulele and our voices, and lyrics that are just not quite right... and yet they are just right. I'm thankful for music.
So after a week of being a bit self-absorbed and bummed about my inability to function properly without siestas and NyQuil, this weekend I'll just choose to be thankful.
Happy three-day-weekend to all, and to all a good night.
xoxo