Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thankful Thursday

One of the current memes floating around Facebook is to promise to post something you're thankful for each day of November. I haven't taken that challenge -- NaBloPoMo is plenty challenge for me! -- but I am making an effort to count my blessings.

And I've got a lot of them, starting with a great husband and the best kid on earth. :-) 

Other random things I'm thankful for include:
  • My home. We've been having a lot of thunderstorms lately, and every time Ellie's eyes get big and she comments on the thunder, I remind her how lucky we are to have a home that shelters us from bad weather.
  • Our resources. Sure, we've been hit by the poor economy like everyone else, but Scott still has a job and we're making ends meet. That's a huge blessing these days.
  • My medical team. Sure, they haven't figured out exactly what's wrong with me or how to cure it, but they take me seriously and never suggest that it's "all in my head." 
  • The public library. Multnomah County Library is one of the busiest in the U.S., and I don't know how I'd have kept my sanity throughout this illness if it weren't for the library. I get books, movies, TV on DVD. And they have a fabulous service for people like me who are housebound, disabled or sick and can't go to the library. Every other month, they bring me a crate (sometimes two!) of books and DVDs that I've requested, and pick up the ones they delivered 60 days earlier. 
  • The chronic illness community on the Internet. I've made so many friends and found so much support from folks dealing with their own health issues. It just means so much to me to know that I'm not alone in my problems. 
  • Touchstone Preschool. If I hadn't gotten sick, Ellie would have attended a very good preschool at our synagogue, and I'm sure it would have been a good experience. But their program is only 2.5 hours a day (9-11:30 a.m.), and it wasn't a possibility once I got sick. I cried over that because it was one more thing my illness took away from me and my family. But you know, things have a way of working out: I love the school Ellie ended up at; the program is so good, with everything from PE to Spanish classes included; the teachers and principal are wonderful; the location is great for Scott to do dropoff and pickup on his commute. And when I told the principal recently that I considered Touchstone to be one of the silver linings of my having gotten sick, she confided that she didn't think 2.5 hours a day would have been nearly enough for Ellie. And you know, I think she's right.
  • My extended family and friends, who have been supportive and understanding.
OK, I know there's more I'm thankful for, but that's all that comes to my tired mind right now.

Meanwhile, I want to share a link to a cool website that will let you choose a card and have it sent (for free!) to an active-duty military person. Those of you who know me well know I'm against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I still admire and appreciate those who volunteered to serve in our military and are doing their best over there in what I consider a bad situation. The site is run by Xerox and is called Let's Say Thanks. Take a few minutes and send someone a message letting them know that we haven't forgotten them over there. You don't get to choose who receives your message, but you can either choose one of the suggested messages or write a personal one (choose other at the bottom of the list) and sign it with your name and hometown.  

1 comment:

Lisa said...

What an incredible list of things to be thankful for. PS I wish we were neighbors - would love the library and preschool in my life ;). many hugs, Lisa