Thursday, November 17, 2011

Thankful Thursday

With one week left until the (American) Thanksgiving, I figure it's past time to start thinking about what I'm thankful for, both the mundane and the exceptional. 

I hope it goes without saying that I'm most thankful for friends and family, but I suppose it shouldn't go without saying, should it? I won't claim my kid is an angel, but she's smart, funny (both knowingly and unknowingly :), talented and interesting in the best possible way. And with a decade of marriage under my belt, I can honestly say that I married up. :)

Random other things I'm grateful for:

  • That we ended up at the school we were meant to be at, even though we didn't set out to consider it. Somewhat ironically, it took my getting comfortable with the idea of sending Ellie to a school that had "Episcopal" in its name for me to be comfortable sending her to a Jewish one. I love the community of parents at Ellie's school as well as the staff. The fact that she's getting a great Jewish foundation as well as a great secular education is just icing on the cake. 
  • That I finally got approved for disability, which gives my family a little more financial wiggle room, a little more pad for our budget. Mind you, I'd rather have my health. I'd rather have fewer doctor visits, fewer medical bills, fewer prescription co-pays. I'd way rather be able to work, or at least be able to manage as a proper SAHM and not have to send my kid to an after-school program, which would save a considerable amount of money right there. 
  • That I live in the age of the internet. I can only imagine how isolating it must have been to have to have a chronic illness 20 years ago. (And technically, if it weren't for the internet, I wouldn't have met my husband, even though our first meeting was in real space. But I never would have been at that party if it weren't for the internet. :) But thanks to blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, even when I'm too sick to leave home or even talk on the phone, I can get support from other people in similar straits. And that's huge in combating the isolation that's a natural result of debilitating chronic illnesses.
  • That even though I have been challenging to fully diagnose, my doctors have doubted that I have an illness, they have never accused me of malingering or exaggerating, they have never accused me of being a drug seeker. I hear way too often about other people with chronic illnesses who face all those barriers to decent health care.
  • That I've found a creative outlet that I can do in small doses and (generally) not cause myself to flare too badly. I love making my fabric flowers and it's kind of fun to play with the idea that Scott and I will open an Etsy shop and sell my hair candy and his woodturning.
  • The amazing fall colors the trees turn in Portland. We have a vine maple at the bottom of our driveway that is a glorious shade of red that I wouldn't have imagined could occur in nature if I didn't get to see it in my own front yard. Wow!
There's undoubtedly many more things I'm thankful for, including all the amazing people who read my blog! I started blogging thinking it wouldn't make a difference if no one read ever it, but y'know, it really does make a difference that people do read it. So thank you!!


 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice post. It is ood to have things to be thankful for. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for my family.
mo