Month of Thankfulness Part I

I'm a wee bit behind on the whole Month of Thankfulness thingy that's going on on The Facebook. I had wanted to do it & post 1 thing I'm thankful for each day. I kinda sorta haven't done it yet.

That's not because I don't have anything to be thankful for. It's because I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude that I didn't know where to start. That sounds good, right? It's not because I have a brain that lacks at retaining information, right?

Since I haven't started it yet this month, I'm going to post 9 things today, to get a start on this whole Thankful Month thingamabobber.

So the deal is this: you post one thing that you're thankful for each day of the month of November. Here we go.

I'm thankful for...

#1:...my amazing children. Since I could spread each one of them into separate days & fill up every day of the entire year with just my 27 children & my hubby & each thing about each of them that I'm thankful for, each child is getting lumped into #1 as a broad category. My children have taught me the definition of Unconditional Love & patience. There are so many things I could say I'm grateful for about each child, but I'll just list one of each here. I'm thankful for Amazing Grace's take charge attitude. I'm thankful for Boy Teenager's compassion toward others. I'm thankful for Blondie's positive & upbeat outlook. I'm thankful for Ginger Girl's spit-fire 'tude that won't let anything get in her way.

#2:...my amazing husband. This is another broad category that could be broken down into many but I will list them all under one. Not because I have so many husbands to fit into a category, but because all the things he does & all that he is, that I'm thankful for. This man took on the role of parenting children that aren't his biologically but loves & cares for them as if they are. It's not easy to become a step-parent & it hasn't always been a smooth ride. I'm thankful my children have my hubby as the other parent in this house. Marrying me meant that he was not only vowing to love, protect, & honor me, but also my children. He went from a bachelor to an overflowing house. He went from having a paycheck all to himself to raising a large family. He had to learn how to parent teenagers without having known them as small children. He had to learn to work with so many different personalities all at once. Most parents get handed children as infants & not a bunch at a time at different ages. He has handled learning how to parent all of these very different little people & I'm proud of how he does it all. He had to learn to adapt to having so many people around him at all times, which I'm sure wasn't easy to do. He is the only person on Earth whom I know I can always turn to & he will always be there. He is the one person that I know without a doubt will never intentionally hurt me or leave me. He loves me for who I was, who I am, & who I will be. I'm thankful for every little thing he does & I'm so grateful that he sees housework & children as equal opportunity frustrations, not just women's work.

#3:...being able to get an education without fighting men & laws for it. Unlike 14 year old Malala Yousufzai, I do not know the pain of such suffering.

#4:...my hubby's job that allows me to go to school while not working full time. I'm very grateful that I have the ability to do this while working part time or not at all. I couldn't do this without hubby's amazing job that lets him leave work without explanations in an emergency or work from home after my surgeries so he could be with me. His job is very family oriented & understanding. It is also the reason I can do what I do.

#5:...my bad life experiences. Of course I'm thankful for the good ones, but how often are you grateful for the bad things that happen to you? I am thankful for them because it has made me a more understanding & compassionate person. Some of the experiences I've had in my life that made me throw my hands up & say, "Really? Now this?!" I am now thankful for. If it wasn't for the painful first marriage, I may not appreciate my hubby every day & actually know how cruel some men can be to their wives. If it wasn't for a brother with schizophrenia which is very painful for me, I may not be able to connect with the toughest patients on a level that no one else is able to reach. If it wasn't for my health issues that some days leaves me wanting to run away from my own body, I may not be as compassionate & understanding with my patients as I am. If it wasn't for being attacked a couple years ago, I may not be so in tune to the pain behind some people's eyes. There are so many situations that have broken my heart & left me crushed, but ultimately I am thankful for them because along with the good times, they've helped mold me into who I am today.

#6:...the creative outlet that is my blog. I love to write & I love to entertain people. I'm thankful that I have this little niche on the interwebs where I can express myself & let all my not-normal-ness out for all to read & see.

#7:...everyone who reads my blog. It makes me so happy when I read the comments from my readers. I love to hear that I made someone laugh or touched them in some way. When I was young I wanted to be an RN & a comedienne. A Joker Nurse.

#8:...my doctors who work together as a team to help me have a better quality of life than I would have without them. My doctors all work to find the different types of relief I need & put in a lot of hours to help me accomplish that. Before I pieced together the various doctors & specialists that I discovered I needed, I was suffering. A lot. Now I've found the right mix who all work together even though they are in different clinics, in different cities, & even in different networks.

#9:...my friends who are always there for me. I could fill month after month, with each day for each friend who belongs in this category. When I'm down or frustrated with anything in my life, I know I can turn to them to help pick me back up. I am so grateful for all my friends who are with me through thick & thin, sickness & health, joy & pain, laughter & tears.