G is for Gratitude

I was kind of dwelling on the negative in my last post, so today I'm trying to find the positive. Yes, last week was pretty rotten. But there are still silver linings to be found.

I got the flu. That part sucked. But I'm grateful that it wasn't a terrible case of the flu like last year. I'm not completely over it yet, but I'm definitely on the mend. I'm grateful I have an understanding boss who is more concerned with me taking time to get better than with the deadlines and assignments I missed while I was out.

In a fever-induced haze, I suddenly decided to cut my own hair. Oh yes I did. While dazed with illness and medications, I used my sewing scissors and the bathroom mirror to hack off 4-5 inches of hair. (I believe my reasoning at the time was that I was tired of the frizzy split ends, so the best solution was to just cut them off.) Thankfully, curly hair hides a lot of cutting errors and it really doesn't look bad. I actually got a couple of compliments on the new hairstyle today at work. Heh. I'm grateful I didn't scalp myself.

I lost a filling. While eating mashed potatoes of all things. Not exactly the kind of thing that normally does a number on your dental work. But I'm grateful that (since I can't afford a dentist's bill right now) the missing filling is not bothering me at the moment so I feel like I can put off the repair for just a little while.

I got pulled over. Sometimes when you're sick, you find you still have to leave the house. Maybe to go to the doctor. Maybe to visit the pharmacy. Maybe to pick up a Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard because you're sick, darn it! You deserve a little something to make you feel better. And when I left Dairy Queen, a police officer pulled out right behind me. And then she started flashing her lights at me. And then she gave me a big old ticket. Because apparently somehow our plates expired back in May (May!) and we never noticed. I swear I never got a notice in the mail. And of course, when she asked for my proof of insurance I discovered that I had forgotten to put the new insurance card in the car. So I got cited for the expired plates and a court summons for driving without insurance. I cried. Life was feeling a bit too unfair right them. But in trying to find the silver lining, I am grateful that Aaron stood in line at the DMV the next day to make the van legal again. (Though I'm not grateful for the $150 penalty we had to pay for the expired plates... especially when the registration itself was only $70.) I'm grateful that I actually do have insurance, even though I didn't have the proof with me when I needed it. I'm grateful that Aaron plans to take the proof of insurance to the court on Friday for me so that I won't actually have to appear in court next month. And I was really grateful for the Blizzard.

We had a small fire. Aaron and the kids did their best to let me sleep in on Saturday while he got ready for work. They try this most Saturdays (grateful for that!) but it was especially appreciated this Saturday because I was still so exhausted from having the flu. Haley volunteered to make breakfast for all the kids. I was very grateful for that - and not bothered at all that peanut butter sandwiches are not typical breakfast fare. I told Haley where to find the last loaf of bread (in the freezer) and how to thaw it out (in the microwave). However, I did not tell her to remove the twist tie from the bag before turning on the microwave. My sleepiness came to a crashing halt when Haley ran into the room to tell me there was a fire in the kitchen. I'm grateful that it was a small, easily-extinguished fire. I'm grateful that the microwave wasn't damaged. I'm grateful that my kids weren't damaged!! I'm grateful that we rescued half the loaf of bread and Haley was still able to make sandwiches and I didn't have to deal with breakfast.

Most of all I'm grateful that I have wonderful kids, a great husband, and so many other blessings. Even if I forget to count them sometimes.