Well, it seems that this year is coming to a close. In so many ways, I am thankful that 2011 is over and hoping that 2012 will be much kinder to our family.
We've had a lot of major medical issues this year - and all the heartache that goes along with it. I've written about some of them, but others will just have to play out in the future. But again, I feel so blessed that I have decided to list my top ten things I am thankful for in this year of 2011.
1. I am deeply blessed to have two loving kids and their spouses who accept me with all my peculiarities and weirdness. They have proven to me time and time again, that NOTHING in this world beats out family. Nothing!
2. When so many, many people are out of work, or are struggling to pay even the minimum of bills, I am thankful to have a good job that I love. I don't make a zillion dollars, but between my salary and my husband's retirement, we get along pretty good. Medical bills - phooey! As I told a friend of mine awhile ago - they can't repossess people!
3. I am beyond blessed to work with the greatest bunch of teachers, aides and support staff in the world. That includes my principal who stands up for us teachers and bucks the system many times so we can teach the way we know we should be teaching! I've been in a job where I was not valued and where I had to watch my back every day. I love working with my Hoover people. They are there no matter what!
4. Our house is not fancy, it is not large, and it only has one bathroom. But when I think of the homeless people we saw in New York City who were living in boxes, our home is a mansion compared to that. When I come in, my home welcomes me, says to sit down, relax and rest.
5. Even with arthritis and asthma issues, I am a very healthy person. I can exercise, swim, walk, teach and work 13 hour days. So I am very blessed to be healthy enough to still ride roller coasters with my kids and grandkids!!! :) And I intend to continue doing that until they refuse to let me on the rides because I am too old and rickety!
6. Having come very close to losing my husband many times over the last 13 years, I am very lucky to still have him by my side. For years, I worried about him being shot on duty, and not coming home to us. Yet what we experienced after he had retired from being a police officer, was way worse in many ways. But we still go on, we still travel as much as we can, we make casino runs frequently, and get to spoil our granddaughters as much as possible. He is the other half of me that keeps me going.
7. I am so blessed to have special friends. Some I have been friends with for 40 some years, some half that, and others a few years. They are all precious to me. We may not always get to see each other a lot, or go to lunch or just visit, but when we do, the year and months roll back and it is like yesterday.
8. My next blessing is that I still have my sister and my brother and their spouses in my life. Time spent with them is precious. I will be blogging more about them in the future - so for now, I am so thankful that I get to spend as much time with them as I do.
9. For whatever reason, I am blessed to have a stubborn streak a mile wide, that makes me strong enough to handle whatever life throws at me. My kids think I stood in line twice when God gave out stubborness - and they could be right. But being stubborn and unwilling to give in has kept me going when I thought I couldn't take one more step in any direction. Life tests us and we never know for sure how strong we are until life smacks us in the face!
10. Last, but not least, I am so glad I live in America. I have been reading a LOT of hate posts on FB lately, about our current president, and our government et al. The posts really bother me - not because they disagree with Washington, but because of the hate and the warped reasoning behind that hate. We may not be perfect, we may have flawed health care, flawed banking, flawed thinking in our Congress, but we still live in the most free, best nation on earth. Why do you think so many millions of people want to live here, and sneak across our borders to be in America???? It may not be perfect, but it beats most other countries by miles.
Peace and love to all of you in 2012.
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