The Other Things

My thoughts are reminded to turn towards gratitude this time of year. And I am thankful. I could list all of the wonderful things in my life I am grateful for but this morning I started thinking about the “other” things. A be-thankful-for-your-trials kind of thing.

That always sounded a little cliché or like someone was trying too hard. Thankful for your trials? Really?

And then I tried it.

I’ve never felt so blessed.

I’m thankful Adam was unemployed (twice). It enabled us to move to Washington. It gave Adam a lot of time with Braeden and Emma in their preschool years they wouldn’t have had otherwise. It made me appreciative enough for a job that I don’t mind his long hours as much as I used to before the unemployment.

I’m thankful for post partum depression. I am more sympathetic towards mental illness.

I’m thankful for Adam’s trips. Besides the trips to London I was able to take, I feel more capable from my brief stints as a single mother and I appreciate Adam more when he comes home.

I’m thankful for when we were poor, which has made me more frugal.

I’m thankful for being busy which has made me more efficient.

I’m thankful I moved away from home and family. That is a harder one to be grateful for…it doesn’t have the retrospect of the others. It has changed me though. I am stronger and more independent. I am better at making friends. I have lived in some beautiful places.

And I love knowing there will always be a place in the world—that smells like sagebrush—that makes my heart sing.