I'm Thankful This Thursday

Not having children around the house has really allowed me to get in to my head and think.  That doesn't happen too often, because it's so noisy in this house - the only thought my head is usually processing is how I can legally tie the kids up and stick them in a closet.

But with no fighting kids, my head has wandered in to thinking about what's going on in my life right now...everything I have and have been blessed with...the struggles I've overcome...and the struggles I still have to face.

All this thinking has lead me to realize how much I truly have to be thankful for...and when I start making lists in my head - you know it's going to end up on this blog at some point.

So, today, I bring you a list of all the things I'm thankful for...

I'm thankful for my family.  Hubby, the kids, my parents.  Even when the kids are fighting, Hubby is obsessing over the new toy he must have, and my parents are asking me to do stuff I don't really want to do - I wouldn't trade a single one of them in for the world.  They make me who I am.  They accept me for who I am.  They support me in everything I want to do.  

I'm thankful for the challenges that life has thrown my way.  Nothing in my life usually goes the way I want it to.  I wanted to graduate from college and have a teaching job waiting for me.  I wanted to lose 100lbs before I became a teacher.  I wanted children that get along like the Von Trapp Family.  None of those things happened - but each of the things that did happen made me stronger, more powerful, and more determined.  I now have a teaching job, I am back on the horse to losing 100lbs, and the kids?  Well, nobody truly wants perfect children that break out in song at random moments - that would be even more annoying.

I'm thankful for stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.  Which I went in to for the first time in my life, yesterday.  It's stores like that - and the people who work there that give me looks that make me feel like Julia Roberts did in Pretty Woman when she was trying to buy a dress - that make me realize money isn't everything.  I knew Hubby with his pink hair, and me with the sweat dripping from my brow were being judged from every employee in the store.  But for the first time in my life - I didn't care what any of them people thought of us.  Even if I did have the money to spend $400 on a dress that I can buy in Wal-Mart for $18...I wouldn't spend it there.  Being in there made me laugh, and appreciate the smaller things in life.

I'm thankful for finding a principal that saw something in me she wanted to take a chance on.  I've said this before, but I'll say it again - trying to find a teaching job in this area when you don't have any "connections" is very hard to do.  I was told time and time again that I needed to build my connections to get me noticed - and I never wanted to believe that.  I already owe her so much - and I have only spent 30 minutes with the woman.  But she was able to instill something in me.... my go-get-em attitude.  No matter how many times I'm told I can't do something - the opportunity comes along to prove that I can.  And, I have a feeling that she will have a hand in continuing that belief in me with much more than my teaching profession.

I am thankful for all of the bloggers that, like me, tell their stories to the world each day.  Being able to see the struggles and triumphs of other "regular" people helps me do the same.  They give me hope.  They give me passion.  They also give me a connection to a world that - even after two and a half years - I'm still very unfamiliar with.  I would list all of the bloggers that have had some impact on my journey - but I would end up forgetting someone...and then feeling awful about it after.  So, to all of the bloggers whose blogs I visit each day - THANK YOU!

I am thankful for my blog followers.  You give me an audience, a mission.  I tell my story to you because like other bloggers do for me - I hope that if I'm able to reach out to one person who comes here for advice...then this blog has served a major purpose.  Reading your comments and emails are the highlights of my day - and I wouldn't be the same without them.  You push me to do more, you support me when I'm down, and you support me when I'm up.  

I am thankful for air conditioning.  Do I really need to explain that one?  If you're living in an area that hasn't seen rain in weeks, and with temperatures in the 100s every single day - then it's doubtful I need to say anymore.

I am thankful for being introduced to Clean Eating.  Even though I haven't perfected it - and it's still something I struggle with often - my body is very thankful.  I feel more energetic than I have in a long time - and my body's...urm... "functions" are a lot more appreciative.  Clean eating has also made me realize that healthy eating doesn't have to be boring or bland.  I can create....wait, who am I kidding?  Hubby can create tasty, filling, satisfying meals without fat, added sugar, or processed ingredients.

And lastly...

I'm thankful for my life, my health, and anything else I should be thankful for - but didn't pinpoint specifically here.  My new journey has really started to make some positive changes in my attitude and my outlook on life...and I'm basking in every minute of it.

What I'm not thankful for is the fact that I now have to go and do laundry and clean my room.  One day, I'll be thankful for the person that invented the laundry/housecleaning robot.

Till next time. ;)

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter