Count Your Blessings... Name them One by One ~

Gratefulness & Contentment

These are both things that I am constantly trying to work on in my life.  We very rarely realize the things we should be grateful for until we lose it so I thought I would take a few minutes to concentrate on the positive things in my life.

I have an amazing husband.  He is the essence of patience and supports me in all endeavors.  When I decide its time to workout he gives up the TV and either spends the hour as my coach or cooks us a healthy dinner.  He is my best friend, my biggest fan (unless you are talking to my mom) and always has my back.  I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to such a wonderful man.

If you know anything about my family you know that we are by no means typical in any way.  In my world blood doesn't = family.  Love = Family.  I have the best dysfunctional family in the whole world.  My mom is by far the best even when we don't see eye to eye.  I have two Dads from which I have learned more about life from than anyone else and some of the best siblings in the world.  Of course, I cannot forget my family by marriage (I hate the term in-laws).  They are some kind of wonderful!  Every single one of them brings something special to the table and I cannot tell you how lucky I am to be a part of their family!  I'm sorry for all of you out there with in-law problems because honestly I LOVE my new family!  Without my family I would not be who I am today, and though some people may not think that is a great thing, I think I have a pretty good foundation to improve upon. 

My friends - Only the best.  They are human, they are flawed, they are fabulous.  Each one brings out something unique in me that makes time with each a special experience.  I tend to be fiercely loyal to a fault and if I consider you in my inner friends once, you will probably always be there (even if we don't speak for years - I still love you).  I will fight for you and fight with you, but I'll always love you (just don't mess with my husband ;)  

My job - I have a job that can be slow sometimes and I have plenty of moments when I wonder if it actually means anything, but then I have those moments when I can see the difference I am making and it makes it worth it.  Its those times when I look into a students eyes and I can see them start believing in themselves and what they can do with their lives that I get all fired up to do more.  Not to mention I have the most fantastic supervisor a girl can ask for!  She is wonderful and I can't imagine working for anyone else!

My home - Quaint - small - a work in progress - perfect for now!  I am so blessed to have a roof over my head and to not have to worry about putting food on the table.  To be honest I'm having the problem of putting too much of the wrong food on the table!  Either way we are extremely blessed to have a home big enough for the both of us and our growing puppy Gidget.  She is a rambunctious and waaayyyy too cute puppy who likes to chew on everything (including her owners) and can make you laugh with no effort on her part.  She has brought a lot into our lives and I am grateful my mother-in-law didn't pass her up that day!

All-in-all I have a lot of things to be grateful for and that is just scratching the surface.  I'm working on the contentment part of life and trying to figure out how to balance the need to grow and better myself in all realms of life while still being content with where I am and what I have.  All I know is that if you cannot take an honest look at your life and recognize the good, the bad, and the ugly bits how are you going to know what you want to keep and what you want to clean up?  A person cannot help changing, but when it is within their power, they can decide when and how it occurs. 

What are some of the things you are grateful for?  Celebrate the things that mean the most to you so that you can use that inner strength gained from contentment to battle the parts of you that need improvement.   What are some things you are working on in your life and what are you doing to overcome those "ugly bits?"  Its all about those baby steps!  

Thank you all so much for your support!  Your comments and your thoughts mean more to me than you know!  I look forward to reading every one of them and gaining strength from your encouragement!!

Tell me your story at texas_ginger23@yahoo.com!