10 Things for which I'm Thankful

I was just thinking about some of the many things for which I'm thankful.

1. The ability to study the word of God on my own and understand the plans that He has revealed to us. I realize that copies of the Bible and the ability to read are not available to all girls across the globe.

2. The family that brought me up valuing Christ's church and encouraging me to make sure that my faith was my own.

3. The safe places I lived when growing up. Both my parents' house and our neighborhood gave me a sense of security that too many children lack.

4. The time that I've been able to have with both of my parents. When my mom died, I was torn between losing her for myself and my children's loss of a grandmother.

5. The good teachers that I had growing up and in college. Now that I'm a mom and in the education field, I appreciate this so much. I've tried to look up some of my old teachers to say thank you, but not all of them are so easily located.

6. The supports that made going to college possible. I do not believe that I "deserved" college through my own virtues and that other kids did not. I was blessed with the opportunity to have a supportive family and scholarships (from skills my teachers taught me). Mr. Miller, thank you for teaching me bassoon when I got bored with the saxophone!

7. Friends that I've been blessed with throughout childhood and adulthood. Even when my mom died a couple of years ago friends from high school reached out to me. I have friends now who share the same faith and with whom I feel I can share just about anything.

8. Skills that I've picked up from work experiences. Thank you, previous babysitting and nanny employers, for letting me practice on your kids before I had mine. Now that my oldest is past the age when I cared for others' children, I wish that I had even more experience. My workstudy job in college was in the Computer Center -- I was sure that would be a disaster, but I learned so much and gained in confidence as well. Even my short stints in a hospital and assisted living helped me when I needed to care for my mom. Now I am in a job that sends me to trainings and task forces that I never had to time to be part of before -- I love this part of the job!

9. My family. I'll have been married for 16 years soon to the guy I fell in love with when we were working on our college production of The Good Doctor. I have 4 boys who were wonderful babies and are too quickly becoming young men. I've been able to share with and learn so much from them and received plenty of love along the way. I hope that I'll be able to instill in them some level of the love and security my mom gave me.

10. The medical care available to me and mine. I've often thanked God for letting me and my children live in a place where both standard and specialized medical care is readily available. I've told my husband that if we ever had to move, I'm sure that we could settle in with a new church congregation and that we'd work things out for school for the kids. But what would be the most unsettling thing is finding new medical care for the kids. I don't know how I would have made it through some of the crises with out the encouragement of Dr. Chaudhari and Ann and Dr. Amy and our Early Intervention specialists. Thank you all for being there and telling me I was doing a good job when things seemed so bleak.