Giving thanks

As I grow older (and hopefully wiser) I find myself becoming a little more pessimistic about things that I would never have thought twice about in the past. Since we moved to Cheshire more than two years ago and had the "pleasure" of finding out (the hard way) that our home was built on top of barite mines, I sometimes feel like the bad times just keep rolling in. As they say, "the hits just keep on coming"! Having dropped close to $15,000 into closing that sinkhole, Bill and I were no longer able to fix up the house that we had hoped would be our little dream home in which we raised our kids, made many happy memories and lived happily ever after. Or at least until the kids were off in college and Bill and I escaped to tend bar and run dive tours in Turks and Caicos.

The smarter, happier side of me has to slap that crabby side around sometimes in order to remember that, you know what? We've got it pretty darn good. Sure, we're caught up in a law suit that could take years to finalize and even then we might never see a dime. And we can't sell the house we're in order to downsize, perhaps allowing ourselves a little more financial freedom. And yep, Bill needs a new car (or at least a heating coil) because he has no heat, which of course means no defrost either, and he just trying to make it through the winter before breaking down and buying a new one. (Ask him about the lack of A/C during the summer heat with only one window that would go down and find out which scenario he enjoys most!!)

So with Thanksgiving upon us, it's time for me to express my appreciation for all the things that are right in our lives. Bill and I have our ups and downs like all couples do but we'll soon be celebrating 9 years together in January and 8 years of marriage in May. We are blessed to have four beautiful kids, three of them together. Two of them happen to think that the sun rises and sets on their big brother Bryan and I'm sure Robert will be feeling the same way too by next year. We're all healthy and we just happen to be lucky enough to be surrounded by loved ones on both sides of the family. There's always plenty of food on the table and darn it, it might be a money pit, but we still have a roof over our heads. (For the time being anyhow.) (See, there's that pesky negative side of me again.)

There are so many people out there that are less fortunate than we will ever be even during the lowest points in our lives. There are those who are no longer on this earth and for all we know there might even be some who are celebrating their last Thanksgiving with us and don't even know it yet. I am so thankful for the times that we've shared, the lasting memories that we created and the happiness that these relationships have both given and received.

May you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving celebration. And may you remember that without the bad times in our lives the good times wouldn't be quite as sweet.