Thankful Every Day

 

Image credit: Alexandra_Koch via Pixabay

 

Today may be a day for giving thanks, but I’m one of those people who practices gratitude every day. They say that the more often you give thanks for what you have, the more you will receive to be thankful for. I have found this to be true. I believe that a lot of the good things that have happened in my life, and especially this year, has a lot to do with the practice of being grateful for what I have and expressing that gratitude. I begin every day by saying “thank you” and feeling that wave of gratitude flood through me as I mentally echo my thanks.

 

Yes, there has been some bad things that have happened this year. I lost my brother and I was devastated by this loss, but I am extremely thankful that he was in my life, that he was my brother, and that he was a good brother at that. And, yes, my son lost his dog, and this loss was a huge blow to all of us because we loved him so very much, but we are thankful that he was in our lives, that we have so many happy memories with him, and that he is now reunited with his previous owner. Those are definitely things to be thankful for.

 

I am also thankful for my family: My husband, who is good to me; my kids, who are my world; and the friends who became family. I am thankful for my siblings, my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and all of their children.

 

I am thankful to all of the people – friends, family, teachers, volunteers and strangers – who have helped my kids in some way, have accepted them, supported them and still loved them even after learning that neither of them are straight and neither of them are MAGA.

 

I am thankful to the friends and family who still accept me, love me, support me, and stay in my life even though I am an ace, not religious, and not MAGA, either.

 

I am thankful for all of my friends, both the ones I have in real life as well as my friends who are online. I’m so grateful to know you and be able to communicate with you. Thank you for sticking around. It truly means a lot that you care!

 

I am thankful that my loved ones on the other side occasionally visit me in my dreams and that they are watching over us even though they can’t be with us anymore.

 

I am thankful for my health, even though it’s not as good as I would like it to be, and I am especially thankful to still be sober after over eight years that I finally kicked the drinking habit for good. (Gotta love sober living, y’all. It’s the best!) I am thankful for my medical care team. I am also thankful there are medications we can afford that help my heart condition as well as my allergies and those nasty headaches that I often have.

 

I am thankful for my gift to write. It truly is a gift that I cherish. I am also thankful that I can put it to use for others to read and enjoy. I am also thankful to the people who edit and publish my writing.

 

I am thankful for everyone in the writing community who is supportive, kind, friendly, helpful, and just an overall good person who genuinely wants to interact with me without the expectation of receiving money, a review, or a blurb in return. Of course I’ll buy their books, review their books, and provide blurbs for their books, but only when I am able to do so. I am thankful for the ones in this community who ask for nothing more than my friendship.

 

I am thankful to the people who publish my books. I am also thankful to the people who buy and/or read my books. I am especially thankful to the people who leave positive reviews of my books. I appreciate you all so much!

 

I am thankful that I can work for a publishing company. It may not rake in millions of dollars in profits (not YET, anyway – hey, we can hope for someday, right??) but it is a privilege to be a part of the publishing industry. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to be a part of it. I am also thankful for my business partner, who is also my best friend!

 

I am thankful for all of the writers who have submitted their work to Twisted Dreams Press. Thank you for trusting us with your work! And thank you, especially, for being so patient and understanding with us.

 

I am thankful that, in spite of only having good vision in one eye, I can still read. I am REALLY thankful for this! Especially that I am able to read so many books on the PC, on my phone, and with print books. I have a massive TBR with all of them! And I am thankful to my husband that he is okay with me spending so much time reading. He knows that some of the reading I do is either for my gig or for research, both of which he supports! (Sidenote: I know it’s not going to be this way forever. There will come a time when I won’t have the gig anymore or even so much time to read, so I am putting this time for it now to good use, and appreciating it every day! I am also thankful to the people who respect that I must set aside time for the gig as well as for research. That means a lot!)

 

I am thankful that we are able to afford food, that we can pay our bills, and that we are able to keep a roof over our heads! I am thankful for my monthly check that ALLOWS us to keep a roof over our heads.

 

I am thankful for all of the people who have come and gone in my life. Even if we parted on bad terms, which I hope someday can be amended, I am thankful for you all who were there in some form and in some capacity, even if it was to lend a helping hand! Thank you to everyone who I have had the opportunity to see, interact with, and know in some way.

 

I am thankful for the people in my life who love me and accept me in spite of the burn scars on my body, in spite of my deafness, in spite of my quirks and my faults, in spite of my past and my history as an alcoholic, in spite of my ditzy moments or my tendency to space out, in spite of my struggles with the sleep disorder and how I must sleep at least once a day because of it, in spite of my refusal to wear makeup and also how I reveal the burn scars on my face and head because of my hairstyles, in spite of the strange ear or my “alien feet,” in spite of not being beautiful or rich or famous, and in spite of how I am very forgetful. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for accepting me. Thank you for being my friend and family. Thank you for including me and making me feel like I am a part of your group! It really means so much.

 

I am thankful, especially, for all of the people who understand that I didn’t exactly have a good childhood or upbringing, that I suck at socializing with others, that I have lousy social skills, that I don’t know the things everybody thinks that I am “supposed” to know, who respect my need to be a loner and not want to socialize with others, and who understand that my verbal communication skills suck. I would LOVE to talk with people in real life, but I just don’t communicate with others in person very well. Thank you for being patient with me in communicating in a way that I am able to understand you (with sign language, fingerspelling, writing things down, typing on the phone or using signs while I am lipreading). And that because of ALL of this, thank you for understanding that I lack in certain areas people with a “normal” childhood and upbringing had and that I am NOT trying to hurt you, push an agenda, or that I don’t care. I do care, but I’m not going to interfere in anyone’s business, stick my nose where it don’t belong, or chase anyone.   

 

I am thankful for ALL of the experiences I have had in my life – the good and the bad, the struggles and the good times, the ups and downs. All of it. Yes, I know some of it was really bad, and even still looking back on some of it makes me sad or hurt or angry or regretful, but they are ALL bad things that helped to make me strong, make me wiser, more compassionate and determined to be a better person in spite of it. Perhaps someday some of those bad memories will no longer be a thorn in my side. Maybe I will make peace with them. Maybe I will no longer have to cut off the toxic people involved in them. Who knows? But I am still thankful for all of it. It is my life story and I have lived through it.

 

I am thankful for all of these things and so much more every single day.