No Gripes...lets talk about good things I ADDED SOMETHING I HAD TO GET OFF MY CHEST
I am fortunate to be a stay at home Mom. I don't mind running the kids to sports practice or taking their gym clothes or homework to school when they forget them.
I enjoy my friends old and new.
I am healthy, no BP medicine, no cholesterol medicine.
I am happy with my weight loss and hope to get to goal....about 20 more lbs.
My husband switched jobs in September and his stress level has decreased which has made him a happier person.
My children are pretty good kids.They are both high honor students. No major problems with them. My 16 year old son still kisses me when he leaves in the morning and when he gets home from school. They both tell me they love me at least once everyday. Other than than messy bedrooms they are great kids.
The only thing I would change is I wish my Mom was still here. I am really going to miss her this holiday season. It will be my first Christmas without any parents. I can't change that. I have been having my family and my in laws for Christmas every year since 1990. My birthday is on Christmas so my Mom and Dad will be with me in spirit on Christmas. Thats a good thing.
So, lets talk about good things..........
Mary
There is a poster on the Texas Board who posts daily on Grateful Post.... and everyday he posts what he's grateful for.... as do others. It's pretty uplifting.
There is so much misery in the world that I personally think you must focus on what makes you happy....
We all have $$$ issues in one form or another. It's always been my belief that if I share some of the misery it allows someone to take some control of my life.
I'm very happy with my life right now but there have been times I've not been. And almost six months of unemployment wasn't fun....but doable because everyone was so positive and I had to keep myself that way.
I'm very thankful for my family and friends.... my job... and while I stretch to pay my bills, I always am happy if I have something left over.
Yes, let's be positive.... POSITIVELY. There is room on the board for all sides.... I'll take this one. Thanks for starting it.
Nothing against the others.. venting is good..
Janet
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter
that tells what kind of life you have lived.
1. my weight loss ... could never have lost 180 pounds without this surgery.
2. my wonderful cats (and I include Diva in there ... I love her despite her recent problems).
3. Going home to Chicago this weekend to see my family. I haven't seen them since April, and I miss them all. I haven't gone because of the price of gas being so high.
4. I have a job for now that I love; I just hope the newspaper industry survives. I worry about that constantly.
5. I have lots of wonderful friends, especially all the people on this board. I couldn't have made it this far without y'all.
I think sometimes we let our problems weigh us down ... I know I do, and today it reached a peak (I won't get into details). I'm usually pretty sunny but around the holidays I tend to get depressed every year ... which is why I work so I don't have to dwell on why I'm alone again. It's hard to deal with year after year.
Janet,
Just like a lot of others I've had my bad times. Years ago when I was a lot younger with a low paying job I got divorced. I made him sign the house over to me. I don't know how I did it but I managed to pay the mortgage and utilities on my small salary. Some weeks I only had $20 to last me to the next paycheck, and that was for food, gas, etc. I'm surprised I didn't lose weight back then. Some nights dinner was popcorn!
I never asked anyone for help. Any you know what, it made me a better person in the end. I appreciate all that I have now.
Life doesn't come with guarantees that it will be wonderful. We have to accept the good withe the bad. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I'm a stronger person today.
Mary
I am so grateful to be here this Christmas! I was well on my well of waking up dead one morning, and now, thanks to WLS, I am here still and enjiying each and every day.
I have more energy than I have had in 30 years.
I fit easier behind my steering wheel.
I can wear pretty shoes!
I can go into a store and buy right off the rack now!
My two sons and daughter in law will be with JB and I all day on Boxing Day (Dec 26). For me, it's not the tree or the presents, it's not the date or the dinner...it's having my loved ones with me..so we can exchange funny stories, experiences, memories, hopes and dreams, laugh and just enjoy being together.
My new kitten, LilyRose, brings new joy to our household and even Katie is starting to participate in that. LilyRose is our MIRACLE kitten, according to our vet, she should NOT be alive after once having had a broken back and couldnt not walk on her back legs but flopped like a turtle. Now isn't THAT a miracle?
My new mandala colouring books are suddenly a big hit..and I hadnt even planned on doing this...it just happened...like it was meant to be.
I have a dear friend who just lost his job in NY and he is 61. I have another friend here in Canada, also almost 60, whose business as a commodities money broker fizzled out due to the economy...he lost his wife, his new home and is now living in a shelter.
I have a lovely large home on seven acres..all paid for, a nice car, also paid for, two incredible, mature, grown-up reliable and responsible sons who have an old-fashioned work ethic and excellent skills for life. What more could I ask for?
I am so fortunate that I almost feel guilty when I see how so many have so little and I am so fortunate.
Gripes? oh sure..there's always the guy that cut me off this morning on the highway...the birds that poop on my car. But do I want to cling to that small incident and dwell on how much it upset me? I prefer to focus on the positive things..seeing the good in the negative. My glass is always half FULL.
I love this quote :
"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."
-Stephan Hoeller
I know exactly what you mean when you say that sometimes you feel gulity for being so fortunate when others have such a hard time. Some people really do fall on hard times. Others MAKE the hard times for themselves. One thing my Mom used to say about a family member that always had a "poor mouth".
"She could have a ham under one arm and a turkey under the other and claim she didn't have anything to eat".
I am thankful for everything I have every day not just around the holidays.
Mary
Thank you for this thread. Life is so full of misery and negativity that it's important that we look at the positive things in our lives.
Yep. No doubt about it, I complain sometimes, but when you come right down to it, my life is pretty good. Is there ever enough money....no. You can always find ways to spend it even if you have all of it in the world. Is there enough time in the day.....HEAVENS no. You can't manufacture time, so you have to use what you have wisely.
I'm so grateful that I have a career that I love. I love what I do and who I do it with . My clients give me a nice income, a better one in fact than my husband makes for the State of AR.
My husband is a wonder to me. I wonder how he puts up with all the medical issues I've had in the last three years without ever being cross or resentful. His job is secure and he loves what he does. His stress level is nil compared to when he was an attorney and our life together is better for it.
Our son is enjoying his new job which actually has a future. His wife is my best friend and I love her.
Now, if I could just get the dang Christmas tree up life would be grand!!! LOL LOL
One last thought: You're only as happy as you want to be!
Susan
Thanks so much for your uplifting post, as Janet said, it is good to see all spectrums here, but I, for this moment, would like to focus on what I am grateful for. . .
My health which is wonderful today, thanks to WLS and the hard work I've put into myself this past year
My family. . . who are all healthy and living good lives today. My son returns today with his family from Germany, though after the holidays, he will return there, alone, for 6 weeks, it will be nice having grandchildren close to home again. . .
My friends, those new and old who've added to my treasure chest of this life's journey. . .
My job, because, today, to have one is a blessing that I don't take lightly and it makes living my life possible.
I am thankful to the God spirit from which all my blessings come and each and every day I give thanks for whatever comes my way, because I've known many different paths in my lifetime and have survived and learned that no matter the situation, the lessons that come from it are the gift, and that all gifts do not come in brightly colored wrappings, and that I have gotten more from those gifts that were not what I thought I could endure or deserved to have in my life, and that so long as I keep an attitude of gratitude, life gives me all that I need to get through the next challenge and all of the friends and family I have are part of that which I need to continue on, because God speaks through each and everyone, we just need to listen.
Prayers, hugs and positive thoughts, Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
