 The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!  — Henry Ward Beecher |
I also read a story tonight about middle-class women in Santa Barbara living in their cars due to fallout of the recession. Most have pets. There is no low-income housing in the area and sleeping in cars is illegal, but so many people have been forced into living in their cars that the city is changing their laws to allow people to sleep in parking lots. People are screened and no alcohol or drugs so it's a safe haven, at least as far as living in your car is concerned.
This also makes me wonder why I know this is happening, but it takes seeing a picture of a woman bedded down with her 2 Golden Retrievers in the back of her Subaru to finally hit a heart chord. The aforementioned quote came back to me again and inspired me to express what I am thankful for, despite my own poopy attitude towards some things lately. So I am now going to express some things I am thankful for. When you recognize the good things in your life, they can only expand. I don't do enough of that.
I am thankful that we can afford for me to be a stay-at-home mom. It's not where I pictured myself to be and it certainly hasn't been easy, but I wouldn't change it for the world. We also live in an expensive area. It may be Montana and we still live outside of Bozeman, but the cost of living is still comparable to major metro areas in the US.
I am thankful for the nice home we own. It's been meant to be from the start in so many ways - it found us, after all. I love that we moved here just in time. A year or two later, this home would have been out of our price range. I love that despite the downturn in the national housing market, we are capable of refinancing lowering the interest rate on our mortgage.
I love that I have a beautiful, easy-going little girl and the changes thrust upon me when I became a mother. I find ways to love her even more with each passing day. All of the issues I have had since I have become a parent have been MY issues, not anything directly because of Piper. I have learned, and I am continuing to learn so much about myself. It's not all pretty, but recognition of a problem is the first step towards fixing it.
I am thankful for the relief that comes from making a decision, especially when it comes to sacrifice. I have had to give up a lot of my creative time since Piper became mobile. My creative time is time to make the jewelry that I do actually sell. I had already decided to scale back my summer sales ambitions partly due to Piper, partly due to my transition to working with metal clay which is much more involved than beading. I recently decided to give up on the big show I do for 3 days in Livingston. I have done it the last 2 years and it has been my most profitable show because of sales, booth fee, and close proximity. The stress of building silver inventory in time to even apply for this and other juried shows (I have to have professional-ish photos to submit) while trying to tend to a toddler ready to walk any day - well it just wasn't worth it. Once I finally gave in and realized it wasn't going to be the end of the world to give up yet another thing I loved because I'm a parent now - a wave of relief swept over me. I knew it was the best decision. I am now hoping this will light the fire beneath me to approach some more shops to consign in.
I am thankful that I have survived the last 7 days without Mike without a meltdown. He'll be back tomorrow. I am excited to see Piper's reaction to him. Last time he was out of town for nearly 3 weeks so she was a little unsure when she first saw him.
I am thankful to have our bed to myself (except Gypsy) one more night. It's hard to believe I have a king-size mattress some nights between Mike and the dog..
G'night.
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