Thankful

Last year, on Facebook, I posted something  I was thankful for every day in November.  I know I am a bit late on this, considering Thanksgiving has come and gone and it is the last day of November, but I think giving thanks is something that can be done every day.  This year was, by far, the hardest Thanksgiving I have ever faced.  Even with an extremely difficult situation in life, I can say I am very thankful for some key things.

1. A strong marriage.  We have been through a lot the past two years.  The last few months have been extremely stressful.  I have been known to take out my frustrations on the closest person, my husband.  We’re both short tempered and therefore tend to argue (and to be honest, it is often due to me overreacting).  If our marriage didn’t have such a strong foundation, I don’t think it could have survived this.  I know that once we get through all this, we’ll be better than ever.  I know I have a partner in life and we have been tested with the “worse” part of “better or worse.”

2. Happy and healthy kids.  My kids make me smile every day.  Even when I am depressed (which seems to happen more often), my kids can snap me out of it.  I haven’t been the best mother lately, but they have been the best kids.  On those days when I just want to lay on the couch an do nothing, inevitably my kids will need me.  They will need comforting or help with homework or someone to watch them dance.  How can I wallow in my own self-pity when there are two great kids right here.   Often, when I am lamenting over our situation, I remind myself that there are parents out there who aren’t so fortunate to be able to watch their kids laugh or attack them as a tickle monster.  For this, I am truly blessed.

3. A wonderful network of friends and family. I have always been very proud.  I was independent and self-sufficient from a very early age.  I was the one in my family who packed up my belongings and moved to a different state “just because.”  Accepting help has never been in my comfort zone, let alone asking for it.  Twelve months of unemployment have taught me a little about pride.  I have learned to accept “charity” from friends and family, knowing that soon enough, I will be able to pay it forward.  I have been so fortunate to meet some great people through my running.  These generous people have helped us network for jobs, given me free massages, paid for race entries and been there for me in so many ways.  My family is really pitching in to ensure that my children have one of their best Christmases yet.

4. My running. Running is a relatively new thing for me.  I started running, in earnest, in 2008.  Before that, I probably never ran more than two or three miles at a time (other than my very first 10k in the summer of 2007).  I am so thankful that I am healthy enough to be able to run.  Running keeps me healthy, gives me my mommy “alone time,” and keeps me sane.  More than anything, running has given me my social outlet.  Since moving here a little more than a year ago, I have met some fantastic people (as mentioned above).  I would not have been able to get so close to these women without the quality time we spend running.

We had a lady snap a picture of us during one of our pre-dawn runs.  This is the main group that runs each morning.  Some times there are more and sometimes fewer, but I haven’t had to run by myself in quite a while.

Even though my life is difficult and sometimes feels a bit hopeless, I do realize how truly lucky I am.   I know his is a running blog and I try to keep things mostly about my running, leaving the other stuff to my other blog.  However, running has become such a big part of my life, so I wanted to post this here.  Thanks for reading.

Happy running.

*Coming soon: Dana Point Turkey Trot Race Report