The Attitude of Gratitude

I am not a mainstream Christian.  Actually I do not refer to myself as a Christian of any sort.  Although I grew up in what I considered a strict Christian home and later married a man who became a pastor, I no longer share those beliefs.  So there is my disclaimer…LOL

When we first moved out here we stayed in a Motel for a month.  We had heard you couldn’t find a room anywhere so I was very thankful for the room we had.  I continued to be thankful because we were being charged a decent weekly rate.  Yes it was the little things I was thankful for.  Just as we were able to have money saved up we found a home.

I am not exaggerating when I say housing out here is crazy.  I do mean crazy.  IF and that is a big IF you can find a place the cost is outrageous.  I have seen 3br/2bath trailers be offered for $2500 a month.  And sadly, for the sake of needing a home, people pay that amount.  So we found our little place (yes the picture on top is our actual home now)

This past year I have been so thankful for our home.  I have taken pride in making this our home.  I have decorated and bought new items to really have a nice place.  And I have been thankful.  Our home set in the best of the school district’s schools so there was no worries about the school Jacob would go to.  I have a yard (small) and a tree (trees are good) and I have continued to be thankful.

I fully believe you have to appreciate whatever it is you have.  If you own a rundown couch that sinks to the floor, be thankful.  It is a place to sit.  If you drive an older vehicle, be thankful, it gets you around.  You have two choices:  gripe and complain about what you have or truly be grateful for what you have.  Relish in the gratitude. 

Where we live is pretty icky looking according to most people.  I have chosen to see the beauty out here as well as be thankful for the life we have here.  I find the sunsets/sunrises amazing.  There is nothing to block your view.  The area we live contributes (geologically) to the formation of oil which contributes to my quality of life..I have been thankful.

If you are wanting better, more, be thankful for what you have now.  Be thankful for the moments.  There is more to life than just stature and money (and yes I know money does help!) but truly finding the things to be grateful will totally change your attitude.  I have lived paycheck to paycheck and spent my time being thankful just that the basic bills were paid.  We couldn’t afford cable so we were thankful for our dvd player and Redbox. 

You get to choose your attitude. “I hate my house, my furniture, my car, my job” makes for one miserable person.  And truthfully you are probably just as miserable on the inside as your life reflects on the outside.  You want a better life?  Be thankful for what you have now.  “I am thankful for the home I have, it’s a roof over my head.  I am thankful I have my couches and recliner; I am not sitting on the floor.  I am thankful for my car; I am able to run errands.  I am thankful for my job, it keeps the roof over my head, my car gassed up, food on the table.” So what if you are not keeping up with the Jones, chances are when you have a great attitude about what you have, the Jones will be jealous of your zest of life. 

When my dad and I would talk, and he was feeling down and in pain, I would remind him…it beats the alternative.  Every. Single. Time. He would perk up.  He was thankful for the pain, the bone weary tiredness and the fact everything taste like metal—It meant he was still alive.

So for a year now, I have been practicing thankfulness.  Every day.  Every time I pulled up to our little home, I would express thanks.  And now here we are fixing to move.  I truly believe because I was thankful for what I had been given and willing to care for it as if it was a mansion, I have been blessed with a home better than I could have imagined.  I am so excited and yes THANKFUL for the new home.  It is amazing to me.  A garage, a huge walk in closet, a real dining room, a fireplace…things that were once upon a time beyond my imagination because I was so down in life, but now because I have chosen to be thankful for whatever I have, I am being blessed. 

A few pics of our new home!!

My Twisted Sense of Humor

To know me is to know I inherited a twisted sense of humor.  Thanks dad!!  My father was funny and out there and laughed at things you sometimes not ought to laugh at…..and *sigh* I do the same.  I guess that is one of the perks of having your father raise you …alone, by himself.  There was no mother to gently guide this terrible behavior out of me.  So I am pretty much twisted…..but then you already knew that right?

We are moving.  To a house.  I am beyond tickled.  A house…a real house made of bricks.  I will soon have a fireplace and garage and grass and trees and patio and a master closet to die for.  All the things a girl wants growing up…especially the closet.  Did I mention the fantastic closet?  Heck I am excited there is a special little storage spot for brooms and mops.  Yeah, I get excited about that type of stuff.  I have already threatened to do snow angels on the living room floor I am just that excited.  I can’t believe I am fixing to own a garage door opener. 

So with moving comes packing.  Boxes.  Lots and lots of boxes.  And in boxes goes stuff.  You know your personal stuff.  Books, clothes, blankets, sheets, make up you never use, dishes you forgot you own, appliances you never use.  Just stuff.  So here is my dilemma and where my humor comes into play. 

My dad was cremated.  After his cremation he was divided in thirds.  Morbid I know.  So I have one third of my dad.  Currently he sits on a bookshelf in a plastic bag, twist tied shut and in a plastic box.  I have more of him than I thought I would have and he is heavier than I expected.  But there he sits.  My third of a dad in a box.  He just hangs out up there.  No worries..it’s dad in a box. Except we are moving.

I now have a quandary.  Does Dad in a box go into a box?  I mean do I just pack him up? Dad in a box in with some books, a couple of hangers and random papers that are part of the last few boxes you box up?  The random stuff that has no home as you are organizing your life into little or big boxes.  Will my dad like his box in a box?  Or do I just carry him in the truck with me and two kids and a dog?  What if I have to put him behind the seat? 

I have discovered there are no cremation etiquette.  I have to figure this out on my own .  So for now, until the day of moving, dad in the box will sit on top of the bookshelf collecting dust with the clock.