Life As We Know It

Well, I don't really know exactly what I am doing up at 1 AM. Today (yesterday) was the last day of school for my kids, and I am beat. But, I have a lot on my mind and I can't really sleep, and sometimes when I come to the computer to write, it just seems to make everything a bit more manageable. Funny how that works.

As usual, "life" (ie. family, kids, laundry, as well as some foolish, necessary things) has been priority 1 lately, which is sometimes the exact opposite of how I would wish it to be. The last couple years I feel like I have just been trying to keep my head above water. I feel like life has continued to throw us lemon after lemon after lemon after.... you get the idea. And geez, I sure am sick of lemonade. I think I ran out of sugar awhile ago, so it is some nasty and sour lemonade anyway.

The problem with this is, I know a lot of people have hard things going on. And, in a way, I feel like their hard things are a lot more significant or challenging than my hard things, so I really try to count my blessings, and not complain. I mean, my family is healthy. I have had some incredible blessings regarding my health issues in the last few months. I feel great (besides being a zombie, that is), and I feel like I can handle almost anything when I am feeling well. My kids are healthy. My husband is healthy. I am so incredibly grateful for that. I really try not to forget how good we have it in that area. I am grateful for health.

Andy and I start school next week. We finally got approved for residency, so now we can make this happen. Life is about to become even busier, if that is at all possible. Andy will graduate with his associate's degree by the end of summer and move on to finish his bachelor's. I could not be more ecstatic about this information. It has been a long time coming. However, it will be a challenge. I know many days of studying and homework and late nights are in our future. It will be quite a ride. I am grateful for the opportunity.

My kids are amazing. They bring me so much joy, but they sure are messy little things. If I have to ask who left the wii remotes out on the floor one more time, I will throw the wii in the garbage. Not really, but maybe in the back of the storage room. I love them anyway. I'm used to the mess by now, and probably wouldn't know what to do if my house stayed clean for more than 15  minutes anyway. I am grateful for my kids.

My husband is so supportive. He is so funny. I laugh with him every day. I love to learn and grow with him. I love that we know what the other is thinking with just a simple look. In a couple weeks, we will celebrate 11 years of marriage. I can hardly believe it. I am so grateful for my husband and the rock that he is for me.

I'm not really sure how this random, middle-of-the-night-blog-post turned into a thanksgiving post, but I guess that is what I needed right now. Amidst trials and difficulty and all of the negative, it helps to remember my blessings, because although I might complain, I do have a lot of those. And for that, I am grateful.