Gratitude List

Last night I was watching "Secret Lives of Women: Mothers of Murderers" which was oddly riveting, and at one point a mom was sharing how her son who is in jail for life makes it through the day.

Apparently, the son said that he keeps a "gratitude list" of things he can be grateful for despite his situation. While I had a typically whiney post planned, I decided that if a dude in jail for life can find some stuff to be grateful for, so can I. So here we go - my gratitude list as of today.

1. A healthy, funny child



2. My family - sisters included even though they are not in the picture



3. My snuggie


4. My friends, old and new, the ones I see, the ones I don't see often but pick up with as if we hadn't been apart, all of them. (No picture because I wasn't sure who would want the extreme popularity that comes with being associated with this blog. I am talking paparazzi, being stopped on the street, all the trappings of fame.) Wait, I lied, here is a cute one and since it was Auntie L's birthday celebration, she was famous anyway. As is Baby E as she a baby about town.



5. The fact that I have a job

6. My education



7. The fact that I am not on the Maury Show (I am watching it dvr'ed right now because I was home with food poisoning on Monday and saw the first half of "I slept with two sisters am I the father of both their children?" and could not bear to not find out the answer, so I recorded the next day's episode and the results are in - HE IS NOT THE FATHER!!! Of the baby of the sister he is not dating, THANK GOODNESS I KNOW)

8. My general physical health

9. My jacuzzi tub or more that I was able to create a nice space for myself, as in it was in my reach to do so.



10. The fact that J will experience "picture day" for the first time on January 29 (I was looking at her school calendar today because I don't want to blow more deadlines - I almost booked a trip for myself to the beach for her first week of school EVER, nice work)

11. Wegmans


12. My house, leaving aside the pesky mortgage

13. My ability to leave X despite being in a "delicate way" (huge) and scared out of my mind, instead of still being in a terrible relationship to this date - I am grateful for this for myself and for J, as I do think it is better for her that we are not together



14. Generic prescription sleeping pills

15. Cheeseburgers and a good beer



I had a goal to write 15 things, without all of them being a joke. Of course many of the things I am grateful for have corresponding things that bring me down and thus were conjured in the making of the list. Or for example, my diamond stud earring would have been on the list, if they had not gone missing.* I tried to compartmentalize the bad from the good, and did so for the most part other than the mortgage thing.

*these earrings are of import because I bought them for myself as a present when I got my first bonus from the firm. I had had a bad day, X had been particularly miserable, and I just went for it, rationalizing that I would have them forever. And also that it was taking the money and turning into something that X would not notice as an asset if we separated. So he couldn't take them. Thus, their disappearance is very disappointing for those reasons. Also I wore them pretty much every day. I guess earrings are just "things" so I should let it go. But I am bummed. Anyhoo, I am grateful to have had them for the years I did.