THANKFUL THURSDAY

I haven't quite put my finger on the origin of my mild sense of unease these past few days/weeks yet. Yup, still feeling it. Perhaps it's the boys impending surgery (it's just tonsils... I know it's no big deal really). Or, maybe it's the economy and the rumor that all these government bail outs are going to cost each family $84,000 (yikes)... and that's just what's been doled out so far. My belt was tight enough to start but things are beginning to get really uncomfortable... And, we live simply already so there's not much wiggle left in these jeans, if you know what I mean. Or, maybe it's that I've stalled in Weight Watchers at -6lbs... Wouldn't that be an easy and welcome explanation for the dark cloud in my blue sky? No matter the cause of my unease, I find I'm still waaaayyy more thankful than not. So, here goes:

[1] I'm thankful that my boys love their school, teachers and classmates at Brookville Center for Children's Services at Marcus Avenue. If I had one (or two) of those kids that cried every time you dropped them off to school, it'd totally KILL me to "abandon" them. But, for instance, we got to school late this morning after a pre-op MD appointment that took a long time and ended with a blood test (not happy). Even still, as soon as we arrived at school, Brian and Michael ran off barely blowing me kisses to join their classmates in a walk around the atrium. Thank God! (Here's a [poor quality] video clip of their school Thanksgiving parade.)

[2] I'm thankful it's Easter time and BJ's is selling those HUGE bags of special edition Cadbury chocolate Eggs that they ONLY sell during this time of year. I LOVE those eggs. 3 eggs = one Weight Watchers point. (Maybe that's why I've stalled at -6 lbs. LOL).

[3] I'm thankful that our new boxer dog's eyes are finally healing and won't cost us any more money we don't have. Molly's severe "dry eye" condition became critical when she began to develop corneal ulcers (We inherited these problems that started weeks before we adopted her almost 2 months ago). The vet was talking about cornea transplants and experimental surgery to reroute a salivary gland to each eye to keep them moist as the ultimate solution if we couldn't "fix" her bleeding, crusty, schmutzy eyes. OY! Fortunately, it appears we might have avoided all that surgery with diligent treatment from our phenomenal vet, Dr. Foy at Terry Animal Hospital in Rockville Center.

[4] Despite desperate economic times, I find that I am still me, still hopeful and optimistic (albeit a bit nervous about our finances). I KNOW that God will provide. I KNOW that the doors will open when and where they're supposed to. I also know in my heart, and am thankful for this knowledge, that there's a job out there for me when and if the time comes. As long as I'm willing and doing the footwork, everything else will follow. It WILL all be OK.

[5] Spring has sprung despite the foot of snow that was here and gone last week. The crocuses that were peeking out before that winter storm managed to survive the few days under a foot of snow and are blooming EVERY WHERE! Time to go out and play... Yeah! (Gotta love the NY graffiti at the playground, huh?)

No matter what your beliefs, I'm glad I have my faith to give me peace of mind. That's a good thing to have in the middle of raising my children. I'm always open to suggestions regarding how to stay grounded and focused on what really matters. How do you find sanity in these uncertain times?