Thankful

There has got to be a million people blogging about what they are thankful for this season, but i am going to add my list to that list.  Mostly because i need to remind myself today.  
I am thankful for....

a best friend who can throw nothing away
ice cream
chocolate
a church that wants to make this world a better place
a job that i like to go to almost every day
hunger
pizza
doctors
SANE nurses
children who still give hugs in front of their friends
toilet paper
books
pain
cats
dogs
facebook
a paycheck
joy
cuddling on the couch watching movies on rainy days
girl brownies
love
acceptance
peace



 

I have the coolest job ever!  On any given day, I can see the worst of society and the best of society.  It's incredible to see the people who have really screwed up their life.  I mean really.  Not just a little bit - murder, rape - bad shit.  Then i see the people they hurt.  the ones who really believe they wont get through whatever it is they are being put through.  The domestic violence victim who is completely ripped apart.  The family of the murder victim who is torn into pieces. The rape victim who is shattered. These people really believe that they are done and empty.  I see them in ways they cannot see.  I see their strength.  I see the resilience.  I see what they will become after this storm is over.  The coolest thing is when they come back to me after a time and I get to really see what they have become.  How that person did not destroy them, but actually made their lives better in some way.  The strength of the human spirit is amazing.  The power people actually have inside themselves - INCREDIBLE.  (remind me of this the next time you hear me wondering what i am doing in this life.)

Disclaimer:  In no way do I intend for this post to get political.  I know it probably will, but that is not its intention. 

When I went to a training some time ago, one of the speakers was the ex-wife of the DC sniper.  She is an amazing woman and tells her story to people to help the fight against domestic violence.  That is what the DC sniper event was all about - domestic violence.  All directed at her.  Can you imagine?  Ok, so, fast forward to today.  The day before he is to be put to death.  I hear on the news, in every paper, on every internet site about his impending death and how much he deserves this.  He has committed a horrible crime and he needs to face the consequences.  Isn't that what we tell our children when they break the rules?  "Now, you must face the consequences."  Thing is... this time, this man, this father has three children.  Three children who he was an amazing father to for a few years before he went to a war.  Three children who will always love him.  Three children who are also "facing the consequences".  Three children who have been counting down the days until their father dies - is put to DEATH. This isn't "getting grounded, or getting their phone taken away" this is one of the most important people in their lives DYING.  They didn't do anything to deserve this hell.  They are paying a price for something so very wrong, but they had nothing to do with.  Can you imagine what these last few hours must be like for them?  Can you imagine being their mother and supporting them through this? 

Medicine Cabinet

I was cleaning out my medicine cabinet the other day.  What an annoying and tedious job!  Unfortunately, it had been far too long since i last accomplished this task.  Like, years...  I found, after pulling them all out, that each of them brought back a memory from a time in my life that was important to me.  Even if it was just important enough to know i never want to feel that way again!  Wierd how something so annoying can become a cool trip down memory lane!  There was the medicine that the doctor gave me when i felt horrible and had some kind of virus that i kicked before all the medicine was gone (thats what it says on the bottle, right??  Stop taking when you feel better.).  There was the medicine (this stuff could make me a rich woman on the streets now) that was for my son when we thought he had ADD....There is all the children's medicine (the good tasting kind and, ironically, almost full bottles of the bad tasting kind) that my kids are too old to take now.  There was that one bottle of medicine that had a myriad of different pills in it that I swore I would remember what was in it and when i put it there, but now, i have no clue.  There were the empty bottles of hormones and shots that i took before I got pregnant with Ann.  Then there was the medicines that I took when I was pregnant with her (or didn't take in some cases because I knew better than the doctor and those things should not be given to a pregnant woman!).  However, had I taken them, I may not have thought I would die of dehydration in the first trimester....Most of these medicines got flushed down the toilet, but the memories are still sharp in my mind....