Thank you note

I'm thankful for:

1.Having a partner to navigate life with. Single parents have my unwavering admiration. I often wonder if I could do it and truthfully, I don't think I could. I mean I would do it if I had to but man, I would do a piss-poor job. As much as my partner makes me question his sanity sometimes and his sense of style all the time, I know he would lay down on the tracks for me and my children. I need that.

2. Having a few amazing women friends. Real friends. They are very few and far between. They know me and love me anyway. I can say really crazy shit to them and know that they get it. I can be irritable and cranky and hateful sometimes. They get it. If I call and say I want to sleep for 2 days straight, they ask me if my meds need to be tweaked. They know that a pedicure makes everything better. They know exactly the kind of book I would love to read. They know when I need to run away for a little bit. They know the kind of bullshit I hate. Thank you ladies.

3. Medicine. I'm thankful that modern medicine gave me 3 beautiful children. I would never have been able to have a family had I been born 50 years earlier. I'm thankful for psychopharmaceuticals. I would never be able to stay in this family without them. I'm thankful for chemotherapy. We have amazing victories because of the arsenal of chemo available today. I'm thankful for insulin. Marc stays alive because of it. So, brilliant people out there who are developing new and better medicine in their sterile labs- I thank you.

4. Education. The ability to learn and be taught. The ability to read. The fact that I could fill an entire planet with things I don't know but can pick up a book and get a rough idea about it. Then, if I wanted to know more, I can keep reading. That's an amazing thing.

5. Publix. Krogers. Target. They are so full of stuff. And I can go and get shit anytime.

6. Abundance of food. Though I have often complained about how food and I have a long, complicated, dysfunctional relationship- I am thankful that if I want pizza and diet coke, I can have it. If I want to invite 20 people over for lunch on Saturday, we have plenty of food. If we don't have enough food, see #5. Our cups runneth over.

7. A house. A messy, cluttered, out-dated and tacky house. It's ours. When it rains, we stay dry. When it's cold, we stay warm. When it's Africa hot in the summer and I want to murder someone, we stay cool. My bathroom is decorated like a 1940s brothel- but the toilet flushes and we always have running water. My oven is from 1962 and only the bottom one works but it cooks the shit out of a turkey. My kitchen walls have streaks of apple juice and dried up cheerios stuck to them but my children have eaten breakfast. My TV room is straight out of the Brady Bunch with wood paneled walls and tacky built in cabinets- but we have a TV room. I need to keep remembering this.

8. My job. I'm employed. I do what I love. I get paid for it. I learn every day. I've met the best people there. See # 2.

9. My children. They make me buckle my seat belt because I can't die in a car crash and leave them with a single dad. They would wear the most atrocious clothing and never brush their teeth. My kids make me get out of bed every morning and have a purpose. They make me laugh. They make me homicidal. They make me look forward to the future because I want to see their final product. I can't wait to see the kind of kick-ass people they'll become. So kids, save this blog to show to your therapist. It may explain things.

Thank you to the Spirit of the Universe, my Higher Power for giving me all these things. I am truly grateful.