Attitude of Gratitude

 

An attitude of gratitude has long been a favorite mantra. A way to remember that life is full of blessings if we look for them. Today I am grateful for my family. My mom and dad had their struggles. Mostly around my father’s accident when he was thirty years old and the father of five children.

This meant my dad could not work as he spent time in and out of the hospital, then physical rehabilitation, and finally re-education. My dad was determined to get back to work when some people, including his own parents, wanted him to slow down and let the ‘system’ take care of him and his family.

Doctors told him he wouldn’t be able to walk.  He walked. With an odd gait. He walked. Meanwhile my mom, aged twenty-seven, was able-bodied so she went to work. There was no safety-net in Ohio for a mom of five kids with a disabled husband. And to make matters worse, Ohio workers’ compensation at the time did not pay my family while my father could not work. I don’t know all the details; I only know that we lived on my mother’s earnings. First, she flipped burgers and eventually landed a factory job.

Eventually my dad landed a job when I turned thirteen. My mom stayed in her factory job because there were still a lot of bills to catch up on.

My parents taught me determination, to work hard, to try my best no matter what obstacles were in the way, and to do it all with a sense of stoicism. No matter our struggles, we didn’t have to talk about the struggle. People only needed to see the outcomes.  Kind of like the old saying. “I don’t want to hear about the labor pains, just show me the baby.”

Anyway, today I am truly grateful for my mom, dad, and sister who are now gone. I am grateful for my three brothers who each, in their own way, make me proud to know them. I am grateful for my nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. I am grateful for aunts and uncles who created acceptance and open arms. I am grateful for the cousins I grew up with - they made me laugh. I am grateful for Megan, Jeremy, Caleb and Charlotte for helping to keep me young. I am grateful for my extended family – the group of friends that I chose as my family because they are solid, kind, ‘good’ people.

What are you grateful for today?