Giving Thanks

If I were not so lazy, I would spend from now until Thanksgiving Day composing and editing a blog post about all the things for which I am thankful.  It would be beautifully written, full of tender verbal images of sweet, rosy-faced children behaving perfectly in every possible situation.  I'd be sure to include at least a paragraph about how fulfilling I find life as a single parent and how much opportunity there is for character-building in the fact that I have not received a single penny in child support in over three years.

And then I would remember that this is a blog, and it's about me, and I'd delete all the above and write the following:

I'm thankful for this blog, even though I have to self-censor quite a bit.  It's an outlet I wouldn't otherwise have, so I'm very grateful to be able to click over here and blather on without caring whether anyone reads, comments or cares about what I write.

I'm thankful for my children, even though they drive me batty almost every day.

I'm thankful for Facebook.  I can keep up with all kinds of things there that would involve me wasting my time reading tons of websites otherwise.  It's just about my one-stop shop for information about lots of things.

I'm thankful for my work, and that I am blessed enough to have a job that doesn't feel like a job.

I'm thankful to be able to homeschool my kids.  The more I learn about what goes on in the public (and parochial) schools here the more I am grateful for the freedom to let my children learn at home.

I'm thankful for my online friends, some of whom I've never met IRL.  They are an endless source of support and blessing to me.

I'm thankful for my faith, and for prayer.  Even though I don't always get the answer I think I want, I know that God knows what I need.

I'm thankful for being a single parent.  It allows me to practice patience and forbearance on a daily basis.  (To be perfectly honest, sometimes being a single parent is a huge pain in the tochis, and I nearly succumb to the stupid and pointless wish for someone to be a dad to these kids so I won't have to do it any more and could concentrate on being a mom.  Then I remember that I'd have to go back to "parenting by committee" and the feeling passes).

Oh, and I'm also thankful for hand-knitted socks, the ability to knit, my garden, our hens, the dog, a working radio in the car to which I can sing along, the ability to preserve my garden produce, and lots of other stuff.