Silver Linings...

I've always considered myself to be a pretty optimistic person.  I try to find the good in situations...all those silver linings.  That being said, it sure is easy to find things to gripe about.  And although I'm pretty positive, I find myself griping a bit too often.  I came across that poem, and it inspired me to be thankful for dirty dishes...and to find the silver linings in all of the other things that are usually so easy to gripe about.

**I'm thankful for my messy house.  Because although it never seems to stay clean, at least I have a safe haven for my family to live, laugh, play, and sleep in.  And even though it doesn't have a pool, a privacy fence, a game room, a side entry garage, or a guest room it has memories of holidays, birthdays, babies, and more!

**I'm thankful for wanting to pull my hair out.  My kids can drive me crazy and frustrate me like no one else on earth!  But they are such a blessing to me.  They provide so much joy and laughter to my life, and when I think about those couples who can't have kids, it makes me appreciate them that much more.

**I'm thankful for piles and piles of laundry.  Folding laundry is one of my least favorite chores.  It's just never ending!  But thankfully, the fact that it seems never ending means that my family not only has the clothes they "need" to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  But they also have the clothes that they "want" to play sports and fit in with their peers.

**I'm thankful for being exhausted and stressed out.  Inherent with being a teacher is 50+ hour work weeks, still having to bring work home, and the stress that comes with the classroom management of 20+ kids and their parents.  But this fatigue and stress is just a byproduct of a stable job with benefits that has helped to provide for my family...and has given me some wonderful friends, too.

**I'm thankful for having to roll my eyes and shake my head.  Any of you who know my husband know what I'm talking about.  :)  But as often as my eyes might roll, I'm smiling and laughing that much more.  I'm confident in knowing that I have someone to come home to who:  loves me, listens to me, thinks I'm funny, and thinks I'm pretty.

Now it's your turn to find those silver linings and be thankful for all of your gripes!