I am thankful for...

I have mentioned before that we don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving (second Monday of October here in Canada). But I guess in a way we do. Although we just stay home, we cook something special like spaghetti and chicken (in lieu of the turkey).

The younger kids would bring home a paper cut out of a turkey and for wings, they would cut out strips of paper where they wrote down the things that they were thankful for.

This year, Ryland’s says:

I am thankful for…
- the food
- my bed
- my eyesight
- that I get a lot of love (Aww!)

You see, I always remind my kids to finish what’s on their plate and that they shouldn’t complain if they don’t like what we’re having for dinner. How many times have they heard me say, “You’re lucky you have food to eat. There are many kids in other countries who barely have anything to eat.” Sometimes I feel guilty nagging them like that especially when my voice gets stern and my youngest one starts to cry. And I guess this is the reason Ryland is thankful for the food.

I know he loves his bed. His mattress is the newest one in the house. We bought it two summers ago when we replaced his old soggy bed, the coils of which were poking his back.

I just love that he said that he’s thankful for his eyesight. For the last two years this child has been on the borderline of wearing eyeglasses. I just got an appointment with his optometrist for next week because I think it’s time for him to wear spectacles. Last year he said that the priest was blurry when we were at church. He’s not seeing clearly and yet he’s still thankful for his eyesight.

He’s thankful that he gets a lot of love. If that doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what will. I’m glad that he feels that way because he is surely surrounded by love.

I am constantly amazed at how my children pick up the little things that I say or teach them. I always try to instill in them that they should be thankful for the things that they have.

I, myself, used to fret about things. Like the time I contacted my high school classmates in 2002. I was jealous of their jobs especially this one classmate who is a successful CPA (Certified Public Accountant). I was a CPA back home but I wasn’t able to pursue the career when I migrated to Canada. On the other hand, this classmate, who longs to be married and have kids, was envious of me. I then realized that I have a decent job as a benefits examiner, a comfortable life with my husband and these three wonderful children and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

In spite of this realization, I still find myself complaining and fretting. About people getting promoted at work and how I am stuck in my position because I chose to work at home. But of course I don’t regret choosing to work at home because of the reasons I’ve mentioned here and in Confessions of a Work-At-Home Mom.

Every now and then, I complain about my twin size bed. About how small it is and how I am always at the edge because my husband hogs the bed. Until I realized that he just wants to be closer to me and there I am trying to distance myself just so that I could get enough sleep (wink). How lucky am I that I sleep with someone who loves me. Some people don’t. How lucky am I that I have a soft (even though it’s creaky) and warm bed. Many people who have been hit by the hurricanes don’t have a bed to sleep on or a roof over their head.

I guess Thanksgiving is a day that has been set aside so that we could reflect on the things that we are thankful for. Thank you, Ryland, for reminding me.