After a rough weekend, and some soul searching on my part, I find myself today deciding to be thankful. My wife this morning called me out for some negative statements that I made and said “Negativity breeds negativity”. You know what, she is right. Focusing on what is wrong, and the things that may not be going right leads to feeling bad about everything, and only noticing the bad. I wrote yesterday about random acts of kindness, and how they have blessed and lifted us over the last couple of days. We have so much to be thankful for, and today I am going to choose to focus on that.
I was standing in our kitchen this morning looking out the sliding glass door that overlooks the back side of our farm. Our house sits well off the road, on top of a hill, so we have views of all of the homes and farms around us. The neighbor’s cows were eating in their pasture along our back fence line. Our own sheep and goats were happily munching on the grass in their own pastures. The sun was just coming up, and the sky was beautiful. I could hear the chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys all welcoming the morning with their own song. (I could also hear the guinea hens…but…well…their “song” is less than appealing!!!) I was struck that we really are blessed with a beautiful setting in which to live. And for that I am thankful.
I got married much later in life than many people do, so for a long time I wasn’t sure that I would ever have a wife and possibly kids. When I met Sandra and fell in love with her I realized that not only would I end up with a wife, but four step-children as well. I honestly wasn’t sure what it would be like marrying in to a package deal. I had been single for so long. To make the transition to being a married man is a big change, but to do that AND become a parent to 4 children at the same time is a HUGE change. Now, almost two years in, I can say that I have an absolutely amazing wife, and she and my step-children are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Yeah, we have our rough days just like everyone else, but all in all I have it pretty good. And for that I am thankful.
Given our location in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY, we are surrounded by farms. This gives us long season access to a plethora of absolutely amazing produce. If you ask my wife, one of my favorite things in life is a great big salad or a platter of fresh cut veggies. I could very easily eat vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner and be completely content in that! The ability to attend produce auctions and buy produce at the peak of its ripeness is one of my favorite things. My wife says that pretty veggies make me happy and she loves to see the smile on my face when I buy something that I am particularly excited about. And for that I am thankful.
Tonight when I get out of work at one of our local ER’s, I will have the next 3 days off. My wife and I are actually both off together tomorrow, so we are going to take the opportunity for some much needed family time. Beyond that, the next couple of days will be spent taking care of things around the house and farm, and going to a couple of auctions to buy produce and sell some of our livestock. I will have time with my wife and our kids doing the things that we love. And for that I am thankful.
My wife is absolutely right. Negativity in our lives breeds negativity. Just because some things are not going well, doesn’t mean that nothing is going well. It is important to focus on the positive things. My wife is a wise woman. And for that I am thankful.