My Grateful Workout – Part II

My first post on “My Grateful Workout” ended with just five things…and there are so many, many more. It seemed like a good idea to just keep writing. So here we go with the next five.

6. I have a daughter-in-law that I adore. Amanda is a great partner to my son and an incredible mother to my grandson. She is part of our family in a way that I hope all of my future daughter-in-laws (from my remaining two boys) will be. I’ve watched the relationship between Amanda and Chris grow from a teenage romance to a mature sharing in the responsibilities of making a life together. She was with Chris in North Carolina during his time in active duty, and now they share a home in San Diego, five minutes away from us. I’ve talked to a few grandparents who have tedious relationships with their DILs. I am extremely grateful for my relationship with mine!

7. My grandson is five minutes away and I get to see him just about whenever I want. My grandparents were a huge part of my life as a child. My grandfather walked me to kindergarten and my grandmother was an amazing cook that had gravy ready at every meal. From the time I was born, I saw them on at least a weekly basis and I’ve always wanted the same relationship with my grandchildren. Zander is this tiny little guy that I will pretty much drop everything to spend time with. He changes from week to week and I don’t want to miss a thing. I’ve talked to a few parents that are estranged from their kids and grandkids. It would leave a hole in my heart to not have time with all of them. I’m grateful to have not only the access, but the time to spend, as my schedule continues to change.

8. Eric and I own our home (well, along with the mortgage company!) She is a cantankerous old girl with IPS – Irritable Plumbing Syndrome. She bears the scars of three rambunctious boys running through her hallway, or in some cases, climbing up her walls (thank you, Chris, for showing us that super-powers do run in our family!). Her front bathroom is missing a sliding door and she has a scorch mark on the floor in her front bedroom. We recently upgraded her with air conditioning and solar power, much to the frustration of our boys, who lived through many El Cajon summers in the heat. When asked why we waited, we replied, “Because we know how to close a door!” I love our house, in spite of her small 1340 square foot size. She is petite and homey, and provides an echo of our days when she was filled with kids carving pumpkins, sleep overs and family gatherings at Christmas. She provided a safe place for others during the San Diego fires and kept multiple young men from our church housed during their transition to single living. She has her bumps and bruises but she has earned her place my heart and is worthy of respect. We need to provide her much more care than we do and are in the process of giving her a much needed face lift. She has earned it.

9. I am at the age that my parents began having serious health issues and I was deemed PDH – Pretty Darn Healthy – recently by my doctor. I was shooting for a good-old-fashioned thyroid issue to explain my weight gain, but apparently, it was just good-old-fashioned overeating as the root cause. I have since made a decision to give up sugar and stop snacking, which resulted in a 25 pound weight loss. Go figure. My genetics are unfortunately stacked with cardiac and neurological issues. My mother passed away from having multiple strokes due to her hypertension and Type II Diabetes and my father is filled with stents and a 25-year old bypass. I’m hoping to get his cat-like nine lives since he has survived heart attacks, prostate cancer and chronic hospitalizations for his A-fib and blockages. My only health issues have been some skin cancer (which explains the large white target in the middle of my nose) and my intermittent bouts of depression and insomnia, both of which I keep a close eye on to prevent them from becoming game changers. I feel very blessed since I have friends that have not been as lucky with avoiding family health legacies.

10. I have a car that I enjoy driving. The boys and I spent several years on Welfare in which the bus was our typical means of transportation. I was grateful for those years, however, since the boys were free at that time and I could get our whole family somewhere for $1.25! Even now, on occasion, one of our cars has needed repair and we’ve been down to one car between us. Those times give me this odd sense of gratitude because I know when I get my car back, I’m going to have a renewed sense of appreciation for being a two-car family. My car gets us back and forth in our business and carries not only our work supplies but an occasional contractor working with us. She gets me back and forth to San Clemente to see Tommy and Santa Ana to see Matt. She keeps a car-seat base locked in the back seat for keeping Zander safe during his time with us. She has a few scrapes on her bumper but overall keeps us safe on the road.

And, yep…more to come. I have so much more to be grateful for. November seems like a good month to keep this going. I have been blessed with much. It’s feels good to remember that.

On a side note, I did start lifting weights again. Apparently there is a connection to gratitude and exercise. I’m enjoying fitting into some of my smaller clothes again. I still have a ways to go but am no longer feeling like I need a health issue to rationalize my protruding tummy. While I still am years beyond every having a six-pack, I’m grateful for my midsection shrinking to “smaller than a keg.”

And that will be at the top of the next list!