Thankful

A while back I heard the story of 2 traveling angels. They stayed one night with a poor but nice family who were having a lot of troubles & spent another night with a wealthier and not-so-nice family who also had troubles. The junior angel was puzzled that the senior angel helped the wealthy family and not the poor family. The senior angel explained that things are not always as they seem and the poor family turned out in the end being blessed most of all. I don't really remember the story better than that, but I did get the lesson. Sometimes we should realize that the very things that annoy us are really blessings. My niece Gwennie sent me an email with the following that illustrates that very nicely:

I am thankful for the wife
who says it's hot dogs tonight,
because she is home with me
& not out with someone else

For the husband
who is on the sofa being a couch potato,
because he is home with me
& not out at the bars

For the teenager
who is complaining about doing dishes,
because it means she is at home
& not on the streets

For the taxes
I pay,
because it means I am employed

For the mess
to clean after a party,
because it means I have
been surrounded by friends

For the clothes
that fit a little too snug,
because it means
I have enough to eat

For my shadow
that watches me work,
because it means
I am out in the sunshine

For a lawn
that needs mowing,
windows that need cleaning,
& gutters that need fixing,
because it means
I have a home

For all the complaining
I hear about the government,
because it means
we have freedom of speech

For the parking spot
I find at the far end of the parking lot,
because it means
I am capable of walking
& I have been blessed with transportation

For my huge heating bill,
because it means
I am warm

For the lady
behind me in church
who sings off key,
because it means I can hear

For the weariness & aching muscles
at the end of the day,
because it means
I have been capable of working hard

For the alarm
that goes off in the early morning hours,
because it means I am alive

And
I am thankful
for the crazy people
I work with,
because they make working interesting & fun!

And, finally,
for too much email,
because it means
I have friends who are thinking of me

P.S.: I even like the tags at the bottom of the email. One reads: "Live well, laugh often & love with all of your heart!" The other reads: "Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is SERIOUS!" (I may have to take one of these as my blog motto!)