This Thanksgiving, Balancing Gratitude with Complaints

I have a confession to make:  I struggled writing this post.  It’s Thanksgiving, so naturally I wanted this week’s post to be about giving thanks.  I started writing about all the things for which I am truly grateful — my supportive family, my good health, my comfortable home, etc. — but I felt like a fraud.  The kids were fighting, my head was aching and my house was a mess.  Instead of being grateful, I was screaming at the boys, whining about a head cold and bitching about having to clean crumbs off the kitchen counter for the fifth time in one day.  The more I forced myself to write, the more I felt like a liar … So I stopped writing.

Then this morning I woke up, worked out and got over it.  I put on my big girl panties and moved on.  Some days suck and it is difficult to see the blessings through the bullshit, but deep down I know my life is pretty good.  I am lucky to have so much to complain about.  It’s all about perspective.  As bad as you think it is, it can always be worse.

Don’t get me wrong — this “revelation” doesn’t mean I’ll stop complaining.  Complaining is part of my charm.  Give me an hour and I’m sure I’ll have something to kvetch about (traffic, unruly kids, a stomach ache perhaps).  But at the same time, I’ll do my best to look for the silver linings.  For example:

• I may complain about not being able to see, hear or control my bladder, but I will be grateful for my health.
• I may groan about gray hair and wrinkles, but I will relish my maturity.
• I may moan about sore muscles, but I will be invigorated by my morning workouts.
• I may grumble about never-ending housework, but I will be appreciative of the roof over my head.
• I may whine about having to drive the kids all over Southern PA for practices and games, but I will feel blessed that they are healthy, happy and engaged.
• I may bitch about the mundane crap that fills my days, but I will be thankful for not having to work to make ends meet.
• I may bellyache about feeling under-appreciated, but I will be humbled when readers tells me I’ve helped them feel less isolated and more understood.

Bottom line: This Thanksgiving, I feel lucky.  Lucky enough to complain and even luckier that the people and things I was grateful for last year still hold true this year.  Today I’m going to hold on to that lucky feeling and try really hard not to complain about anything.  I’ll go back to complaining tomorrow.

– LJDT