Day 65: Gratitudes for Friday, 6

I think I missed last week...perhaps that is why I had such a tough time seeing the positive of my experience this past week? Things that make you go hmmm...

1. Unexpected gifts & surprises. Today in the mail a package came for me. A completely unexpected surprise. I love surprises! It was a gift from my Aunt Marilyn (thank you!) who was thinking of me. She sent me a wonderful bath set...I can't wait to use it!!! Maybe tonight - well sometime this weekend Steve is herding the children away from me & I am going to take a very long soak in the tub. I can't wait!

2. My mother who is by far the most patient person I know and a great listener. She is probably shaking her head and saying no, but it is true. Growing up it seemed that no matter where we lived, what crazy house we had or what extreme weather we had to suffer through - my mom did not complain. To this day I have no idea what she really thought of the many different places that we lived; especially Saipan with the bugs, heat & typhoons. (For full disclosure she did mention once that she preferred Arizona's sky - where nothing obstructs your view - to Eastern Kentucky's sky - where mountains obstructed everything. My mom said the hills made her feel closed in).
She is a great listener because every time I have a mini-crisis (Post partum Depression, Fleas, Lice, Bed Bugs, etc...) she is always there for me to cry too. So many people tell me they don't know how I do it. Well, the secret is my mom. I call her up, cry and then move on with the work. Thanks, mom.

3. The opportunity the Lord gave our family to work together. One of my favorite movies is "Evan Almighty". In the movie, Evan prays to change the world. His wife prays the family can be closer. what ensues is hilarious, but also full of life lessons. Evan wants to change the world, but not just in the way God wants to do it. (BTW, when a character in a movie or book is suppose to be Heavenly Father do we still spell it with a capital letter, as in God, or do we use the lower case form, as in god?) God gives Evan what seems an impossible task and God also finds "fun" ways for Evan to become more concerned with others than with his looks.
On the other side, Evan's wife believes Evan is having a mental break down & is trying to destroy the family. What she fails to see is that the "new" Evan is working & playing with his 3 sons. God has a conversation with the wife (sorry can't remember her name) where he says that when we pray for patience He doesn't just give us patience, but opportunities to become more patience. When we pray to be closer as a family He will give us opportunities to become closer. The lesson helps the wife return to Evan & help him build the ark (like as in Noah's ark).
That is what happened with me. I have been joking that I feel like Pharaoh - a plague sent my way! But unlike Pharaoh I did not have any "people" to let go.
Monday, as we worked together and played together; I marveled at how well my children were doing. They didn't whine. They didn't ask for breaks. They moved at a slow pace, but they steadily worked until the job was done.
For a long time, I have wanted my children to learn the value of hard work, but didn't know how to do it - we don't own a farm, there are no cows or other barn yard animals to care for. But battling bed bugs is hard work. Moving is hard work. Battling lice is hard work. All things we did as a family in the last 2 years. I think it is safe to say, God heard & answered my prayer. I am thankful for that opportunity. I also sincerely hope that I can keep up the routine of "hard work" without any more plagues.

4. My children for being good sports through this whole bed bug battle. No one freaked out about bites, or bed bugs, or camping "in" (they have been sleeping down stairs & living out of plastic bags since last Friday), or all day work sessions, or even pulling apart their rooms 3 different times. They are great children and I love them.

5. A clean desk!!!! Things always get disorganized during the holidays, but I never cleaned up or recovered from Christmas because of the bed bug war. Today, was the first day, I felt I could take the time to clean my desk. It has been dusted and reorganized. It  is like an oasis in a desert, a breath of fresh air, like finding the missing piece to a puzzle...basically a little bit of heaven or piece of mind in a home that is still chaotic (although we are making slow progress back to normal).