Grateful

I woke up in the middle of the night last night to the sound of my hungry baby crying; a nightly occurence for the past eleven months. You'd think my body would be used to these wakings by now, but every night I moan as I pull my tired self out of bed to feed the baby. Last night when the baby was content and sleeping in her crib once again, I headed back to bed. As my head hit my soft fluffy pillow, and my feet slid into my warmed, smooth sheets, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the simple pleasures in my life.

My mind wandered back six years ago to the time our family lived in Tirane, Albania. I remembered the mandatory daily power outages every afternoon due to an energy shortage. The water was stopped every morning at 9 a.m. and didn't come back on until late afternoon because there wasn't enough water to go around. The avereage income was $100 a month which meant that anyone in the family able to work contributed to the household income. Families, which often included grandparents, were stuffed into tiny one or two bedroom apartments--kids had to sleep on fold down couches in the living room because they didn't have rooms of their own. Farms were run without farming machinery. Crops were cut with scythes and hay was stacked and twisted in the fields the old fashioned way.

During the year we lived in Albania, I never heard the people complain about any of these hardships. They were grateful people. Grateful that they had more to eat than they did 14 years ago when only cabbage could be found in the produce markets. Grateful for their health. Grateful for their families. Grateful for work. Grateful for their freedom after having lived under Communist rule for 50 years. Grateful for the smiles on little children's faces. Their gratitude made them a happy people and because of that they were an inspiring people.

Last night, pondering about Albania silently in my bed, I was inspired to be a more grateful person. I don't want to see the glass half empty. I want to see the glass half full and be grateful for that half instead of always wishing it was closer to the top.

As Thanksgiving approaches I have a lot to be thankful for. My goal is to show gratitude for my blessings, not just this week, but throughout my life. Tonight, instead of bemoaning the fact that I have to drag myself out of bed to feed the baby, I will snuggle her a little closer as I put her back to sleep because I'm grateful that she's alive, healthy, and sharing her life with me.