Stop waving that diaper around, I’m not expecting one of those blessings. Sheesh, I’m still trying to figure out how to finish the last two projects I was sent. I’m talking about those blessing we don’t realize are blessings until after the fact.
After a difficult challenging year, I decided to take a moment to count my unexpected blessings, because when they first arrived, they were not greeted with Joy and Enthusiasm, more like they were met at the door by Worry. Worry is a nice enough guy, but he can do a real number on you, your confidence, and your outlook.
So here goes the countdown:
Quick review of events leading to our countdown. We lost Mr. Garden Gnome (our dad/dad-in-law/granddad) to the evil minions of cancer. Three weeks later Knight was involved in a car accident, he luckily walked away from but it left our steel steed in unfixable pieces. Three weeks, one day later we lost our faithful Hellhound after 11 beautiful years. Three weeks after that, Knight, Prankster Due and I moved into our humble abode, while Mrs. Garden Gnome moved in with our Herbalist Sisters. And three months later, after 18 years with a specific company, my position became the victim of a “workforce reduction”. Time to hook up with Worry.
UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS:
- Knight and I realized that we could indeed scale back and still maintain the lifestyle our Prankster Duo is now accustomed to, while providing the little things we didn’t want them to lose. This required a bit more forethought and planning, but was completely doable.
- This served as a reminder that my self-worth should not be tied to a paycheck. Regardless if you earn a regular financial deposit, a mother and wife and self-employed business person is worth their weight in much more than gold.
- Time management should not be taken for granted, and that hour you decided you have, tends to bring friends like two, three and four and before you know it, you’re day is filled. Being busy is a good thing, but being too busy is not, which leads to…
- Taking time to talk to your mini-you’s is hugely important, and do it while you can, because soon they will be out on their own adult adventure and you’ll wonder why you didn’t take five minutes to discuss their idea of why socialism might not be such a bad idea in today’s government, or why does the female half of the population have to act silly around the male half they’re trying to impress. Don’t they get that the male half will be impressed if they’re honest about being smart? (Yep, I had some very enlightening conversations with my Prankster Duo during the last eight months. Some serious, some silly, each one you couldn’t pay me enough to miss.)
- You re-learn to appreciate the simplest things, especially when everything around you feels as if it’s spinning out of control. Remember to breathe. Remember to try, because whether you fail or succeed, at least you tried and that’s better than never attempting it.
- I decided to pursue an opprotunity I would never attempt if I had not found myself with time on my hands. Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions was born and is still growing, and I learned just how much I enjoyed editing and helping other writers.
- We were rescued by our beautiful and lovely Fur Minxes, who brought the fur love back to our home. There is joy in being rescued by an animal, when you get two, it’s double the love.
- You’re never too old to learn something new. Something I discovered when I published my collection of short stories all by my lonesome. However, the flip side of this lesson: I am eternally grateful for my publishing houses and all that they do, because man the amount of things they’re juggling for me and their other authors: mind-blowing.
- Changing “day jobs” at the mid-point of your life, is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it may be exactly what you need to move to the next game level of life.
- And most important of all, I realized why I adore my Knight unconditionally. There’s a reason your partner is called a “partner”, and their support through all of the ups and downs becomes the foundation you lean on when Worry begins to nag and shift your foundation.
So while trying to identify these unexpected blessings while you’re battling your way through the hazy fog and trying to dodge Worry and his incessant nagging, may be especially hard, stop for a minute and look around. Those little flickers of light through the haze, reach for those, hold them close, because they’ll help you find the path through. Before you know it, you’ll look back and realize you made it.
