Be Thankful

Wow, what a day yesterday was. We had all of my family over for our Christmas......so there was 15 of us here, and I thought it was going to pour down at one point. But luckily we only got a few spits and it cleared enough after lunch. 

We had a BBQ and everyone ate too much so everyone was having a chilled out afternoon. Most of the kids and some of the adults went to the Lido for a swim and a slide, and it was fabulous. There was so much food, as we had forgotten to cook some at lunch time, so everyone stayed for dinner as well and some of the family headed off around 8pm. One of my brothers and his family were staying the night, so once we got the kids to bed,  we cleaned up and settled down to watch a bluray, but crashed out around 10:30. Boy it was a hot night and I woke up with a bleeding nose again around 2am. 


But, all in all, it was a fabulous way to spend the first day of 2011, and made think how lucky I am to have all I have, which ties in very nicely to the NAWLS Small Bites - Daily Inspiration.  

Be thankful.
Whether you admit it or not, you have many things to be thankful for, including weight loss surgery, which has given you the opportunity to overcome a devasting health problem.


Take time to feel how thankful you are for each poing lost and each clothing size, and how grateful you are to walk without breathlessness. 


Action for the day:
In your journal, begin a gratitude list to kick off this New Year. Today, write down at least five things for which you are grateful.

© 2007, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

Well this is interesting, I know that I have things pretty good, compared to most, but when I actually sit down to think about it, I struggled with being thankful. I think I was actually thinking too broadly in some respects and maybe even narrowing it down more would be better. 


So my list of 5 things is:

• Health - for the most part I have good health, sure I am on medication for my Auto Immune Liver disease and I am (or should be) gluten free, but realistically I have it really easy.  I am continuing to improve with the drugs that I am on, and being in New Zealand and under the health care service, these are relatively cheap for me to get. I look forward to my health continuing to improve over the next year. 
• New Zealand - I am thankful I was born and raised here in such a beautiful and peaceful country with not the extremes in weather that others have. I don't think I will truly appreciate how great it is to come from here until I have travelled or lived overseas, but for now I know enough to appreciate that I have it really good. Sure it is frustrating that we can't get so many products here, or that so many people I would love to meet are too far away for me to likely ever get the opportunity, but all in all, this is a pretty fabulous country. 
• My relationship with Simon. Sure we have times were we are not on the same page, but we compliment each other, and balance each other out.  We are generally on the same wavelength and I am thankful being able to continue my life journey with him by my side. I am sure that in the next year we will have some pretty amazing experiences, and that those at times will test us. But, we are pretty good at communication and working through issues, and I am thankful for that. 
• People I have met & continue to meet on my WLS journey. Over the past year I have met some of the most amazing people,both in person and online, who inspire me daily. Without them I know I would not be doing as well in this journey as I know that I need the support of others to bounce ideas off. Without some of those people the Meet & Greet never would have happened, as the whole idea came to me over coffee after one of our WLS Support Group Meetings. Now to turn some of those connections and ideas to the new organisation
• Change - I know that most people don't like change, but it is the one thing that you can truly rely on. Things change, and if you can learn to accept that and to accept the challenges that change brings, then you can pretty much turn every change into a postive experience in some way. I know this seems like a pretty odd thing to be thankful for, but honestly can you imagine how boring life would be without change. 
• Family - I was very lucky to have been adopted by two wonderful people when I was a baby, and brought into a family that is truly special. We don't get together often, but when we do we always enjoy each others company. Getting to watch the younger generation grow up and see how they are developing into the young men they will become is amazing and I have been really impressed with them. They are turning into sensitve and caring young men.  I also of course have my birth families, and although I am still getting to know them, I am thankful for these blossoming relationships and I know that by giving each one the time to move at it's own pace, will reap many rewards in the future.

So there you have it, 5 things that I am thankful for right now. I know if I spent some more time thinking about this, I would be able to come up with a heap more, but the day is calling and it is nearly lunch time and we are heading out to spend some of the vouchers we received from our family yesterday. Hope you are all having a relaxing start to the New Year.