On This Day I Am Thankful

At physical therapy yesterday my therapist told me I need to de-stress my life some. He thinks that the stress is part of the reason my muscles are in spasm. He says I carry my stress in my shoulders and neck. 

His advise? 

He asked me what I do to eliminate stresses in my life. I told him that I write and that's when he told me to write a stress table. He wanted me to put all of my stresses "on the table". Then he wanted me to write one way in which I can control or help relieve the stress from my life.

I don't exactly feel like writing about the stress in my life today. I still may revisit that idea and write my "stress table" out, but instead I want to write about things that I am grateful for. Things that bring me joy instead of going over things that bring me stress and sadness. 

I'm challenging myself to write down 20 things that I am grateful for. Everyone can come up wit 20 things so feel free to join in. In no particular order what-so-ever I give you~

On This Day I Am Thankful

1- My Husband- he is my rock, he is smart and funny and he knows exactly how to lift me up when I feel down. 

2- My Best Friend - who else would watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with me over text messages?  

3- My Family- Mom, Dad, Father in Law, Mother in Law, Brother, and Sister in Law- plus our extended family. They are all amazing and our parents truly are role models for us to look up too. 

4- My Dog- Swish is a mini doxie and he's such a cuddle bug. You always need someone to listen to you and he is the perfect listener- he never talks back

5- My Job- its not always butterflies and roses, but its a job with benefits and a paycheck

6- Our Benefits- They are a pain and I have to fight for what we have, but once I get passed fighting for them what we do have is amazing. Not many people have fertility coverage so for that I am very thankful.

7- Coffee- I don't over do it, but I truly enjoy that 20 minutes in the morning where its just me and my warm cup of coffee

8- Home Owners Insurance- We placed our claim with our insurance and lo and behold they are covering some of the repairs. As far as I am concerned that is a huge win! 

9- My Boss- She goes above and beyond helping me fit in all of my doctors appts and scheduling issues that go along with RE visits and timing issues. 

10- My Physical Therapist, Neck Specialist, and Primary Care MD- all of which have worked together to help my fix my neck. Its still a work in progress, but we're getting there and to be able to move my head is a wonderful thing. 

11- My Part Time Job- There is nothing like having patient contact. At my full time job I don't get to see the people I am helping, but when I get to go on the truck and work as an EMT I feel like I truly am making a difference. My PT job also lets me work as little as I want or as much as I need. 

12- My SDSSCKC Friends- I met this group of women on an online forum years ago and I know that no matter how far apart we are I have a friend in them! 

13- My Gram- I miss her dearly, but I know she is always with me. I talk to her all the time and truly believe that she comes to me in my dreams and comforts me. 

14- My Blanky- I've had this thing for 28 years. Yes I still sleep with my baby blanket -well sort of- my mom placed my baby blanket inside of a quilt she made me. There is nothing warmer or more comforting that my blanky.

15- My Temporary Ceiling- I will be much happier when they install a new one, but I am so glad that they put a temp ceiling up in the bathroom. Yesterday morning my bathroom was about 30 degrees and with temperatures projected to dip even further by the weekend I am so very grateful for the temp ceiling. 

16- My Blog Friends- I have become so close with many of you. I rely on you all for your words of wisdom and advise and for your abilities to commiserate with me when it comes to grief felt due  to infertility.   

17- My Nurses at the RE- There really are some amazing nurses there. They truly have hearts of gold and I know they are cheering for us. 

18- Anyone who have ever lent me a shoulder and had no idea what I was talking about, but did it anyway. This goes out to my friends who don't know much about IF, but continue to ask me about my cycles. Those that always check in on me and those that are rooting and cheering for us on the sidelines. 

19- My Cousin M- who has offered to donate her frozen embryos if need be later down the line. She has also offered up a shoulder and advice and opened her door to listen to me at any time.

20- My Health- yea I have some issues and I can't get pregnant easily, but all in all I am a healthy women who isn't fighting cancer or debilitating disease. How can I not be thankful for that blessing.