Dear Universe:

Dear Universe, (Or God, Goddess, whatever term you prefer to use.)

I know I spend a lot of time complaining, crying, shaking my fist at the sky, begging and pleading for good things to happen to my family. Times are hard, and sometimes it all gets to be a little too much to deal with.

I just want to take a moment and say "Thank You." Things are far from perfect, or fixed, but even though we still struggle, I see the good things that are happening too.

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Thank you for the roof over my head, heat to keep us warm, lights and entertainment to keep us occupied and not sitting in the dark. Thank you for the food that we have. Thank you for the vehicle we have, even if it is running a little rough.

Thank you for my Jack. Even though we butt heads from time to time, especially when things seem impossible, he goes out of his way most days to show that he cares and loves me. He never gives me a reason to doubt him, and he is an excellent husband and a wonderful father. Alex is lucky to have a father who loves her more than anything, and shows it.

Thank you for my children. They struggle at times, and make bad choices, but it is all part of the learning process. Thank you for giving me smart and beautiful babies. No matter what happens, or where they are, they will always be my "babies" and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

Thank you for my parents. I made bad choices early in life, and they have had their moments as well, but good and bad, they helped shape me into the person I am today. Thank you for my Mother, who does her  best with what life has thrown her and defies the odds, and thank you for my Daddy, whom I miss so much. I wish I had more time with him, but I am so grateful for the time I did have, especially the last ten years or so.

Thank you for my friends, who have become family. I have never had a good relationship with my blood  siblings, but I was fortunate enough to choose those people whom I call sisters and brothers. Thank you for their kind and giving  hearts, their strong shoulders to cry on, their strong arms to lift others up when those people can't get off the ground by themselves. Thank you for their ears that never get tired of listening, and their minds that come up with everything they can think of to enrich the lives of others if they can, or direct them to those who can. I hope they consider me to be as good of a friend as they are to me.

Thank you for giving me each day to be here with these people who are so special to me. Thank you for giving us the means to survive one more day, even when it seems next to impossible.

Things may not always happen like we want, or expect them to, but I am still here, still chugging along, and will as long as I am fortunate enough to do so.

Thank you for giving me a life to live.

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