Affermation on being thankful!

Please don't take this blog post as being preachy. I am writing it for myself to remind me to be thankful.

I am struggling with shopping. I am struggling with my weight loss goals. I am struggling with not eating foods I shouldn't.

I need to remember all the times my children were sick. The days and days of them feeling miserable and laying on the couch doing nothing but watching T.V. in a daze.

I need to remember all the trips to the doctors office. Repeatedly over and over for the same infection. More and more antibiotics that got stronger and stronger.

I need to remember that even the times my children were "well" they were sick. So many times we couldn't do something because Benjamin had a headache or just didn't have the energy to leave the house.

The countless loads of bedding I washed.

The medication my children use to take every. single. morning. I use to make little towers out of the pills and inhalers to entertain my children. Why did I think this was a good thing?

Benjamin's mood swings.

Benjamin's tantrums.

Benjamin pretending to trip over nothing and pretending that he was hurt just for attention (so I thought - yep, a lot of guilt over this one still).

Worrying that I was raising a sociopath.

The trips to the emergency rooms with 105+ fevers, and one trip with a really low temperature.

The nights I would lie awake worrying if this round of medication was going to work. What would happen if they ran out of stronger medication to give my children before they got better?

Sitting beside Zachary's bed watching him sleep because he was struggling to breath with asthma and pneumonia.

What do I have now? 

Zachary is 13 years old and is 5' 9" tall. In the last 2 years he has been on antibiotics one time for strep throat. He has no large patches of warts on the bottom of his feet. He doesn't have problems with nocturnal enuresis anymore. Zachary hasn't had pneumonia since 2012. Zachary doesn't take any medication. Zachary has gone from being obese to a healthy weight.

Benjamin is 12 years old and is 5' 5" tall. I really don't remember the last time he was on antibiotics. I would guess it is pushing 2 years. Benjamin only has mood swings and starts to loose control when he is reacting and then he recognizes it and asks for help. Benjamin is full of energy and I have a hard time giving him enough physical activity. Benjamin rarely has headaches anymore. Benjamin has gone from being obese to being on the skinny side. I make sure he gets as much to eat as he wants. BUT I do not encourage him to eat more (that one is hard for me - and, honestly, he isn't skinny it is just my distorted body image). 

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE.... In 2014 for the first time ever I didn't have to use all my vacation days for sick children and we got to go on an actual vacation. We went to Disney World.

I need to remember these things and let them motivate me.