"I Get To" Tuesdays

The thought behind this is to list a few things that could come under the category of "Ugh...I have to (you fill in the blank)." However, I want you to look at these "have to's" as blessings of "I get to". We all take for granted such things as our health, jobs, family, friends, etc. and sometimes don't appreciate them or see them as blessings as we should. So here are a few things for me this week.

I probably should have prefaced last week's "'I Get To' Tuesdays" post by explaining why my "I get tos" have more meaning for me now than when I first began listing them. Originally, I started this because when I saw the trials of others, I knew I should consider the mundane or the irritations in my life as blessings rather than taking them for granted or wishing they'd disappear altogether. Now, after having gone through the past year, I appreciate these ordinary things even more.

Being pregnant at 46 was much harder than being pregnant at 30 and 32! The "morning" sickness was about the same, but once the baby and my belly began getting bigger, the harder it became for me to get around or to do everyday things. The bigger I got, the slower I walked and the more I huffed and puffed. Going up and down stairs was the worst. We only have one bathroom in our house and it's upstairs!

I was told early on in my pregnancy not to lift anything heavy. I couldn't lift laundry baskets, so my husband and boys had to take all the dirty clothing to the laundry room for me. If they brought the baskets of clean clothes to me, I could fold everything while sitting on the couch or on my bed. I couldn't empty the kitchen trash can let alone lug the trash outside to the cans by our garage. We have a portable dishwasher that has to be pushed over to the sink and hooked up to the faucet. By October, I could no longer do this. I also couldn't vacuum because that motion really bothered me. I couldn't walk our dog, take him to the vet for his check-up, or even play tug-of-war with him. (The poor guy kept bringing his tire to me and bumping me in the belly with it!)

My husband works from home and one of our three bedrooms served as his office. With the baby coming, we had to play musical bedrooms. My husband moved his office to the attic (which had to be cleaned out); he & I moved our bedroom into his old office; the boys moved into our old bedroom; and then we made the boys' old bedroom the new room for the baby. As you can imagine, I was of no help, so my three men had their work cut out for them.

In November, the day before my 47th birthday to be precise, I began getting sick. My doctor said I had an ear infection and put me on an antibiotic, but it didn't help. I ended up with congestion, clogged ears, and a cough for the remainder of the month. I was pretty much in bed for the entire month. Then I went into labor on November 28th...3 weeks early!

Between being sick and then having a c-section, I was out of commission for almost 10 weeks! Recovery from a c-section at 47 is a lot harder than at 30! During those weeks, the only time I left my house was to go to the doctor or to the hospital. I didn't drive at all during this time, so my husband had to take me to all of my appointments.

As you can see, I have every reason to be thankful for being able to take part in the ordinary, even boring, details of everyday life! So, in light of this past year, I'm thankful that I GET TO:

• Do the dishes
• Do the laundry
• Drive to the grocery store by myself and push the cart around the entire store without having to rest
• Run up and down the stairs every time I need something (or have to use the bathroom!)
• Take out the trash
• Cook & bake
• Walk the dog
• Scrub the tub
• And MANY, MANY MORE DULL, PAIN IN THE NECK TASKS...PRAISE GOD!!!

Remember, try to find the blessings in your "I Have To's" and turn them into "I Get To's"! Please feel free to post your own "I Get To" list and link up here. I would love to hear how you're being "blessed" this week!