There is a lot.

I count my blessings every single day. It is also something I try to instil in my son. Every night before bed, he lists the things he is grateful for. That list tends to be the same night after night, with good food ranking at the top. This is ironic, as his mother is a terrible cook who hates thinking up dishes for a picky eater. Mom and Dad, sunshine (we live in South Africa), school, health, and all blessings received every day. He is only eight; he will learn how to name these blessings in time.

My list

Now, I have learned, in my long life on earth, not to take things for granted. I am as grateful for the little things in my life as I am for the more significant things. My list is long, and I will not bore you with it. I want to show you the flip side, the ‘even though’ parts that sometimes make it hard to remember why I am thankful for it in the first place.

In no specific order

• My husband  (who waited 15 years to acquire me), even though he works abroad, and we don’t get to see him much. He is my greatest cheerer, a great dad, and interrupts me constantly.
• My son: a beautiful, witty, healthy boy of eight who hides a teenager in his tiny body and sometimes sends out said teenager to pull the rug from under my feet. My son and I talk a lot, and we laugh a lot. He makes this horrible face and then says, in a deep voice, ‘ Muvver, can I open the presents now, Muvver?’ I have no idea where he got it from, but it makes me laugh for hours.
• Our dog: a rescue (we got her when she was seven), who follows me everywhere but is so antisocial that we can’t take her anywhere except for a drive. She reminds me daily when it is time to fetch the boy from school.
• My job, even though I don’t have one yet. I recently started freelancing, and, yes, well, that. But I have the support to follow my dream of writing full-time. The rest is up to me.
• My age, even though I am not as wise as I was at 26. Age has given me the ability and grace to say, ‘whatever’, without sounding like a pouty 16-year-old.
• A sense of humour, even though I often only think of something funny to say long after a conversation, and I am never the funniest person in a room (unless I am on my own). But I can make fun of myself and my quirks and don’t mind others doing the same.

The other side

As I said, the list is long. These are just a few things I want to share. You see, we can always add a ‘yes, but’ or an ‘even though’ when talking about things we are grateful for. Conversely, we can do that with a list of annoyances as well:

• My husband constantly interrupts me but loves me more than anyone else could.
• My son, who is far too wise for his own good and has to have the last word, never leaves me alone, although he is the light of my life and wants to spend time with me and share his passions.
• Our dog, who flops herself on the ground wherever I am, is often why I stumble, but like my son, she wants to be close to me.
• My lack of lining up gigs and getting my sh*t together because I keep wanting to know more and be better prepared. (I have, however, stopped reading every post, every blog and every website telling me how to become a successful freelancer. It was all getting too much. I have unsubscribed from 95% of the newsletters I received. There are a few writers I follow because what they say makes sense, and it’s not just a repetition of everything everyone else is saying. I am learning to prioritise.)
• The challenges that ageing brings, like having a head of nearly pure white hair and being mistaken for my son’s gran sometimes or being asked for my pensioner’s card. On a good day, I deal with it. On a good day. To prevent this, I stay home and try to get stuff done.
• The fact that I don’t always have someone around who gets my humour (husband), and once I have explained my joke or why I found something funny to an 8-year-old, it’s not really that funny anymore. However, it teaches him (son) to look at things differently, in a roundabout way.

Laughing all the way to the bank

If only! I am not sure why that is my H2. As often, I start writing about one thing and say more about something else. That is alright, though. I am my own editor…obviously.

Please take away this: find the humour in everything, every day, in the things you are thankful for, and in those things that drive you insane. It lightens the load and brings those around you even closer.

‘Muvver, can I open the presents now, Muvver?’

Intrepidly,