For part 1: http://bethb09.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-part-1.html
For part 2: http://bethb09.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-part-2.html
15)
I’m thankful for laughter. Laughter truly is the
best medicine. Life is hard sometimes, but if you look hard enough, you can
usually find something to laugh about even if it’s at your own expense. Other
times (usually when I’m very tired), I’ll get laughing so hard that I’m crying
over something that isn’t overly funny. It’s quite therapeutic. I’m thankful
for a sense of humor. Having a sense of humor has helped a lot through our
journey. When you open a backpack just days post-injury and find half a dozen
pairs of socks…given to someone who just lost both legs, you can either laugh
or cry. Justin and I chose to laugh. When you’re shoe shopping for prosthetic
feet and it takes the whole family to get the shoes off, you can either get
frustrated or laugh. We laughed (while our friend took a picture of the spectacle).
Laughter doesn’t make the problems go away, but it makes them seem not quite as
bad.
16)
I’m thankful for all the amazing people that we’ve
had the opportunity to meet and become friends with over the past year and a
half. Sure, the circumstances that caused us to meet aren’t that great, but I’m
thankful that we met. The wonderful medical staff who took such great care of
Justin and took the time to get to know us on a personal level rather than just
being a number attached to a list of injuries. The other injured service
members and their caregivers who are going through the same or similar things,
dealing with the same red tape, experiencing the highs and lows that come with
situations like ours. They get it. They understand firsthand what we’re going
through and we understand what they’re going through. I’m thankful for the
people we’ve met who volunteer/work for the many non-profits and others we’ve
met because of those non-profits.
17)
I’m thankful for my hometown. It’s not a perfect
place, but I’ve never been to a perfect place, so that’s okay. There are good
and bad people who live there, but I’ve seen a lot more of the good ones. No
matter where in the country or in the world we’ve lived, it’s always been home.
Earlier this year when someone from the city called and asked if we wanted a
house, I was amazed, but the best part was when I found out that because of our
story, they’d be giving homes to 20-35 other families of wounded service members.
I’ve heard from other families like ours that they were rejected by non-profits
for adapted homes because they “weren’t injured enough”. That’s not how my
hometown is. They saw a need and found a way to meet that need – the need to
help wounded men and women who have served our country. There’s no matrix to
decide if a person is “hurt enough”. They just want to help. The city, the
Space Coast Paratroopers Association, the volunteers who help fix up the
houses, and the local business who donate the materials and labor all just want
to help. I wish other places were more like my hometown.
18)
I’m thankful for the AWANA program. For those
who don’t know, it’s a program for kids through local churches. I grew up in
AWANA and it helped me build a strong foundation for what I believe. The lady
who was my AWANA leader and Sunday school teacher played a huge role in my
choice to accept Jesus as my Savior. Now my son is in AWANA. He started as a
Puggle in our church in Georgia. Last year, he wasn’t able to be at AWANA most
weeks, but between our churches in Georgia and Florida, he managed to finish
his book. This year he missed the first few months due to being in Maryland,
but now he’s in FL for good and will be able to finish out the year more
normally than last year. He loves going to Cubbies and it warms my heart to see
how happy everyone was to welcome him back for good.
19)
I’m thankful for Ladies Night Out. I just went
to my last one as our time at Walter Reed is coming to a close. It was a lot of
fun as usual, but bittersweet in that I knew it would be the last time I spent
time with a lot of the ladies. I’m glad to be going home for good, but I’ve
made some great friends in Maryland that I will miss.
20)
I’m thankful for the beauty of God’s creation. I’m
not really into fishing like Justin is, but one thing I loved about going on
the fishing trips with him (aside from spending time with him and Corey) was
getting outdoors, away from the big city rush and enjoying the beautiful
surroundings. Seeing the beautiful green of spring and the colors of fall while
sitting beside a peaceful creek was therapeutic. Being able to breathe in the
fresh air without the sounds of traffic and construction was great. I love
sitting on the beach hearing the waves. I love the colors of the sunset
(sunrise too, but I’m not overly fond of being awake that early). I enjoy
seeing other people’s pictures of snow…if I was taking my own pictures I’d have
to be in the snow and that’s way too cold for this Florida girl!
21)
I’m thankful for my truck (though Justin would
say it’s his but I’ve put way more miles on it). Almost a year ago, with the
help of a couple grants, we were able to purchase a brand new truck. We have
two other vehicles, but they both have over 100,000 miles on them, and we
wanted something new with basically no miles that we could get adapted for
Justin’s needs. Our truck now has hand controls and a wheelchair crane so that
Justin can get where he needs to go without needing me or someone else to
assist him. For an active, independent guy like Justin, that’s huge. It’s also
pretty fun to drive and has some nice extras included that make long road trips
a lot more comfortable.
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