An Attitude of Gratitude

Thank you, dear Viva, for this marvelous reminder to always count our blessings and to cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." We do indeed have so much to be thankful for!!! What a wonderful prelude to Thanksgiving this year May we have eyes to see the miraculous in each and every day.

Thank you so much for sharing! Yes it would be very easy to dwell on the fact that I am 52 yo, living with my parents, working for minimum wage. Lost most everything is the real estate market (as a realtor). Not living in the big city as I prefer.What I chose to focus on is the fact that I am finishing my pre-reqs this quarter hoping to start NS in the fall. My maternal grandmother (the best nurse in the world) is looking down and is very happy I am becoming a nurse. I am in a position to be around to help my aging parents both physically and financially. I work nights as a security guard which allows me plenty of time to do homework. I am healthy and thanks to the VA don't have to worry about medical concerns.My prayer this morning was the same as it is every morning, very simple.God, please help me to be the man you have always meant for me to be;A good son to YouA good son to my parentsA good brotherA good uncleA good friendWhen the time is right, a good partner to the right SOI am just rambling now, Oh by the way, it is November 22 and it was 80 and sunny in Augusta, GA today. Can't ask for much more.

It was a tough year for you and me both but we survivied a live to fight anotherr day!! God bless you and your family G'ma!! You are truly a source of inspiration and light when I am having a tough day caring for my husband or dealing with everyday challenges! I hope to meet you someday and personally hug and thank youfor all your positive energy and kind words. You hopefully have some idea of how much your allnurses family love and care for you and yours! Happy holidays!heartbeat

Thank you so much for your words of wisdom. If I could only remember this each and everyday.

Yes Marla, we love you dearly here at Allnurses. You have been a true inspiration to us. Happy Thanksgiving.

Hi viva, im glad you seem like your in a better place now. I always like to read your posts, there is something warm about you and the way you carry yourself. Enjoy your holiday..... You deserve it!! I myself am hoping to find some luck and happiness. I have been struggling financially for a year and a half now. My unemployment benefits have run out without being able to find a stable job to replace them with. Im a single mom and its hard for my daughter, who will be ten next week, to see her mom struggle so much. I hope to find the light at the end of the tunnel before it burns out for good. I pray for help and a miracle but it hasnt found me yet. I guess I will keep moving forward in hopes of some financial help and maybe a good supporting job.Thanks for being you, and goodluck with the family and your job.

Well written. I am grateful for my family and for our health.

Thank you all for your kind words. I am humbled and very, very glad that some of the small contributions I've made over the years have made a difference in the lives of others. That's just about the best feeling in the world! :heartbeat

Thank you so much for writing this. It is easy to forget to have an attitude of gratitude. Whether in good times or bad. With faith there is hope. I pray that people who are in despair find the hope they need to continue and that they will find that "perfect job" or any job and that they will find the foothold they need to keep going, just the way you have. Bless you and your family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for sharing your very personal and very inspiring story. Nursing is more than a job or a career, but rather it is a passion that drives every nurse to strive to touch the lives of at least one patient. Making a difference is what makes the true difference in the lives of nurses. May God Bless you and your family, and may faith continue to strengthen your will to persevere. Happy Thanksgiving 8)

Thank you for a beautiful, inspirational post.I, too have had a difficult year. In Feb. I resigned from a job I truly loved to travel back to FL to care for my dying Father. His smile when he got to come home was worth a million dollars to me. And after his death and returning in mid-April to my own life, my mother's cancer started to progress and she went down quickly. She came to live with me in TN in July after many falls in her own home. The job search, I had been on since mid-April remained fruitless....little did I know God's plan was for me to be my Mother's nurse. On 10/26 after many warnings from home health, then Hospice and of course me, she fell for her final time breaking her hip. Her cancer made her a very poor candidate for surgery so she decided against it. I stopped searching for employment and concentrated only on caring for her. This week she has become semi-comatose for the most part. But,this evening she opened her eyes when she smelt my turkey dinner delivered by my beloved neighbor. I asked if she wanted to eat, she said no.."Dad already brought my dinner to me" I asked if he stayed to eat with her, she said no, he said he would be back. Then she closed her eyes and drifted back into her sleep. I know she may go with him anytime now but she is happy and comfortable. And I am very thankful to have the ability and resources to have cared for my Dad and now my Mom. I was blessed in 1992 to care for my husband while raising two children and working full-time. He became bedbound on Friday evening after I was done seeing my patients and passed the following Tuesday early am....allowing me to be there every minute.I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you all have much to be Thankful in your lives. God Bless all the caregivers in the world, regardless of title or license. Your level of LOVE puts each and everyone at the highest place in the world. God Bless.

Your blog is very inspirational, Vivalasviejas. I'm also a believer of "God puts us exactly where we are supposed to be, not necessarily where we want to be." Goodluck to you!