I'm also trying to be more positive, as I look back at all the "yuck" 2012 dealt us:
- Broken dryer
- Dead central a/c during the hottest Michigan summer in recent memory
- Dying a/c in my car
- The unplanned and untimely need to replace tires on my car in November after running something over
- The planned for but unexpectedly expensive tires for husband's truck
- Replacement of head gaskets in my car
(I'm starting to notice a "car theme"...)
- Husband's truck needing new "stuff" in the engine (his 2008 truck has 200k miles due to his job)
- And most recently, YES, and other car issue: The day after Christmas (just last week) my 19 year old son, who does not like to drive much and has virtually no snow road experience (thanks to last years' virtually non-existent winter), rolled my car after losing control while driving in the snow.
Then I started thinking. Why dwell on the crap that came in 2012?? I have so much to be thankful for, and I think it's easy to lose site of what matters.
The dryer, while a pain for several days, was fixable... and not horrifically expensive. The a/c issues are convenience issues. Those will work themselves out in time. Car maintenance and repair are small prices to pay for the convenience of being able to have cars. And as for my son rolling my Equinox last week... we are extremely lucky. No word yet from the insurance adjuster on their course of action, but the car sustained very little damage, given the fact it was laying upside down in a ditch. So we're hopeful they will repair it and not total it out. But we are most thankful for the fact my son had his seatbelt on and walked away from the accident with just a couple bruises.
We have three healthy, goofy kids.... which we often take for granted. The above-mentioned 19-year-old came within a hair of making the Dean's list this semester at Michigan State, and the other two are on their school's honor rolls.
Too many parents had to plan funerals for their little ones this year. Too many watched as their children fought and lost battles to cancer and other illnesses. There's too much real pain and suffering all over this world to be uptight over tires or an air conditioner.
Happy New Year. May your 2013 be a blessed...
