Good Things Come In Threes

Forgive me if I have said this before; I have the worst short-term memory!  But a friend of mine recently told me no one she knows is able to look on the bright side as much as me and I had shown her the bright side of a bad situation she and her kids got into in public one day.  Have you heard that saying that people may not remember what you did, but they'll remember how you made them feel?  If I'm not known for much, I'm very proud to be known for looking on the bright side and helping others to see and feel the bright side, too.  I was thinking about what she said and wondering why I am like that and why more people are not.  I found an answer for me: I look for and find silver linings because, sometimes, silver linings are all I have!  I am so grateful that in this economy, God has seen fit to provide us with what we need.  We have a roof over our heads, two cars with gas in them, working A/C, food in the fridge and pantry, clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, the hubs has a job to go to, all utilities are on, none of us are sick, we have family and friends who accept and love us, we spend everyday together, we laugh everyday together and we know how much we mean to each other.  And you know what?  If one or half of the things on this list changed tomorrow, my disposition would not.  I reap what I sew, people.  I say the occasional cuss word and call people on their shit but I also put out love and goodness and friendliness and do unto others as I'd have them do to me with no expectations.  And just when I thought my cup could not runneth over any more, I received 3 more blessings.

1. A week and a half ago, I received a call from a friend's husband.  His wife is celebrating a birthday soon and he wants to send her away for a weekend.  And as much fun as she'll have with a whole weekend of no cooking, cleaning or kids asking for this or that, she'll have even more fun with a friend.  So, he wanted to know if I would go with her.  I told him I would talk it over with the hubs and see if we could swing that weekend and he said something that almost made me cry on the phone.  He said, "The only thing I'm asking of your family is your time.  This is my birthday present to my wife and I am treating both you and her to this weekend."  I was so shocked.  I was so grateful.  It is something I could not have done myself.
2. A couple of days later, I was washing the dinner dishes when a friend called.  She decided to go to a movie at the last minute, was driving to the theater and asked if I wanted to come along, her treat.  The movie started in less than 20 minutes.  The hubs told me to RUN!  LOL  It was such a sweet thing for her to do and I really needed to get out for a laugh.  I'd had my cranky pants on all weekend!  We saw The Campaign and it was HILARIOUS!!!
3. My brother was on vacation for 11 days and returned to the area this past week.  He called Saturday evening and said he wanted to take us and my parents out to dinner last night since he hadn't seen us in a couple of weeks.  He's so sweet!  Neither the hubs nor I had to cook or wash dishes, we got to spend time with family over a delicious meal and we swapped dinner out last night for "Papa John's $5 Pizza Night" on our menu plan!  Win-win-win all around!

After we came home from dinner last night, the boys played catch in the alley while I walked laps.  It was so quiet!  Usually the hood is bustling with kids and animals.  But last night was the last night before the public schools started back today.  Everyone else was inside, laying out clothes, ensuring the bookbags had everything they needed in them, getting into bed, etc.  But we were outside, with full bellies, getting some exercise, enjoying the sweet, clean smell after the rain and the display of clouds moving away as the last of the sunset tried to poke through.

It just doesn't get any better than that and I am truly a blessed person with so many wonderfully, generous people in my life!