Blessed and don't even realize

I think I've said before that I've kept a thankful journal off and on throughout my life, especially as a parent... but this week I thought I would blog it instead of a journal entry...

As we checked into the emergency room for the 2nd time in 3 days, we were asked a series of questions....

1. Do you feel safe? 
2. Do you feel safe to go home today? 
3. Do you have any restraining orders that we need to alert security? 

Those questions obviously have to be asked because there are these problems.  A world I know nothing about, really.  

While I waited for Hunter to get his xray - I was standing in the hall overhearing a social worker trying to explain to someone that they can give them a way out - they don't have to go home.  The police had brought her here to protect her as well as treat her injuries, but that she had a choice to get out. 

I was knee deep in helping Hunter and helping him work through his pain, yet I realized we have it so easy.  Our home is a safe place (unless I'm on a rampage if you get my drift... :)), never in fear of being hurt let alone my kids being hurt.  A grave reminder that someone ALWAYS has it worse than you..... 

Granted, it was agony to see my child hurt for 6 days straight and in pain worse than I've ever seen him -- but it was 6 days, some of you or others have weeks, months, years of watching those you love in pain.  

Then as you watch, some of these kids have parents that don't have a clue, are too distraught in their own issues to focus on their kids while the kid is obviously sick, hurt, in pain -- the parent is not invested.  Sad in a whole other way.

This led me to remember my thankful journal, that I need to pull it out again, that is needs to be visible, that no matter what we face in this minute or even tomorrow, there is MUCH to be thankful for... 

Is it easy to go through struggles? No -- a few days this week sucked.  Literally sucked.  It's ok to cry (when he wasn't looking) and it's ok to say it's not ok ---- I felt better when I acknowledged it and didn't have to say it was going ok when it really wasn't.  But once I acknowledged it and let myself feel it, at about the same time I told myself to keep it in perspective --- someone else was dying of hunger, someone else was losing a loved one to cancer, someone else had an accident.  I was able to hold my baby boy (not literally as he's way taller than me) and comfort him, reassure him we were going to get to the bottom of this. That in itself is something to be thankful for.  

Today I'm thankful for the doctors and nurses that study, work hard, have empathy, return my phone calls, put up with my 1,000 questions, concerns, ideas.  And I'm one in thousands that they do it for.  Thank the Lord we live in the USA where we have doctors, choices of hospitals, care whether I can pay for it today or not, technology to figure out what was wrong, medicine to correct it and ease his pain, medical staff that cared about his modesty, his well being.  

How's that for my thankful list for the day?  And at this moment, VERY thankful for a husband that comes home in 1 sleep!! :)