Lots to Be Thankful For

So today I felt like I had a lot to be thankful for.   We were sitting at the British Embassy, under the shade of large tree, watching our kids play on a very clean and and nice playground,  where nothing was broken or in disrepair.   This was in the middle of a large expanse of lawn, where, if you didn't think about it, you could believe it was actually peaceful.  Listening carefully, the horns and sounds of traffic are always present, but at that moment, they felt far, far away.  This is where I began sinking into thankfulness. 

Here I was,  at the British Embassy, talking with moms from around the globe, and even a few dads, and of course, the Didi's who were caring for the children whose moms and dads were working, from around the globe.  How cool is that?  How awesome that I have time to just hang out with my kid, and watch him have a great time, learning to explore, feeling safe, having fun, using his body, interacting with other kids, and just getting to be a two year old?  I had absolutely nothing else that had to be done today.  I am waiting, yeah, I'm stressed about waiting, but in the meantime, it's me and him 24/7.   We had lunch on the lawn, outdoors, in a tank top and jeans.  It was warm.  And it was fun.  I was with DeeDee and Bina, my roommate and her adopted daughter.  Talking, relaxing, watching our kids play, playing with our kids.  Really, truly a nice day.

Other things to be thankful for besides my amazing kid and all this time we get to spend together:  I live in a great place, with a great roommate.  We have a generator so when the power goes out, we hardly feel it.  It comes on automatically, withing 10 seconds of the outage, so we don't have to worry.  I have hot water 24/7.  Not many people can say that.  My internet connection is incredibly good and consistent.  Not many people can say that either.  Our apt faces the sun so it's like we have solar heat with lots of windows, so when it get's cold we will still have mother nature on our side.  We have no big buildings around us (just a bus station and dump, haha!) so there is this illusion of space. Not many people can say that either.  I have great support here; amazing moms trapped in this country.  And I am making great friends!   I can afford to eat out if I want to cause it's not expensive, which is nice and handy and gives me the illusion of luxury.   I'm in a foreign country, I love to travel, it's massively different, I love culture, it's nothing like the US, and all of this I usually find intensely interesting.  So soak it up!  I don't have to drive.  I take taxis when I need to go somewhere, and otherwise I walk.  And I get to walk a lot cause we live in a super central part of town, close to all the things I like to walk to.  Nice.  I can carry my child on my back cause he's not too big and I'm still strong and in shape.  I've only been super sick once since I've been here!  I have a lot of free time, something I haven't had in years.  I am learning a ton about my child's country, culture and language, something I will be able to share with him.  I will have great stories for him about our time together here.   And I am learning incredible things about patience, perseverance, and tolerance; always a good thing.   I'm also learning to be a mom, in my child's country, where he is most comfortable, so that when he goes home with me, he will be well adjusted, and feel safe with me and familiar with my language, and some of our customs, which all adds up to way less stress and shock for him.  Amazing.   And OF COURSE, Sooooo thankful for all the donations and wonderful support from home that has allowed this entire process to take place and for this little boy to have a mommy who didn't have to leave him here in an orphanage wondering, while she returned home to wait and worry.

So in closing, and with Thanksgiving fast approaching, I guess Gratitude is the Attitude, that can turn a pile of shizit into a beautiful garden of roses.   There you go.  My very own pep talk.  Amen, and thank you ALL.