gratitude

This post is entirely for me and my battle with just being pleased with what I have.

Because, today it is definitely a battle.

So, here are things I am truly grateful for, especially today:

• My brothers. Each and every one of them. And I am grateful that I have them to hug and hold whenever I go home.
• A dad who is patient and kind and down to earth and tries to understand me. And succeeds. And then knows what to say to make me feel better and defuse my wound-up self.
• A mom who texts me the funniest, best stuff and helps me remember that life is to be enjoyed and that there are always people who love me.
• A job in the field I love most. Even if some days I am a baby about it, I totally understand the amazing opportunity I have in doing an internship for a successful, acclaimed newspaper. And to get my work published...I have more to be grateful for than I usually even realize.
• Grama Gena, whom I get to live with and hang out with every single day and who puts up with some of my late nights and my delayed grocery trips and my teen-drama television shows.
• A big, beautiful, warm house and a cozy room and bed of my own.
• The means by which I can buy food and never have to worry about starving at all [and even have some pretty great junk food].
• The best best friend I could ever ask for; the one who gets all of my stupidest jokes, who laughs at the things I say and do, who would love me no matter what, you makes me want to be more awesome, just like her.
• The Lord, who takes care of everything, even when I don't trust or care or pray enough. The one being who will never be capable of un-loving me, of not wanting me to be the best I can be, who will know exactly how I feel at every moment.
• The Gospel and the truths of salvation, love and peace that come with every bit of it. I am more blessed than I could have ever asked for, because of my upbringing and faithful parents.

So there. Now I, of all people, see how much I am blessed to have—and therefore, how much I have to be grateful for. 

I have no reason to complain. Ever.