Hey everyone! Welcome to the 43rd segment of my fictional story When Life Hands You Lymes. In this segment Madalyn is trying to think of things she’s thankful for, so I figured I would give it a try too; because like Madalyn I have practiced thinking of things I’m thankful for, especially during those long days when I was sick.
So I set my timer on my phone and then tried to think of 25 things I was thankful for as fast as I could, typing them out as I went. The only problem was, if I had thought about it before I started my timer, I wouldn’t let myself use it. For instance, I thought, I can say I’m thankful for my family and my dog, and… So, I couldn’t use any of those things and it made it a bit harder. Anyway, I got 28 things in 59 seconds, so I thought that was pretty cool. 🙂
Alright, that was random, but I thought it would be cool to show that Madalyn is doing something that I’ve done quite often. Now, onto today’s segment:
My day with Katie and Darrick was one for the books. Or at least that’s what Grandma would say. I’m not totally sure what that means, but I know it’s a good thing. After breakfast we headed out to a hiking trail our family enjoys and hiked until almost lunch time, then after lunch we went to an out-door concert I had been wanting to go to ever since I found out about it the week school let out. By the time we arrived back home that evening I was tired but thrilled to the tips of my toes.
That night I wasn’t able to sleep again, but I was too happy to get upset. Instead I nestled down in my blanket, put my phone brightness on the dimmest setting and texted Jason who was up late studying.
Texting with Jason is pretty cool. I know of a lot of older brothers, especially ones who are in college, who don’t take time to hang out with their little sisters, but Jason has never been like that. He always makes me feel like I’m the most important person in the world when I’m around him. I’m able to tell him stuff that I don’t feel like telling anyone else.
Grandma is always pestering Jason about when he’s going to get a girlfriend. Even though he’s only 22 Grandma thinks he needs to settle down and get married. I guess that has something to do with Grandpa and Grandma getting married when they were 18 and 19. I can’t imagine getting married that young. That would mean I had only two years before I needed to get married. Crazy. I know it works for some people, but I’m not one of them.
And Jason? Jason is too focused on his schooling to get married right now. At times I wish I was half as focused on my schooling as Jason and Katie are on theirs (Katie does courses on-line), but when I said something about that to Mom, she laughed. “You’re doing just fine in school Maddie, and besides, with all the time and energy you spend on your music, I think your brain would burst if you tried to be any more focused on anything.” Since Mom values education pretty highly, I was content with her answer.
By the time 3:00 rolls around, I’m getting antsy. Jason has signed off for the night and I’m left staring at my blank ceiling, or what I can see of it anyway in the dull glow of starlight. I guess it’s just You and me awake now, God. I sigh. It’s not very cool being awake all hours of the night. Can’t I go back to a normal sleep schedule? I gave a little laugh, remembering all the times I’d prayed as a kid that God would convince my parents to let me stay up later than my usual bed time. I guess I’m just never content, am I? That thought brought a frown to my face.
Wrinkling my nose, I thought about it. I felt pretty content with my possessions, but since I had basically everything a girl could want, that didn’t mean much, did it? I want to be happy, but really, it’s hard to be when I’m sleep deprived. Oh, great, and now I was giving myself an excuse. Sorry, God. Then, just because I knew it would be good for me, especially when I really didn’t want to, I decided to make a list of 25 things I was happy for. The first few things came pretty quickly. Music, Family, Harmony, A fun day with Katie and Darrick. Then I slowed down. My house. My room. Friends. By the time I got to my 25th thing I was thankful for, I was thoroughly ashamed of myself. How in the world could it take me so long to come up with 25 things I was thankful for? Was I really so used to taking everything for granted? By the time I finally fell asleep, I was determined to be more thankful.
Noveltea 
Mmm…I HATE not being able to fall asleep. I love this segment based on thankfulness. Something I started nearly a year ago is to keep a thankful journal. Every night I journal 5 things I'm thankful for. I love it. 🙂
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