Blessed

I have come to the realization lately that I am incredibly blessed.  I have not recently become blessed, but my outlook has changed so that I have just now realized how blessed I am.  It is the type of realization that almost makes one feel guilty.  Guilty for either not realizing the blessing before now or maybe for being so blessed when others are not.

The blessing that I am specifically talking about is the blessing of great parents.  I am at the point in my life where my peers are beginning to face loosing their parents.  I watched last week as a friend buried her mother.  There is a depth to that pain that I can not even fathom.  I truly feel blessed to still have my parents and even a grandparent that are just a phone call away.

I have also been reminded through a different friend just how great my parents really are.  My parents have loved and supported me in every decision I have made, no matter how much they may have disagreed with them.  They gave me the foundation that I needed to succeed and then let me decide how I wanted to proceed.  Even to this day they support the decisions that Joe and I have made about how to raise our family, even though I know that most of the time they would do it differently.  They love my children with a fierce devotion and do not miss an opportunity to show their love to them.  In turn, my children think that their grandparents are the best thing since sliced bread.

I have often wondered how I would handle it if my children did not follow the path that I thought was best for them.  I was discussing this with a very wise friend recently and she gave me some great advice.  She said to think about the worst thing that I could possibly imagine any of my children doing and decide right now that I forgive them and love them anyway.  While I don't think I have done most of the worst things my parents could imagine, I think that at some point they must have decided to just love me anyway.

For that fact alone, I am eternally grateful and incredibly blessed.