Another Gratitude List (with Thanks to Anonymous)

I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means that I have money.

I am thankful for urgent deadlines and office politics because it means that I have a job.

I am thankful for my high rent because it means that I have a roof over my head and a warm bed at night.

I am thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

I am thankful for the piles of laundry I have to do today because it means I have clothes to wear.

I am thankful for the crying baby in the apartment above me because it means I can hear.

I am thankful for the dark and dreary winter because it means that I can better appreciate spring and summer.

I am thankful for the rains that sweep over Amsterdam on a regular basis because it means that there is lush greenery everywhere in the warm months and that it is snowing somewhere else in Europe in the cold months.

I am thankful for people expressing political viewpoints that I don't agree with because it means we have freedom of speech.

I am thankful for my mother nagging me about what to eat and what to buy because it means that she cares.

I am thankful for my nausea, fatigue, and other chemo side effects, because it means that my cancer is treatable and that I can afford the treatment.

I am thankful for too much e-mail because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

I am thankful to the anonymous parishoner of Clayfield Baptist Church who wrote the original list that has taught me and many others how to view the glass half FULL.