Funny how gratitude works

One day many years ago my bishop, from church, asked me what I was grateful for. After some thought I told him my pain. He questioned my response and I said every day it reminds me that I survived the electrocution. He understood.

Later at a gathering of friends from church my bishop led us in a game of gratitude bingo. We all got blank bingo cards that we filled in with things we are grateful for. As we went around the room naming one of the things we were grateful for we got to cross off the things that matched the card of someone else. My card was filled with nothing that matched anything of someone else.

A few years after the day we played that game I started getting a *serial email that maybe rang a little similar to this blog entry. I am grateful for my bills because they are proof I have a place to live etc. It made me feel glad that I am not the only one who is a little weird about what they are grateful for.

We have puppies. Do to some kid allergies it has been a long time since I have had my own dogs. I love dogs. I am grateful for my dogs. I had forgotten how much work was involved in taking care of dogs. It didn't take long before I figured out it is worth every moment of work for the joy and companionship the puppies bring.

My least favorite dog related job is scooping poop. For me scooping poop is like washing dishes, doing laundry, or vacuuming the job never ends. Not only is scooping poop never done there is the smell, the texture of the fresh ones, the flies it attracts and the occasional "oops I didn't see that one" that make this job the worst of my daily chores.

Like my other daily chores I find gratitude in doing this job. As I do dishes I am grateful I have food to eat. When I do laundry I am grateful I have clothes to wear and the ability to do things to make them dirty. While I vacuum I am grateful for friends and loved ones who track in dirt and kids who will often help with that chore as well. I am grateful to scoop poop twice a day because I have three little dogs who give me great joy every day.

I recently had a conversation with my sister. The subject of pets came up and she complained that her girls have three dogs and they don't pick up the poop. I do that particular chore nearly every morning and again in the evening. Because some days get busier than others days it may be cut down to only once in a day. However it always gets done because there are three of them and they poop a lot!

My sister and three of her girls live in Australia. I don't think any of them will move back to the states any time soon and being so far away I miss them. I miss out on them as well. It has been years since we have seen each other and so it has been a long time since we have had a chance to hang out and make fresh memories. Every once in a while I will be doing something that reminds me of something we did together and they will pop into my head. Not nearly as often as it would if we saw each other more often.

Luckily every day as I am scooping up poop I have the added bonus of being reminded of the conversation with my sister and the nieces who like me hate to pick up poop. Funny how gratitude works.

*Serial email - the type of email you get over and over every few days because everyone seems to think it is so awesome they send it to everyone who send it to everyone and so on.