I am so lucky

KATE1949;I also had all my teeth removed .I was five! The reason being , I had an access in one tooth ,so they took them all out! It must have been very tough for you at 11! Apart from that my life has been mostly blessed. One thing ,though ,I had a mild stroke last year.I am ok. Just walk "too slow for DH ! But then I always did!!😂

I don't think there is anything smug about appreciating what you have and being grateful for it, especially when you have faced horrible situations in your life as most of us have.

I believe the good things in life should be celebrated - there will always be people around who are going through bad times but that doesn't mean everyone in the world has to be unhappy. IRL of course you would be more aware when friends and family are going through hard times so wouldn't be gushing all over them.

About two months ago I wrote in a post that I was very grateful that both MrA and I were fit and healthy but I was very aware that life can change in a moment. I wasn't being smug, it was just a statement of fact.

Our Christmas present this year was a diagnosis of stage 4 bladder cancer for MrA. It came out of the blue and the prognosis is very bad so I am facing the prospect of life without my rock very soon. I am not looking for sympathy, this is just a demonstration of how fast things can change.

So I say again - celebrate the joys of life while your can and appreciate the people around you. They will give you some strength to face the things we can do nothing about.

surfingsal I would plant every one of those bulbs as a tribute to your lovely mum.

Life is full of ups and downs. No one has a perfect life and if they claimed they had I'd just say, 'watch out! You never know what's coming!'

I felt I lived a charmed life until my early 20s, then things went rapidly down hill.

I came to Gransnet seeking some help and advice a few years ago and I'm happy to say things have improved a lot for me, but I now know things can turn on a sixpence.

Developing reslilience and being prepared for difficulties is a very important life skill. How would you develop this if nothing bad ever happened?

Someone claimed they felt blessed in life but was an atheist. Who then is doing the blessing? Just wondering...

What a lovely OP. Never does any harm to count our blessings, sadly some have far more than others. 💐

Delia. You are the first person I have 'met' who had their teeth removed as a child like me. It obviously hasn't spoiled your life. You sound very upbeat. Well done you! 😁

AreWeThereYet sorry to hear your news.💐

Feeling grateful to my family as it's been a tough few months,having my daughter who's ill and looking after my 3 year old grandson fulltime ,things are looking up now

I feel like AreWeThereYet I posted on GN around October time that I felt the best I had in years and I was trying hard to keep myself fit and healthy. I had looked after my Mum for over 14 years and was exhausted. Now for some “me time” I thought! My husband and I were spending more time together as he had almost finished working and we were enjoying simple things together. I was really grateful for our health especially.

I spoke too soon! Completely out of the blue my lovely husband had a haemorrhagic stroke at the end of November and he has been in hospital since then. He is very low now and I feel like I am looking in on somebody else’s lives, not ours. Depression is yet another side effect of stroke. We have no idea what the future holds, we are trying to be positive but it is really difficult.

We have always worked hard, brought our kids up to be kind people, we look after our health and don’t smoke and have a very occasional drink. I think we’ve done our best, now this.
The guy in the bed next to my husband who is at the same stage as him said “we must have been bad people to have ended up like this.”

AreWeThereYet and Primrose53 I’m so sorry you’re both having a difficult time. Life is very cruel sometimes. I remember your earlier posts and at the time found them uplifting and positive.
I lost my mum six months ago after years of her being ill. I’m trying to pick myself up but now my DH is having a few problems plus a dear friend and another relative. I’m keeping going but wondering if it’s ever going to improve. Just taking pleasure in the small things at the moment and keeping fingers crossed. Wishing you both peace and happiness

I've ever married/no partners and never had kids all by choice, I'll be 60 in April, and I've never had any family of any sort - no brothers/sisters, parents/grand, aunts/uncles etc. I've only ever been completely alone but I'm very lucky that I've been working f/t since I was 16 and have done a variety of jobs over the years. All jobs where I don't need loads of degrees and so on, which I haven't got, just basic GCSE stuff.

I don't have any pets at the moment because of chaotic work shifts but I've had loads in the past - dogs, cats, coldwater fish, birds, rodents, so I was a proud mum to all of my beloved babies!

I'm lucky and grateful that I own my own car, own my own house - well, it's a top-floor flat but I call it a house! - can still do my own shopping, health things etc. and I seldom have any serious accidents except in September 2024 when I fell down the stairs and smashed the left side of my face and did various other injuries but thankfully nothing was broken, cracked, dislocated or fractured apart from a tooth on the top left that came flying out and a VERY black and multicolored and swollen face for a month afterwards!

Even though various injuries had me in a hell of a lot of pain, I didn't go to the doctors or dentist, just heaved my way back to standing and went to work, dosed up on Paracetamol and limping!

There's so many people out there far worse off than a few bruises and a wonky left knee.

I'm always very happy and grateful for what life passes on to me!

I love reading about everyone’s families and the happy gatherings they have. Sadly my husband died 5 years ago after 43 years together and then tragically our only son died in 2023. I now find myself at 68 with some health issues and totally alone, I am the sole survivor of what was a largish family, Christmas was spent alone and so are birthdays- seems strange how life turns out. However I’m blessed with two beautiful dogs and two cats, my constant companions and the reason to get up in the morning. I think what I’m trying to say is be very grateful for the life you have, it can change in a heartbeat xxx

Thank goodness for your companions Juniewoonie. I'm so sorry that you are on your own. Agony to lose both a partner and a child. We cling to positives like beautiful animals when things look grim but you have had indescribable sadness and tragedy to live with and my thoughts are very much with you.

As you so sagely mention, we must be very grateful for the life we have had thus far. Give your dear companions a pat from me.

Thank you so much for raising this. It is so important to count ones blessings and as you say some people have a very hard time. I am one of the lucky ones with three lovely grown-up children and three wonderful grandchildren.
When I first joined Gransnet I was sad to read about so many problems, so this is wonderful

Dottydots and Gingster are more relatable and to the point than the gratuitous gratitude posts that doesn't necessarily reap benefit for others

I had a lovely life until around 25 years ago. Since then there has constantly been one thing or another, with some huge issues with our son. Now at aged 67 I truly am afraid, to be happy as guaranteed something else will come along and knock me back down.

I am blessed too and very grateful for it.

therustyfairy

Dottydots and Gingster are more relatable and to the point than the gratuitous gratitude posts that doesn't necessarily reap benefit for others

Does there have to be a benefit to others with every post in every thread? Are people not allowed to just say 'At this time in my life things are good and I'm grateful for that' ?

There are many threads from people who are having a difficult time for whatever the reason that it sometimes feels like everybody who posts on GN just wants a moan or a rant.

So it's like a little ray of sunshine to know that there are people who, if only for a little while, are having a good time.

J52 and katyj thank you for the kind words (and to those who have pm'd me of course)

I too have been blessed with a happy life and an amazing family.
One of the things which I think has had a lasting impact on me is a recent thread about so many grans' unhappy childhoods and whether or not they felt able to forgive.
I wanted to cry reading about the misery and sometimes cruelty suffered by children and felt so grateful for the happy and secure early years I was lucky enough to have.

Er… good for you?

AreWeThereYet
No patronising lectures please, of course people are allowed free speech and I was exercising my right to free speech. We don't all feel optimistic or uplifted by the positive preaching methodology.

I've had good times and bad times like everyone but each morning as soon as I wake up I say a little prayer of gratitude for everything good in my life and it definitely sets me up for the day ahead. Be grateful for even the smallest things in life. Many don't have them.

Thank you Kate1949; I try to be!