Attitude of Gratitude

Last night was quite the adventure. I was pretty sick and took some Nyquil to help me sleep but told Jessica to wake me if she needed me during the night to help with Penny. Well it turns out she didn't have to wake me. At around 10pm Bridger burst into our room. He covered his mouth and Jessica ferried him to our toilet where we had to watch him retch over and over. It was the first time since a baby that he had to vomit and it was really sad to watch, but he took it like a champ. He didn't cry, just talked normally in that little voice and went back to bed. The second time, he ran into our room with a blood-curdling scream that scared us half to death. He went in a and threw up again and went back to bed. Unfortunately, the scenario repeated itself every 45 minutes for about 5 hours straight. He couldn't keep anything down.

Sometime in the night the power shut off too and we worried that Penny would wake without her white noise fan.
Then, early in the morning Brody came in to tell us he wet the bed.
Then Jessica woke me with her sobbing. She had dreamed that Bridger died.
Overall, I'd say last night ranks high on our list of worst nights ever, but on the upside Penny didn't need to eat until almost 5, so that was nearly 10 hours straight.

With all this, and being a bit sick myself, its actually hard not to be grateful. Strangely all these things just serve to remind me how wonderful we normally have it. That our kids being sick and sad is something rare. That we have comfy beds and a home to sleep in. That Brody and Bridger are completely out of diapers, and normally don't wet the bed. That our children are alive and well and generally happy. We have everything that we could need and much more. Even at times like this when things aren't "perfect" we are well taken care of and have medicine and food and water. We have the Church. We have awesome friends. We have it all.

I think of all the families in Pakistan and Afghanistan who have lost their meager livelihoods and homes, who worry about strangers or bombs killing them in the night, who wonder what they will eat the next day, who ache for rest and health. What would it be like to be a parent there? A parent who loves and cares for and worries about their children just as I do mine, but they don't have the comfort and ease that I enjoy, or even the means to give their children what they need. And not just there, but places all over the world. How can I not be overwhelmingly grateful for everything we have and enjoy on a daily basis? We have it so good, its amazing. Heavenly Father has blessed us so much.