The Glad Game

 Have you ever seen the old Disney movie, Pollyanna? I think there's been a remake, but I'm thinking of the one from 1960 with Hayley Mills. Although Pollyanna has much she could be depressed about, she chooses to play "The Glad Game". Basically she has an attitude of gratitude, and that movie has impacted my thinking more than any movie I've ever watched. If I find myself getting depressed, playing "The Glad Game" and concentrating on all I have to be thankful for goes a long way in pulling me out of my funk. 

Life is pretty crazy right now. People are completely stressed out and some are acting out of control and irrationally. The state I live in has the highest incidence of Covid 19 IN THE WORLD! DH has a very bad back, and he took a different nursing job to lessen the chance of hurting his back (again) at work. We were/are in complete agreement on him changing jobs, but it was a 20% pay CUT! (Ouch!) DH has been exposed to Covid just as much in the new job as his Emergency Room job, and we were hoping that would be less. We currently have a broken relationship with one of our adult kids that's not by our choosing, and that hurts. If I choose to concentrate on the bad stuff, of which there is plenty, I would just stop doing much of anything. 

Instead of focusing on the negative, I choose to play "The Glad Game". I can't do anything about the unrest in my country, but I can make sure to not to add to it. I can't stop the Covid numbers from going up, but I can choose to act responsibly. 

I am thankful for a lovely home to stay in, especially since I've rarely been leaving it. I am thankful for my stash, and the fact that even with a large pay cut I can keep quilting. I am glad I can still contribute to others. I'm thankful that so far DH has not caught Covid, even though he's been exposed repeatedly. Getting used to DH's new work hours has been difficult, but thankfully, 4:45 AM doesn't seem quite as early to get up anymore. 

I'm thankful that my other kids have really stepped up and given us support through this tough time with one of them. 

There is so much good if we choose to look for it. I know a lot of people are not in nearly as good a place as we are, but we've not always been in this good of a place either. I remember the days of having five kids to feed and an empty pantry, but somehow, we made it through. I still had things to be thankful for. I remember living in 839 sq feet with a family of seven, and I still had things to be thankful for. I remember digging through the couch and jacket pockets for the change so we could come up with the rest of the rent money, and I still had things to be thankful for. 

In comparison to those days, being thankful for what we have now may be easy, but that doesn't mean we don't still get stressed out and situations are always favorable. 

I decided to write this as an encouragement. So many people are discouraged, and worried, and losing hope. Can you think of anything you can be glad about, anything to be thankful for? Some days it's hard to think of anything, especially if you are struggling with depression. So many things we think of as bad, have a flip side. Is your house a mess? Look at how many things you have to clutter up the place! Have you gained the dreaded Covid 19 (pounds)? You've had food to eat. Have you lost someone like I lost one of my sisters? It's a process, but I am so thankful for the memories I have of her, the times we shared, the love I still have for her. I will always miss her, but I am so glad she was a part of my life. 

I'm not trying to make light of hard times, please don't take it that way. There have been times I've been so stressed out I have to hunt for something to be thankful for. Sometimes I have to concentrate on the smallest things. I've had days where the best I could say was that I saw an animal outside my window that reminded me there's life out there. 

Lest this only be a philosophical post, but still in the interest of moving forward with life, I dug out a UFO that's been basted for exactly two years! I originally had plans of doing some complicated quilting on it, but I've learned, if I plan to do fancy quilting, but I'm not passionate enough about it to do it right then, it's not happening. Two years in timeout is long enough, and this quilt is getting finished. 

Just meandering again? Yup, but finished is better than perfect, and a basted quilt isn't usable, where a finished quilt with simple quilting is. 

I'm trying to get back into my FMQ one hour per day, before doing other sewing, and I didn't have a deadline quilt ready to quilt, so a UFO it is! Something I got to be thankful for today? My bobbin ran out just as my hour was up, so I changed bobbins and tomorrow I can start with a full bobbin!