Especially Thankful

I'm coming to realize that on the days when everything seems to be going wrong, those are the days to be the most thankful. Why? Well first of all, it could be a lot worse so be thankful that it isn't. Secondly, it's only with a spirit of gratitude that you'll be able to positively weather all the negative things that are happening. Yesterday was sort of tough. And actually, I can't say tough. I'm trying to be more mindful of my adjectives:-) It was more so annoying and unexpected. But here's why I found reasons to be thankful in the midst of frustrating encounters.

1. All week I had been feeling a bit tired and slightly under the weather. So yesterday I wake up and everything is achy and my jaw/inner cheeks are hurting and appear irritated. I called the doctor to schedule an appointment and they gave me a time, but then called me back and rescheduled it later in the day. Reason to be thankful: I have insurance that allows for pop in visits to the doctor with minimal out of pocket expense to me ($15 co-pay owa owa!!) and I got an appointment yesterday even if it was at a later time than I'd have liked.
2. I got into a cab and told the driver where I was going and gave him a reference point. He argued with me that there existed no such reference point. He took me to the intersection but indeed the spot I was looking for wasn't there so I had to walk around a bit to get where I wanted to go. Reason to be thankful: My walk wasn't very far and I learned a bit about a neighborhood that I don't usually frequent.
3. Once I linked up with a friend for lunch things seemed to be going ok, but my sandal strap broke. Reasons to be thankful: There was a shoe store nearby and I was able to pick up a pair of inexpensive sandals.
4. En route to the doctor's office I was so tired I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop to transfer to another train. Reason to be thankful: I was able to get off on the next stop that had across the platform transfers so I didn't have to walk above ground and swipe again (although I use a monthly Metrocard I still didn't feel like doing all of that).
5. At the doctor's office I had to wait about 20-30 minutes before I could be seen. Reasons to be thankful: My doctor's office has a super comfortable waiting area and I had my journal with me so I got some uninterrupted writing in during the wait.
6. I went to Whole Foods on the way home to pick up some produce. Somehow, I unexpectedly spent $62 on one bag of groceries that was 98% produce!!!! Reason to be thankful: I could afford to do so and I know I bought quality food.
7. Got home and was very sleepy. Went to bed around 6:30 and woke up again at 8:00 when I was hoping to sleep till this morning. Reason to be thankful: I used the extra hours awake to get some reading done and came to some pretty impactful revelations!!!

Life isn't about what happens to us. It's about how we handle what gets thrown our way. As always, my challenge to you is to come up with your own reasons to be thankful. I'd like to hear why you are able to be thankful during difficult times. Even when you really don't feel like it, just do it. You'll be much happier you did!