Empty bucket, full bucket

This morning, since it’s the 20th of August, I had to pull out my phone and show my vaccine/PCR status to enter the mall. From now on, we’ll have to show it to enter anywhere except a pharmacy or a small grocery store (who knows what is meant by “small” — the baqala I guess?) Then I had to pull out my phone again on the 3rd floor of the mall to enter the movie theater where we go to church. They had to scan my QR codes proving I had reserved seats for the 8:30 service (and to have a record in case contact tracing needs to be done after the fact).

All of this “safety” protocol is about to do my head in and I was thinking what a hassle it is going to be to fumble with our phones when we’re out and about and wondering how long we will have to keep this up . . . but then I walked into church and saw that we can now sit in every row of seats and only have to have one empty seat between groups. YAY!! The government gives and takes away. . .

Yes it was a hassle that trampled all over my personal freedoms, but in exchange I got a little bit of normal back. Sad that I’m excited about small things, like being super happy that we can now sit at a table of 10 people in a restaurant (up from 4), but that just shows how restrictive life has been for the past 18 months.

I’ve been telling one of my children that instead of grumping and complaining about how hard everything is, try refocusing and having an attitude of thankfulness. I think I need to take my own advice.

I’m thankful that:

Josh has a job that pays well (even if it sucks the life out of him and takes up all of his time)

Oops, let’s try that again:

I’m thankful for a healthy body, to be free from fear, for my children and that they all know and love Jesus, for my future daughter in law who I love already, that Josh is coming home tomorrow, that I have the day off today and can go to the pool if I want or stay home and laze around all day marathoning tv shows, that I get to meet with my Open Lounge/Home Group IN PERSON this week, that it looks like the kids will get to go to school full time this year and have school sports, that I get to work out daily with my son who both laughs at me and encourages me, for the ability to work part time hours and still have hours in the day to pursue my own interests, for Amy who puts my house back in order every day, for Ropik who turns the sand in my yard into a vibrant garden, for a husband who thinks about me and does everything with my best interests in mind, for a phone and data plan that allows me to show my vaccine status to security any time I need to, for modern medicine that allows my brain to function properly with SSRIs, for medical insurance that pays for it all . . . and on and on and so much more.

I know this kid will never read my blog, but I hope he listens to me and takes my advice. There’s no better way to stop feeling sorry for yourself than to start listing all your “haves” rather than focusing on your “have nots.”