10. My Washer and Dryer- Most people take this for granted. Not me. I have had to wash my clothes in a bath tub or sink to many times. Or even worse, not having clean clothes to wear and having to wear dirty clothes to school. I am thankful that I have a washer and dryer that I can use anytime I want. I love the smell of fresh laundry.
9. A Full Pantry- Growing up in extreme poverty food was very scarce at times. Not having anything to eat for days can make you very thankful for food. Just knowing that I don’t have to eat things like squirrel or raccoon are also a blessing.
8. A Car- even though I can’t drive my car right now due to medical reasons, I am so thankful that I have a reliable car. One that won’t keep my children and I stranded for hours at a time on the side of the road.
7. Electricity- My siblings and I always celebrated when we had this luxury. It was not often that we had it more than three months at a time before it was disconnected. Light bulbs were an issue. We sometimes carried them from room to room.
6. Running water- Standing on the back steps in the winter time washing my body with a water hose and a bar of Lava soap, enough said. We had to wait to nightfall so no one driving by would see us.
5. Hot water- see above.
4. Toliet paper- yes in latter part 20st century we were going to the bathroom outside and let me tell you we were very thankful to get a magazine or newspaper to use instead of leaves.
3. Heating/Air Conditioning- Yes, South Alabama gets cold in the winter. It is a wet cold and when it is 32 degrees outside and you have no heat and there are not enough blankets to go around, life can be miserable. As far as air conditioning, I am greatful that I have it in the 100 degree temperatures that I live in.
2. Socks- We never had socks growing up and the ones we had didn’t match. I wonder if that is why I have two drawers full of socks now?
1. A House Without Rodents, Lizards, and Snakes- If you opened our bathroom door you saw four walls and dirt. There was no floor. It was very easy for creatures to get into the house. You had to be careful opening cabinets, snakes could be in there and those little green and brown lizards were everywhere. One time my granddaddy bought us rat traps. We set the traps one night, we stopped counting after we caught 20 in one evening.
Stay tuned for more as I chronicle my journey from extreme poverty and abuse to my new life of love and happiness.
