Being Thankful

I realize it’s the end of September and not quite November, but shouldn’t we count our blessings and be thankful year round and not just when celebrating Thanksgiving? I must be honest in telling you that I am selfishly writing this blog to remind myself of all of the things I have to be thankful for. It’s been rainy for the past several days here and since we do not have a yard I have to take Cheyenne outside in the rain to “go potty.” It’s made me very bitter and I’m having problems understanding why it is that we were not given a home with a yard. We’ve been here for four months. I’ve been bitter about this for four months. Winter is quickly approaching and I’m going to be taking Cheyenne outside 3-4 times a day in the cold. This is why I need to remind myself to be thankful!!!

At least we are all living together. Sometimes all of the ‘garden units’ (that allow pets) are filled when people arrive here at the base and have to leave their dogs in the kennel for months, if they even get to bring them. I should be thankful I have Cheyenne here with me at all!!!

It gives me an opportunity to say hello to my neighbors. At least once a day while walking Cheyenne I see a neighbor in the parking lot or headed in or out of their house; even if it’s just a quick hello or a wave, I still get to see our neighbors, and that’s a good thing to keep in touch with them.

We are both getting exercise. Cheyenne has gained about 4 pounds in the time we’ve been here. It’s not a big deal but we used to let her into the backyard and she would run laps and give herself plenty of exercise! She loved it. I try to walk her around the block at least a few times a week, and sometimes we go for a run, because I know she needs it! It’s good for both of us!!!

Cheyenne gets to meet the other dogs in the neighborhood on our walks. (This is when she regresses on her newfound leash training)
Cheyenne is finally leash trained! She really used to be the most awful dog on a leash. Now that she walks on one frequently, she is great at it!

We live in such a tiny apartment and there are couples in the same situation as us, with no children, who are in 3 bedroom 2 bathroom homes with yards… and I am jealous and bitter but I seriously need to get over it! This is where we are living for the next 3-4 years and I need to deal with it!!!

I do like the kitchen. It’s ugly and I hate the stainless steel countertops but there is a very deep double sided kitchen sink that I do like. And the water is super hot! Plus, there is enough storage in the kitchen, and it was logically built (for the most part).

We have full sized appliances. While our fridge is not wonderful and the clothes that come out of my dryer sometimes do not smell like they should; they are American sized! If we lived off base we’d be lucky to have a refrigerator larger than the mini-fridge I had in college, and we probably wouldn’t have a washer and a dryer in our house!

We have new carpet! It’s a nice color and is relatively soft. It does shed some and because of that my vacuum cleaner broke (minus the fact that I fell on it that one time… ) but… at least our floors are not tile throughout like our houses in Enid and Corpus Christi!!!
We have a good view from our balcony. We are pretty sure in a few weeks when the trees really begin to lose their leaves we will be able to see the mountains and that will make for a beautiful winter. (IF there is such a thing.)
There are thermostats that control each individual room, so we can keep the bedroom cooler than the living room if we choose and the kitchen cool when I’m cooking. That really is nice.

+PLUS+

I am living with my husband, whom I love more than anything, in a foreign country and we are exploring and having a wonderful time. AND Cheyenne is here with us! And that should be reason enough to be thankful. If we were living in a cardboard box in Detroit (ehhh… let’s make it the Gulf Coast) we’d be happy because at least we’d be together. Right, George?

What all are you thankful for? I love hearing from all of you!

Chelsea