Gratitude

Saturday I spent the day with a good friend. We had lunch together, went and saw an entertaining movie, then decided to go for a walk near my daughter #2's home. We stopped to see if daughter #2 wanted to go walk with us, but she couldn't as her husbands family was on the way to share a St. Patrick Day dinner. They did however invite my friend and I to come back for dinner after our walk. We did indeed come back and had a great time, eating delicious corned beef and cabbage, listening to the conversations of young parents and their children, and observing and enjoying my grandson toddling around his house. That evening my friend called to thank me for including her in my family, and that it reminded her of when she was small and her family was nearby and they would go for visits to various relatives. She has no children and said she misses her brothers and mother now that they live out of state. You see, my friend is accomplished so many things. She owns a beautiful home that she lives in, and a handful more that are investments. She also is a small business owner who is respected by her clients and peers. She is absolutely lovely and has a wonderful boyfriend she cares about deeply who also cares deeply about her. Sometimes I can't help but compare myself and wonder why I couldn't have accomplished more in my lifetime. I'm divorced, own no home, have no income at present, and no worldly goods. Sometimes I just wonder why I didn't make different choices so I could be more ahead at this stage in my life. Her simple thank you call left me with such gratitude for all that I do have. Truth be told, I wanted children more than anything in my life. In actuality I did accomplish what I wanted. No material item or riches would have made me happier.