Ten Things of Thankful #9

I've been telling friends about my joining in with TToT recently, and they had to agree that this is a great way to be able to focus on the positive :)

There's something almost addictive about this hop as, despite anything bad happening in our lives, we are almost forced to see the positives in our lives because of it. On reading Lizzi's post just now, and following the links she gave to Dyanne's thursday post:  Two stories - one nicer than other. , I immediately came face-to-face with a very dark period in my own life which, thanks be to God, I managed to endure, and come out a stronger person because of, or even despite it :)

This has added an impetus to this week's post for me so, without ado, I give you my Week 9 of TToT:

1. I thank Jehovah God that I came through my struggle with cancer when I was 32 and, although I lost any vestige of a chance of having another child - a hysterectomy was a necessary evil - I am so grateful for the quickness of diagnosis, the speed of the NHS in dealing with it, and the amazing relief at not needing any of the more brutal treatments afterwards.

2. To follow on from the above, I'm also very, very thankful that I was blessed with the child I did have, and I thank Jehovah every single day for that blessing.

3. I’m thankful to have reached the age of 52. 20 years ago, the possibility of reaching this age was just a hope for me, but I came through to the other side and, despite other health problems now, am still alive and, figuratively, kicking! :)

4. I'm thankful for the gift of friendship that this hop has given me – something more precious to me than gold or pearls - and I’m so grateful for the really amazing people I've had the privilege to be in contact with because of it.

5. I'm thankful that, although my pain levels never reach the 0 factor, I'm also blessed with this, as I'm actually still here to feel it  :)

6. I'm thankful for those people, like Lizzi of Considerings, who is training hard, and who is doing a job that will probably be a bit thankless at times, but who does it cheerfully, and with a wonderful spirit, as she helps to keep those people with diabetic retinopathy in as tip-top a condition as she’s able to :) Having had my bad eyesight – although being caused by something totally unrelated - improved immensely over the years, I really do appreciate everyone who works in the Ophthalmology line :)

7. Just as Zoe, from rewritten, listed in this week’s hop I, too, am thankful to have been born a woman of this generation (well, of the 60’s, anyway). If I had been born earlier, I probably wouldn't be sitting here, in bed, with my laptop in front of me, writing something that will be available for anyone around the world - with internet access - to be able to read if they want to.

8. I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn so much more about the people I'm in contact with through this hop. Their courage and convictions shine through the words they use, and the choices they make in their Thankful lists – and I'm often left breathless at the scope for bravery displayed here online :)

9. I’m so very thankful for the choices I've made throughout my life, as they led me here, to a place where I'm comfortable talking about aspects of my life I couldn't speak about previously, even to those closest to me. There’s something about the – albeit false – anonymity of the blogosphere that helps so many people to be able to face their demons, and win through to a better way of thinking!

10. Finally, I'm thankful, as always, to my hubby, who often goes above and beyond the call of duty in his efforts to cheer me up when I'm down, or to bring me comfort just when I feel there never will be any :) Through his efforts over the last week, I've been able to get my blog done relatively early for a change :)