More gratuitous self-congratulation but with a Thanks God thrown in

My step grandmother (I don’t even know if that is a term) had what could be considered an extraordinary life in its normalcy. She had the chance to do a lot of cool stuff in her 80 or so years on this planet, she saw the world, lived in a lot of places, and did a lot of cool jobs and had hobbies.  My grandmother (my father’s mother) also had an extraordinarily ordinary life. Everything she could have been as a child she went in a completely different direction. Not a bad direction, just different. I was thinking on this the other day. I have been comparing myself unfavorably to other people in my entourage who have stuff like real careers and kids and so on and beating myself up for being almost thirty and not where I thought I would be professionally or personally.  Then I decided to look on the bright side, and that’s where the Thanks God comes in.  I too, like my grandmothers, have a normal, banal, albeit unexpected life. I’m ok with the banality of it all now. So thanks God for the random things:

1. I never thought I would marry some Barack Obama looking dude who speaks six languages. Macha Allah. I always thought I would marry a cool guy, but not like him. Speaking of him, here’s a trivia question: He has been to every continent except one.  This is a trick question. Which continent has he not been to?

2. I always knew I would leave Louisiana/MIssissippi but I never knew I would live in Switzerland. Even if Switzerland drives me crazy, I’ve had good times there.  Of all my high school dreams, I made that one happen: I live in Europe. Just not in the country I expected to live in.

3.Thanks God for not having to drive if I don’t want to.  I effing hate driving.  If I lived in Mississippi right now I would have to drive, and it would suck.

4. I have learned more about money laundering than any lay person should ever know. I don’t even have money to launder. Ditto for smuggling cigarettes. That’s just two of the crazy things I have picked up on in my “non career” jobs. 

5. Thanks God for all the travelling I get to do. Some people don’t get to do the things I do just as a routine matter of course. I have been to eight countries this year, just because. I feel blessed for that.

6.  I am way more domestic than I was in high school. I kick butt at cleaning house and doing laundry.  I can think of at least five people whose jaws would drop in sheer surprise at how well I clean. I am so totally domestic. I can even cook couscous under duress.

 7. Before my unfortunate ankle incident, I was doing something no one said I could do- train for a marathon. I will make it happen incha Allah. I tell myself that back in the day people said I would never make it to Europe and here I am. Such is the way of the marathon. BTW my ankle is much better now but I still can’t do down stairs that well or cobblestones.

8.  Not only do I make good coffee, I can totally do makeup. I turned down the makeup artist and did my own makeup for the *top secret event I attended at an undisclosed location* this weekend, and looking at the pictures, my mu looks totally fierce. Yes I am going to give myself props for that, because do you know how hard it is to do makeup that photographs well without looking like Bozo the Clown?  Thanks God, I have mad skeelz.

9. Speaking of my ankle, thanks God for the fact that I walk somewhat normally now. It has only been fifty bazillion years (ok four months) but I might actually be running sooner than I think.

10. Thanks God anyway for the not doing what I thought I would be doing professionally. I have made peace with it.  It’s all good, at least this way I can work for crazy people and live vicariously through their craziness and laugh.

Tags : Thanks God