Today is Mother’s Day. A day to celebrate mothers and other important women in our lives. I enjoyed seeing all the pictures of friends with their mothers on Facebook, people celebrating their mothers, whether they are still around or not. I saw beautiful greetings and proclamations of love, everyone claiming that their mother is, in fact, the best in the world. It’s enough to warm anyone’s heart.

I also saw a lot of complaining. Complaining that families didn’t do enough. Complaining about not being a mother and therefore not being celebrated. Complaining about feeling inadequate for not having accomplished motherhood.

This isn’t new. I have seen more and more complaining everywhere I turn lately. And while I think it’s great that people go to their support systems online for help when they’re feeling down, there are times when it crosses the line. That’s a whole different post, though. This post is about me. I am as guilty of being overly critical about my life as anyone. Ungrateful for the things I have. Full of complaints about how my life could be better. So I’ve been making a concerted effort to turn my thoughts to the positive.

I’m going to open my heart a little bit here, share some of my shortcomings, to give an example of how I’m working on being content where I am.

1) I keep finding more silver hairs streaking through my brown strands. BUT it is a testament to the fact that I am aging. Too many young people will never get the chance to grow their grays.

2) I hate being the fat girl. BUT I have plenty to eat, and the means to take control if I so choose.

3) My job is mentally and emotionally exhausting, and there is far too much paperwork. BUT I have a job that I love most days, and where I have the opportunity to change lives.

4) I am 30 years old and not married, which sometimes makes me feel like a failure, and unwanted. BUT I truly appreciate the freedom of being single and living alone, and I have lots of friends who show me regularly that I am wanted.

5) My books are not published. BUT I love writing, creating worlds, and as long as I am able to continue doing it for the love of it, being published is secondary.

6) Living in an apartment sucks, and I can’t afford to move. BUT I have a roof over my head, with more possessions and amenities than I need.

Does finding the positives in these things mean that I stop wishing for them to change? Of course not. They are areas where I still hold hope for something different. But if I am constantly focusing on what I don’t have, I forget to look at what I do have. And I have more than a lot of people. For that, I am grateful.