I'm Thankful for

Have you ever listed down the things that you are thankful for? If so, you are a wonderful person and you know the meaning of life. I, on the other hand, have never come up with a list of things I am thankful for. Also, I was not having any intention to come up with a list in my future. But we are not the decider of our future, right?

Like any other day, I was in my kitchen, cooking and messing. I scrambled for a "bounty" paper towel to clean up the mess, only to find none. Berating my disorganization, I took a new roll of bounty paper towel and was totally surprised to see something printed on the towels. I have seen designs on the paper towels, but never have seen letters on them. I tore away the outer wrapping paper in a hurry, to read what was printed on the paper towel. I unrolled the towel, read the printed words. I was totally amused, because I never thought I would read such an inspirational quote in a paper towel. The inspirational quote I saw in the paper towel was , "There's a whole lot to be thankful for if you take the time to look." I read the message one more time, smiled to myself, after which I folded the towel, cleaned the mess, tossed it in the trash and went out for a walk.

It was a cloudy fall day. I was walking on the footpath, adjusting my earphone, when, without any prior notice, a mild breeze caressed my face. Blown by the touch of the breeze, I stood frozen for a second. I thawed myself the next second and continued with my walk, when a red leaf, swirled, twirled, whirled and touched the ground. That was when I saw a tree bursting with red leaves in front of me. Captivated by the beauty of the tree, I moved ahead. After couple of minutes, the Sun came out form its hide out and spread its warmth along my way. As I walked briskly with freshly acquired Vitamin D, I felt a sea of happiness inside me. Right at the moment, I remembered the "bounty" words. For the first time, I was thankful for so many things, that made my walk memorable and pleasurable. I was two yards away from my apartment, when I thought I should list down all the things I was thankful for on that day. With a big smile on my face I opened my door to the apartment. As I placed my right foot in, I heard a dripping sound of water.

I checked the kitchen faucet. It was perfect. I went straight to the bathroom, switched on the light and got the shock of my life. There was more than an inch of water standing still on the bathroom floor. The rugs were floating in the water. I was not able to come to terms with what I saw. Without meaning to, I looked up and was startled. There was a crack in the ceiling and water was dripping from there. Water must have poured from the crack earlier, which had changed to dripping now. The baskets in the space saver shelf, right under the crack, were full of water. I felt like I was standing in a flood zone. I had no idea how to clear the mess. Deep inside me, I could see myself falling down on my knees and crying. The happiness went missing and a cloud of depression engulfed me. I gave a call to the Apartment Maintenance and came back with rags to squeeze out the water from the floor. I removed all the baskets from the shelf, wiped the water out (from shampoos, conditioners, combs, lotions and whole lot of stuff) with bounty towel. I put back everything to where it belongs.After spending bad 60 minutes, the bathroom floor was back to its self. As I was tying the trash bag, I saw the used rags and paper towels. Something flashed on my mind, the "bounty" words. And I found out what I'm really Thankful for.

• I'm Thankful for the rags that helped me squeeze the water out.
• I'm thankful for the washer/dryer for cleaning my rugs.
• I'm thankful for the "bounty" that helped wipe down the water.
• I'm also Thankful for the "bounty" that taught me a lesson.
• Finally I'm Thankful for God for making the "flood" happen after my walking, otherwise I would not have enjoyed a beautiful day outside.