.....HATE BUT I'M THANKFUL FOR.....

We use the words "love" and "hate" for things other than the way they should be used. For instance we say we love chocolate. Do we really? And we hate cold weather. Hate it?

I'm going to use some of those words today-and not the way they probably should be used. A few days ago I thought of some things I hate. As soon as I had the thought I realized I was thankful for them. Crazy, isn't it? To hate something but be thankful for it?

Here's a few of my hate/thankful for things:

I hate public restrooms but I'm so grateful they are available because I've often needed one. The one I hated the most was in Italy. Our tour bus stopped somewhere (who knows where we were?)just so we could all relieve ourselves after being on the bus for a few hours. A small but fierce-looking Italian man sat at a table between the men's and women's restrooms. His hand was out. We had to pay him for a handful of toilet paper. Otherwise, "no can use." I paid my coin and went inside to the first available stall where I found a hole in the cement floor. Need I explain why I hated this public restroom but was thankful for it? As a postscript I'll tell you we had to wash our hands and go out to the man and get a paper towel, too.

Some public restrooms in America are really clean. Others not so. No matter which way they appear, I'm always thankful they are there.

A second "hate" is having to wear glasses to read. I was born with a catarac on one eye. Although the catarac was removed (finally), I've never had sight in that eye. A few years ago I had catarac surgery on my good eye and I'm very thankful I can see most everything without glasses now. It's still a pain to have to find a pair of reading glasses to do anything up close. However, I'm so grateful to have this one eye that works so I am able to read.

Another hate: alarm clocks. I'm thankful I had one during all the years I worked. Otherwise I would have been late for work in the winter. In the summer I would have had to get up when the sun came up so I'd be on time. I'm really thankful I don't have to set a clock now that I'm retired.

The last "hate" but "thankful for" I'll mention is a bra. And that's all I'll say about that.