It wasn’t exactly a great week for me, I was pouty and grumpy and generally obnoxious. Then I came across a homeless old lady, sitting on the pavement, surrounded by the very few things she posses in life, covered in rags and an old blanket. She was praying; right there, on the pavement in the middle of a cold January night.

I felt stupid: Really, genuinely, stupid.

Having recovered from ‘I am a spoilt little idiot’ mode, I decided to write a list of everything I am grateful for, literally counting my blessing. Whenever I feel crossed by a deal that didn’t go right, a fight with a friend or even an illness, I will go over this list and remind myself of what an ungrateful brat I am being.

1. I am thankful for cramps, fevers, headaches and all the niceness that is health: It might not be perfect at the moment, I might have a few issues, but generally, I am able to walk, run, sleep well, eat well and pray while standing, and for that I am thankful. Next time I get cramps, I will be thankful that I have a functioning system that allows those cramps. And when I have a fever, I will be thankful I have an immunity system that gives me fevers. When I get sore muscles, I will be grateful for being able to work out. Well, I mean I will be thankful the second I stop cursing my unlucky stars and all.

2. I am utterly thankful for a husband to fight with: Life isn’t a fairy tale, we will fight, we will even momentarily hate each other and wonder why this is happening to us. But whenever it happens, I will thank heavens for a loving husband who cares enough about me to fight and argue.

3. Counting the oh-so-many blessings that are family expectations: Whenever I feel the stress of expectations, whenever I feel overwhelmed by duties or suffocating protection, I will be thankful for having parents, brothers and a family who genuinely cares for me to the point of fighting with me for not seeing them enough. I will be thankful for a mother who cares enough to practically shove medicine up my throat and when she fights with me for my poor eating habits I will smile because someone cares that much; that is after I get all grumpy of course. I will thank god for a father who’s too protective he offers to drive me to my meeting because it’s late and he doesn’t want me to drive to remote areas alone. I will get upset, of course, but then I will remind myself that some people have nobody to be suffocatingly overprotective over.

4. The annoying moments with my friends: Next time one of my friends does something that bugs me, disappoint me or straight out annoy me, I will be thankful for having good old friends that I am comfortable enough to fight with. I will be happy that I have solid friendships that will go through rough periods and come out smiling still. I will be grateful that our relationships allow for expectations, which ultimately  leads to disappointments, of course, but you get the gist.

5. I will be thankful for the stressful work: When things get crazy, when I can’t write another word, when I have to spend 12 hours glued to my screen to work and study for my PhD, I will be thankful that I can do what I love doing, that I can afford a screen to be glued to and that I can afford a PhD to complain about. I will be thankful that I realized my passion at the age of 13 and went for it, no matter how stressful it makes me or how much I want to escape everything and live in the jungle.

6. I am thankful for traffic: When I am stuck in traffic cursing the brilliance of our urban planning, I will be thankful I am stuck in an air-conditioned car and not in a crammed public bus. I will be thankful I am allowed time to simply not work, socialize or do any thinking and consider it quality time with my iPod.

7. I am grateful for the pounds I pack every now and then: At least I have access to yum food, treats and a hot plate every day; I am not sure how thankful I would be if I wasn’t able to shed them back.

8. I am happy with the dirty carpet: I have a lovely dog who sheds like crazy, but that’s okay, because it reminds me of the most loyal friend I ever had.

9. Thank god for the endless house chores: They remind me of having a roof over my head and a beautiful house to care for.It’ also a great obligatory workout.

10. I will force myself to be grateful for my annoying ADSL service provider and the incompetent network I am with: It just means I was lucky enough to earn myself those luxuries, besides, an hour or two of disconnect a day means time to unwind and appreciate the finer things in daily life.

11. I am forever thankful for the hot summer days in Egypt: They just mean we have year-round tans, besides, it’s always a great excuse to hit the beach and live the good life.

12. I am even happy with the grey hairs and little wrinkles forming around my lips: They’re a constant reminder of all the memories I have, all the times I smiled and cried and getting wiser with every passing hour.

13. I am thankful for our nosy culture: Who gets lonely when your aunts, uncles, friends and even neighbor are constantly asking you why you lost a little weight, why you have dark circles around your eyes and just how much you’re overworking yourself.

14. I am grateful for my generally awful kitchen skills: It’s a great opportunity to  be pampered by my husband, who, bless him, goes into the kitchen because he knows he’ll never get a decent meal otherwise.

15. Finally, I am thankful for my endometriosis: It’s painful, it’s annoying,  you don’t know when the pains will hit and it’s generally crappy, but I am thankful because it made me realize how much motherhood means to me and how much my family supports me.