Thank You

I've been seeing a lot of people posting on Facebook about their thankfulness today (must be November or something) and it got me thinking about what I am thankful for. This might seem a little odd, but hear me out. 

Things I am Thankful For:

1. Paul's Business Trips
      I know this seems selfish, but keep reading. Paul has traveled more for work lately than ever before. It used to be one 5 day trip, once a quarter. He was gone almost 2 1/2 weeks in October and he will be gone again at the end of November/beginning of December. I hate when he is gone - but it has taught me that I can be more independent. Most importantly, when he comes home I appreciate him so much more. It's not just the gross things, like crunching the bugs either. When he is gone, I realize how much he does to make my life run more smoothly - the coffee is ready in the morning when I wake up, the trash magically takes itself out, and the ironing actually gets done (confession: ironing scares me - I just throw stuff back in the dryer to get wrinkles out), just to name a few things.
I am thankful for Paul's business trips because they make me appreciate him more.

2. Emma's Peanut Allergy
   I know what you are thinking: "What the what? Why is she thankful for Em's allergies? Wasn't she having a breakdown and stuff about this back in March?"
    Emma cannot have peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, or coconut. Do you know how much stuff has coconut oil in it? Almost all Halloween candy is processed with/near/around peanuts. Even though keeping Emma away from this list of stuff is difficult, it has helped me be a more conscientious consumer. A trip to the grocery store takes twice as long because I am checking labels and ingredients on EVERYthing, EVERYtime. 
Subsequently, I have started cooking with more basic ingredients, which in turn makes me feel better about the nutritiousness of what I am feeding my family.  Eating out is pretty much a nightmare, though there are a few places with special allergy menus. But I would rather not run the risk of needing to use the epipen, so we rarely eat out. 
I'm thankful for Emma's allergies, because they have made our lives more nutritious. 

3. Lexi's timing
   There must be something magical about the grocery store. No matter what, every time I take Lexi with me she announces that she needs to go potty. It's Pavlovian at this point, I think. She always waits until I am about halfway through - too late to just walk away, but still at least 20 minutes until we get home. If you have ever seen us at the grocery store, you would notice that I have a look of panic on my face as we dash from aisle to aisle trying to go as quickly as possible before Lexi declares her need to go to the bathroom. Sometimes she has already decided she has to go, but I really need to finish shopping and I am really moving quickly to get her home (I have germophobia, we don't do public bathrooms). 
  I am thankful for Lexi's timing because it saves me from browsing and spending unnecessarily. She makes certain I stick to the list, and only come home with what I need, nothing else.