It is Thanksgiving, which means a lot of us in the United States will be sitting down with our families and having a large meal to celebrate the holiday. During this time of year, a lot of people like to sit down and reflect on everything we are thankful for this year, which I think is a good thing because we often focus on the things that are going wrong in our lives instead of being thankful for what we do have. When you are disabled, it is easy to focus on the challenges and get frustrated about all the things you don’t have, which is why it is so important that we remind ourselves what we do have, not what we don’t. Most people only reflect on what they are grateful for on Thanksgiving, but I think practicing gratitude isn’t something we should only do on one holiday, and we should be doing it all the time, because it doesn’t matter what is going wrong in your life there is always something to be grateful for. I am not grateful for the challenges of my disability, and disabled people don’t have to be grateful for their disabilities, but even though life is hard sometimes, I am grateful for the relationships I have because of my disability. What do disabled people have to be grateful for? In this post, I am going to talk about five things that I am grateful for this year.
I am grateful for a little more hip strength- .When you have hip replacement surgery and lose mobility it is frustrating because everything in life is going to be harder. I am not grateful for my mobility loss as a whole and wish I had more mobility, but I am grateful for all the things my mobility has taught me and my improved strength. People often assume that because I have less mobility and in a way have become more disabled, I would be angry and not grateful for my mobility loss. I am not grateful for the fact that I can do less because not being able to fully extend my leg limits me in ways most people take for granted, but I am grateful that I have improved strength because sometimes surgeries don’t work as well as we thought they would, and your strength doesn’t improve. I may not have full range of motion in my leg, but my hip strength has improved over time, and I am grateful for that, even though I wish I had more mobility, because when you have more strength, life is easier.
I am grateful that I have good health- Non-disabled people take good health for granted and often complain about how hard it is to eat healthy and exercise, while disabled people wish they had good health. If I eat healthy and exercise, I can improve my health and prevent surgeries caused by my lack of movement, but I don’t have complete control over every challenge I face because I can’t fix things such as my bowel function with exercise. I can’t change my disability, and even when I am doing everything right sometimes, I may need surgery that was not within my complete control to prevent. I never make my New Resolution to not have any surgeries because that is not a goal that is within my complete control, but I am grateful when I go a year without needing a surgery. I have experienced more pain this year because of new challenges, and I am not grateful for that, but I am grateful that I haven’t needed any surgeries and am in good health. Many disabled and chronically disabled people are not in good health and want their health back. If you are in good health, instead of complaining about how difficult it is to exercise, you should be grateful for your good health!
I am grateful that my gynecologist took my pain seriously– I have been struggling with severe period pain for the past couple of years, that has completely prevented me from being able to do anything while on my period, but has no answers for which I was recently diagnosed with endometriosis. I am not grateful for the debilitating pain that I get from endometriosis, but I am grateful that I have a doctor who listened to me, because women are often dismissed and told period pain is normal. My pain has gotten worse over time, and I am not grateful for that, but I am grateful that I have a medication that helps me have a little less pain. When you have period pain, sometimes it can be scary to go to a gynecologist because not all doctors take period pain seriously, and I am grateful I had a good experience. My medication does not take away the pain, but having a doctor who listens makes a huge difference and helps the patient avoid medical trauma.
I am grateful that my blog is growing- When I started my blog, I did not have confidence in my writing and did not think it was going to reach people outside of my family because I was not a strong writer when I started, and I could not have been more wrong. My blog does not grow fast, but I am grateful that I am able to reach more people because a content creator’s worst nightmare is not getting new subscribers. My growth may be small, but even if I don’t grow as quickly as some people do, I am still growing, even though it’s not fast. Small growth is still growth, and I am grateful for every single one of my subscribers who allows me to keep doing the work I do.
I am grateful for my independence– As a disabled person with a physical disability, I sometimes need a little help to do tasks, but I would consider myself an independent person because I can do most everyday tasks without needing assistance. I am grateful for my independence because although I need help sometimes, I am not completely dependent on others like some disabled people are and I am incredibly grateful for that. I wish I could save money and didn’t have to hire people to do tasks that most people can do, but I am grateful for the independence I do have because it allows me to be able to do more things that a lot of people take for granted. I hate walking with a passion, but I am grateful that I have that ability because if I couldn’t walk, I wouldn’t be able to stand, which would make navigating inaccessibility a little harder and everything in life would be slightly more difficult.
When you are disabled, life is full of challenges, and it is easy to get frustrated and wish you could do tasks that your disability prevents you from doing well. There is nothing wrong with wanting life to be easier and I think every disabled person wants that, but it is also equally as important to remind ourselves of all the things we are able to do. You don’t have to find the good in every situation and be grateful for everything that happens to you because not everything needs to be turned into a positive. People always say that you need to find the positives in every situation, but I don’t necessarily agree with that because telling people that they need to be more positive is toxic positivity and is harmful. Thanksgiving can be hard for a lot of people because sometimes it’s a reminder of a loss and it’s okay to not be grateful for that. I think that it can be good to reflect on the things we are grateful for any time of the year, but I don’t think that we need to force people to be thankful because when you do that people make something generic up and are less grateful. What are you thankful for this year? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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My Rockin Disabled Life 
Beautifully stated. 💕
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