Tragedies you are thankful for -- or at least, thankful for what you

[bertha katzenengel]

learned or gained by the experience.

Inspired by the ad for "Why I'm Glad I Had Breast Cancer."

I can't say I'm thankful for the monumental amounts of personal shit I experienced as a child. But I wouldn't trade what I learned, nor what my life is like now, for a million bucks.

You?

[NNadir]

1. I'm eternally grateful for at least two women who dumped me.

It felt tragic at the time, but like the Tom T. Hall song recorded by Leo Kottke says,

I'm the guy that didn't marry "pretty" Pamela Brown
Educated, well-intentioned good girl in our town
I wonder where I'd be today if she had loved me too
Probably be driving kids to school

I guess I owe it all to Pamela Brown
All of my good times - all my roamin' around
One of these days I might be in your town
And I guess I owe it all to Pamela Brown

Seen the lights of cities and been inside their doors
Sailed to foreign countries and walked upon their shores
I guess the guy she married was the best part of my luck
She dug him cause he drove a pick-up truck

Chorus:

I don't have to tell you just how beautiful she was
Everything it take to get a guy like me in love
Lord I hope she's happy cause she sure deserves to be
Especially for what she did for me

Chorus

The real winner though was at the end of the day I won the woman who was everything I ever needed and then a great deal more.

[jpgray]

2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

[bertha katzenengel]

3. friday night kick

prob'ly about as much interest in this on a friday night as in bad television... :kick: anyway

[LeftyMom]

4. The relationship drama that made me who I am today

and my uttlerly bizzare childhood. I wouldn't want to do it all over again, but I like the person those experiences created so I have no regrets.

Come to think of it getting knocked up at 19 wasn't peachy either, but being LeftyKid's mother is probably the thing that shaped who I am today the most and of course I wouldn't trade my son for anything. :loveya:

[graywarrior]

5. My car accident that led to bankruptcy

Best thing that ever happened.

[qnr]

6. Learning I had diabetes. I was always in great shape when I was younger,

and now I'm working hard to get myself back into better shape and health.

[bliss_eternal]

7. Saying goodbye to my parents and family...

...for good. Walked away and said 'no more.' Best thing I ever did. It's horrible what they did to me as a child, I was physically abused--much of my family not only watched, but did nothing to stop it. As an adult, most of them continued to enable them to treat me inappropriately, and diminished it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone or care to relive any of it--but having grown up with manipulative, abusive, lying sociopaths makes it much easier for me to recognize such behaviour now. For that, I'm very grateful.

The more time I spend away from all of them, the easier it becomes for me to recognize behaviour that should not be tolerated--I'm SO grateful for that. That is not at all easy to see when you live within it for so long. What's abnormal becomes normal, and you find yourself attracted to the worst possible situations to be in.

For a long time, I put up with such horrible behaviour in relationships. Friendship, professional relationships, jobs, etc. Sometimes I still need a little help with checking the gauge on things(lol), but I'm much better at detecting it than I used to be--and protecting myself and avoiding potential dysfunction altogether.

It's really a blessing to know dysfunction from the inside and now from the outside, and to no longer have the ability to tolerate it on any level. It gets lonely, not having a family of origin or roots in a sense--but I am better off without them in my life. My only regret is not walking away sooner...