Realizing my blessings

Lately stuff has come up in my life where I have had to really count my blessings and think about what I have been given instead of what I am lacking. I have also come to the realization that although a person may mean well that they don't always share the same goals or direction and they might try and steer you another way but that's okay. That's when you need to have confidence in yourself and your decision and listen to your heart. I have had to really do that lately as I tend to want to please other people and care too much about making everyone else happy most times at the price of my own happiness and goals. I am still trying to practice what I learned through my counseling sessions that I have worth and value as a person and that I can't have any control over what other people think and feel I can only control myself and my reactions. What can I say I'm still a work in progress? I have also had to really realize that even after you are married it is not a fairy tale happily ever after, it can end up that way but after a lot of work and effort and that being married in itself doesn't give any guarantees. Damian and I are doing well again but I naively thought that just because we survived a year long separation that the rest would be gravy. I think we both came through the ashes and realized that this is not the case and that if we wanted to be married bad enough that we would need to make each other a priority and take the time to really appreciate what we have instead of picking apart our quirks and flaws. Taking some time to think I began to see Damian in the same light as when I married him, he has changed and grown but I see the man I fell in love with. I began to see the sweet man who could always make me laugh and who took the time in his own simple way to care about me and other people who remembered my name after he had just met me and who put his arm around me and asked how my day was then stuck around to hear the answer. We have been through a lot together good and bad but now I can stop nit picking and appreciate the gift I was given. Damian certainly can drive me crazy but at the same time he has such a sweet way of loving me and telling me I'm beautiful and that he loves me. I'm beginning to wonder if he is blind but he tries to love me the best way that he can and I'm learning to accept it unconditionally and realize that I have been blessed by having been given his love. I'm learning to see that although he has challenges and issues we need to deal with on a daily basis that sometimes get in our way that I truly love him and wouldn't have it any other way and that the day I married him in the Spokane Temple was the best day of my life. I wouldn't trade him or my life with him challenges and all for anything in the world