I debated all day whether to write this post.

I wasn’t sure if I had an angle, or if it is appropriate to call attention to something so sad.

Yet, here I am.

When Erin and I were going through our issues, it often seemed like we had it worse than everyone else. If you listen, you can hear that come through in the post. Nevertheless, we often reminded each other — even as we were on the verge of giving up — that we are very lucky. We’re lucky to have a roof over our heads, food on our plates, a great group of friends, and wonderful families.

We’re not the only ones that tried to keep the positive attitude in the face of adversity. My friend Stephen and his family have kept perspective even during really tough times:

I know we’re the lucky ones. I’ve seen way too many child-sized coffins over the last five years. Josiah has lost too many friends to [childhood cancer].

Our lives are busy, and I’m not very good at keeping up with old friends. In fact, there are only two friends that I can think of that I’ve held onto from when I was in elementary school. One, my dear friend Brad, I am lucky enough to be able to see every June when I go to San Francisco.

The other is Marco.

I’m not sure if I met Brad or Marco first, but I’ve known them both around the same amount of time. Considerably more than any other friends I have.

Today I read “Lost”, and was really saddened. I knew what was going on with our dear friends Marco and Tiff, but reading Marco’s post still makes me upset.

I admire, however, that they are putting this into the universe. It’s an extremely difficult thing to do. But most of all, I admire this:

We’re extremely fortunate to have one kid already — that’s infinitely more than a lot of people get, and I never forget that. And he’s awesome, which is even luckier.

When you’re in the heat of the moment, your perspective makes you think that your reality is so much worse than everyone else’s. As it turns out, there’s always something to be thankful for.