Five Minute Friday-Gift

I am taking Gypsy Mama's idea and writing for 5 min fri.  You write for just five minutes on the topic and don't censor or correct yourself.  After five minutes post what you have.  You can then link to her page and share your post with others that are writing on the same topic.  =)

Gift

Gifts come in many different forms, I try really really hard to make my obstacles into gifts.  Some days this is nearly impossible but trying does make me look at the situation a little differently and can usually give me a different perspective about what is going on. 
My family makes me nuts, they are loud and crazy and opinionated and so am I.  This makes working with them difficult some days because we all feel so strongly about whatever position it is we are debating that it can turn a meeting into an all day discussion.  But, I have the gift of a family business to work in.  I have a place where I came to run errands for my grandmother, that turned into being her assistant, that gave me a part time desk job, that led to the realization that I was good at the accounting and collection that needed to be done, this gave me the chance to work as a bookkeeper and office manager in the office full time and a part owner of the company.  I got a great gift.  This also gave me the chance to work every day with my aunt, my uncle and my grandmother which has just nourished each of those relationships and made me closer with each of them.  I have the gift that I will not be laid off or let go unexpectedly because of downsizing, as long as I keep working hard and putting everything I have into the company, it will be here for me.  That is a great gift, the idea that I have a stable job and we have a good business is very comforting when others don't always have that.  I have the gift of being able to support my family and do something I enjoy (most of the time).  I can see what comes out of my hard work when the company grows and we retain clients.  I have the gift that my husband has a place to learn to be a realtor and learn from our experience so he can grow a career that he enjoys.  That gave us the gift that we no longer have opposite hours, now we drive to work in the same car and sit across the office from each other.  I have been given a lot of wonderful things from this business and I am very grateful.  I want to spend this year working on giving back by doing everything to make it better.  Fixing my mistakes and working on my flaws while utilizing the skills I have and learning new ones.
The hardest thing to consider a gift is my pain.  That is one that I almost never look at as a gift.  I hurt and ache all day every day.  Some days and hours are better than others but every day I have pain that changes the way I do things.  It sucks.  But you know, this pain has given me the gift to see the loving sides of my friends and family.  There is not a person in my life that has not brought me groceries or cooked us dinner, sat with me after surgeries and procedures, called to see how I was feeling, volunteering to do my dishes or clean up the house, covering my work or scheduling things so they worked best for me.  I could go on forever but I'm almost out of time.  I have seen the very best in the people that I love because my pain has made them want to help me when I needed it.  Even when I didn't want to ask.  I have definitely been given a lot.