Gratitude for Cockroaches

Gratitude we're told is something we should practice in our lives.  It's healthy.  It changes our brains, our quality of sleep, even our immune systems.  And gratitude not only for the good things that come our way, but for the bad things, too.  Like cockroaches.  What?

I hate washing dishes.  Whenever I'm staring down a sinkful of dirty pans, a voice in my head says I'm better than this.  I was not born to wash dishes.  I was meant to have staff.  Or at least an electric dishwasher.  My true destiny was to be wealthy and successful, but my life took a wrong turn somewhere.

Along with this innate resistance, throw in depression, laziness, and procrastination, and you've got yourself an open invitation for a roach infestation.

Which is exactly what happened.

Not wanting to use poisons, I decided to starve 'em out.  That meant no dirty dishes left lying around.  Not even for a few minutes.  No more sneaking off to bed with a promise that I'd wash them in the morning.  There was no such thing as later.

I wasn't sure if I could do it, such is my hatred of dishwashing.  But I did it.

And I discovered that keeping the sink clean at all times was actually less stressful.  Instead of facing an entire sinkful to wash, it was only two or three things at a time.  No longer did I dread facing a pile of gross, crusty plates, pots, and gadgets in my sink. 

The roaches went away.  I'm grateful that they left, but I'm also grateful that they came.