Appreciate what you have

I have this dear friend, L, whom I have known since Andrea was 9 months old, so about 20 years. She has not had an easy life, and I thought I knew everything about it. Maybe I did and just cast it out of my brain. Her step dad was a thief, a drug dealer, a wife beater and a child abuser. She recently sent me a letter that she has written so she can get back into college. It made me cry and it made me want to dig up her stepdad's grave and kill him again. She has come so far, and has so much to give. We have supported each other through a lot, more than anyone will ever know, we lose contact because of schedules and distance, but we always find our way back. I know that no matter what, she is someone who will be there for me always. Reading her appeal, I realized that, yes, my life was not easy, but compared to some, mine was a cake walk. My parents may not be perfect, and I may question and disagree with choices that they make, but at least mine were not forcing me to do things that would stay with me for the rest of my life and impact me in a negative way. Sometimes, you never remember how lucky you were until you remember, and hear, that others had it worse and yet they still came through it.