A dog & a smile & a grateful heart

Sometimes I forget to be thankful for the simple things.

I was reminded of that the other day when I was downtown and found Max the bulldog. I'd seen him on TV before, but never in person. I watched him for several minutes, smiling the whole time.

So today, I'm thankful for people and things (and dogs) that bring a smile to my face.

Thanks for the reminder -- and the smile -- Max.

Wishing all my readers a Thanksgiving full of smiles.

Gratitude is never cliche

It started with Oprah Winfrey and her gratitude journal. Thousands of people jumped in and began keeping nightly lists of 3 things for which they were thankful that day. But I didn't. It all seemed so cliche (I really wish I knew how to make an accent mark above the "e."), everyone rushing to do it just because Oprah said so.

I think the saying "have an attitude of gratitude" followed shortly after (or at least was resurrected). That got tired pretty quickly.

Then there are the annual daily November postings on Facebook. Beginning November 1, people post one status update each day that share something they are grateful for in there lives. But you won't find any of those posts from me. That's just so...unoriginal, maybe?

But sometime in the last few days as I've been thinking about what I might write about for Thanksgiving, I've come to the realization that gratitude is never cliche. Gratitude should really be a lifestyle, not a single action. And those people who write in their daily gratitude journals or who take the time to deliberately consider their blessings each day and share those thoughts are the ones who have it right. Instead of rolling my eyes or congratulating myself on being an original thinker, I should fall in line and, yes, adopt an attitude of gratitude.

It's not that I'm not thankful. I've written before Thanksgiving posts that acknowledge my blessings, even when they seem hidden. But somehow, I've missed the opportunity to practice gratitude as a way of life. I don't think I'm a bad person. I think I'm a busy, over-extended, overtired person. I saw myself in Judy Daniell's post on Momaha.com, Turning a Day of Thanks into a Life of Thanksgiving.

I'm don't know that I'll start a gratitude journal. But I will start trying to be more intentional about acknowledging my blessings. I saw this on Facebook yesterday and am pretty sure there is some truth to it. So I'll leave you with it now:

Happy Thanksgiving.

9 rotten things I'm thankful for

1. Rush hour traffic -- Thank you, God, that I have a job to go to and a car to get myself there and back.
   
2. Extra weight -- Thank you, God, that I am not one of those many who go hungry.
   
3. Insomnia -- Thank you, God, for the quiet spaces that I find, even when they are at 4am.
   
4. Long lines at the grocery store -- Thank you, God, for the blessing of being able to feed my family.
   
5. Road construction -- Thank you, God, for paved roads instead of rocky, rutty paths and for jobs for all those people who work on them.
   
6. Notes from the teacher -- I long ago discovered that an e-mail from the teacher with just your child's name in the subject line is almost never good news. But thank you, God, my children have teachers who care about their success.
7. Mountains of laundry -- Thank you, God, that we have clothes to wear and a washer/dryer at home.
8. That time of the month -- Thank you, God, for the amazing workings of my body.
9. Bills -- Thank you God, for electricity and heat, wireless internet and modern medicine.

What rotten things are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!