It’s getting to be that time of year … when we blow right past Thanksgiving and start hanging the holiday lights. Traditionally, of course, before Target and Walmart took over the holidays, Thanksgiving was a time for people to take stock of their lives and give thanks for their blessings. A friend once told me about a Thanksgiving tradition that I thought it was quite ingenious: they put the letters that spell Thanksgiving into a jar, then before they sit down to their feast, each person draws a letter and must say what they are grateful for using a word that starts with that letter. I tried this several years ago and it was a fun way to start the meal. I have to confess that the highlight was when our 11-year-old grandson selected the letter “V” and exclaimed that he was grateful for Viagra. Obviously he’d been watching way too much television.
There are a lot of therapists and new age thinkers who encourage people to keep a journal listing everything that they are grateful for on a daily basis. Heck, I can’t do anything every day except brush my teeth and eat, so keeping a Grateful Diary is out of the question. The concept, however, is a noble one, so this week I decided to combine the two ideas and, in that spirit, create a GRATITUDE list for the season.
G – Girlfriends. Where would I be without them? Together we laugh, we cry, we play cards, we hack our way around a golf course, and we create. They have been, and continue to be, my sanity.
R – Relatives. I have a wonderful family and I know I’m very lucky that we like and love each other. We relish our time together and NOT ONCE have we had to have police intervene at a family gathering.
A – Alan, my late husband. Even though he is gone, I am grateful for our long and happy marriage. As the saying goes, better to have loved and lost than never loved at all.
T – Tea. Sometimes there is just nothing like a good “cuppa” to get me through the day. I will say that since I bought a Nespresso machine a good cappuccino in the afternoon is a real treat. But Gratitude doesn’t contain a “C” so I’ll go with tea.
I – Inspiration. I am surrounded by very imaginative women who are artistic and talented in ways I never will be. But they inspire me to improve whatever I am doing.
T – Time. Somehow it seems I never have enough of it. How did I ever work? Now I love it when an appointment gets cancelled. There is nothing like the gift of TIME!
U – Unburdened. As I’ve gotten older I no longer feel like I “have” to do stuff. I now say “no” when I feel like it. This is probably why older people are deemed “cranky”.
D – Dash the Wonder Dog. Duh.
E – Elusiveness. I am a literal thinker (I’ve taken the test on Facebook to confirm this) but I love that big parts of my life are elusive. When you think you no longer need to try new things – and fail – life becomes too predictable. It’s always good to have something beyond your grasp – like losing 10 pounds.
That’s my list for this year. Next year it could be something entirely different. Although Dash really is the only “shoe-in”. As word games go, I thought this was a good exercise to go through. I still don’t think I’ll ever be disciplined enough to do a daily Gratitude Diary, but it sure feels good to stop once in a while to take stock in all of the things, and especially the friends, that make life good.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.