November 21, 2012
Dear Carter and Anne:
I’ll bet the smells of pies being baked; turkey roasting are filling your homes. Instead of Thanksgiving Day I call this “Gratitude Week.” I make a point of writing or calling people to thank them for things big or little they have done this year that helped me. I just wrote an e-mail to Great Western to tell them how helpful one of their tellers was when I lost my debit card. I also filled a survey out from Staples, mentioning how helpful one of the copy managers was when she matched a price she overheard me calling a another store about, and saved me abut $50.00! I think all year long we too often forget to do this.
I remember how I used to make your grandfather Brad sign thank you notes to his grandmother for Christmas gifts even before he could write. Then he’d write his own on little cards. As he and grandma got older she’d send money on birthdays; but I’d have to bug Brad to at least call and thank her. She’s not the nicest person to talk to, but what’s a few minutes? Once Grandma Wilkin got so ornery about thank you notes, that if she didn’t get one, she’d not send him something the following year.
But beyond handwritten notes and sharing our appreciations to others, most importantly we need to thank the universe, or god, or whatever force we believe is behind things, for the good in our lives. Sometimes when things are awful and we’re in a bad mood and nothing seems to be going right in our own lives; we have to pinch ourselves and find something to be glad for. Every day we have to look at our own lives, realize how lucky we are to be safe and sound and healthy, and find something to be grateful for. Today for me it’s the sun that has just broken through a rainy day and it’s 61 degrees outside in November! Today I am not in the cold Northeast, or a victim of a hurricane that flooded my house, or without heat or water. Today I am alive and well. Thank you god!
What is it this year, or this minute, that you are most thankful for? Have fun with all the Thanksgiving festivities, and perhaps think about thanking the turkey for sacrificing it’s life to become your delicious dinner.
Fondly,
Grandma Pat
Grandma Pat: You are so right about thanking God and theuniverse for all the little blessings we have each day. I love how you thanked Staples and Best Western for the nice things they did for you. I decided to do that, too. I just completed 60 daily gratitude blog posts during my month-long November Gratitude challenge. A lot of work, but I’m done! Now, turning those 60 blog posts into a book. Good luck, btw, with your manuscript and Nina Amir’s writing challenge!