on gratitude

Source: whatinspires.me via Gioconda on Pinterest

thank you.
gracias.
merci.
grazie.
a hug.
a written note.
an email.

i love all the ways of saying thank you.
i encourage my kids to say thank you.
i think it's so important to not just say the words but to have those words say something to the person they are intended for.

thank you for taking the time to think of me.
thank you for your thoughtfulness.
thank you for your help.

with that said, i am terrible at sending out thank you notes.
it's the procrastinator in me.
but i did start a project of collecting all of the thank you notes that we've received this year.
from friends, teachers, brides and mom's to be.

next year i will make it a point to be diligent about sending out thank you cards.
consider that my first goal for 2012.

november is the perfect month to be thinking about gratitude.
finding a moment everyday to give thanks and appreciate something small, or big.
maybe it's saying thank you to your kids for working hard at school.
or telling your husband you appreciate that he comes home from work and still has energy to spend with his kids.
what about just giving a moment to appreciate your home, the things you are able to own, your car that takes you from here to there.
we always say grace before we eat, but now i try to give thanks after i've eaten a good meal.

it doesn't take much to give thanks.
but it certainly gives back a lot.

thankful thought: today i am thankful for an unexpected day off.  andrew's fieldtrip was cancelled due to a forecast of rain.  that means that i was able to go to zumba, pick up pictures at costco, and work on a few things at home that i would have put off.  i am looking forward to going on the fieldtrip in january.

if you can find the time to be grateful, i think you can appreciate life even more.