Happy Thanksgiving

Ryan, Age 4

When my son woke up for the second time early this morning, 4:30 this time, I was a bit annoyed. He goes to sleep and during the night manages to kick all of his covers off and calls (o.k. screams, repeatedly) for me to come pull them back up when he wakes up cold.

I have explained to him that he can do it himself but no such luck yet. So I came back to bed and this post began to form in my head.

On this Thanksgiving day there are many things I am thankful for. Family, friends, health, etc. The list is long and wide. I won't go on and on. I do want to say that I practice gratitude on a daily basis. And when there are times that I feel down (which thankfully are few and far between these days), I turn to this simple practice to pull me back up.

Gratitude for all the wonderful things, but also for the not so wonderful things. Much harder to do. The reason I am grateful for the not so wonderful times or things is that with them comes important lessons to be learned. I often don't realize them in the moment but reflecting on it later the lesson is often revealed.

So climbing back into bed this morning my initial annoyance that I first felt with my son was gone as I said a silent thank you. He did after all manage not to scream when he called me. And that I am truly thankful for. :)

P.S. Thank you all for your uplifting comments. It means alot to me to connect to all of you. I will pick a winner tonight for the ornament and post the winners name tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!
~Dana