Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Still Thankful

Thanksgiving is over and it's already time for the next holiday. Forget the fact that the radio stations were playing christmas tunes weeks ago and that stores were well-stocked with trees and trimmings right after Halloween! Next! Thanksgiving never gets the recognition it deserves. Maybe it's because there's not much spending involved when compared to its neighboring holidays.

I have a love/loathe relationship with this time of year. I love the twinkly lights, the vacation and family time, and the white peppermint mochas at Starbucks. I loathe the endless hustle and bustle and self-inflicted stress of getting the "right" gifts.

After running around for a week, gearing up for the next holiday I realized (yet again) the need to slow down. You know, smell the roses? Relax. Unwind. Be thankful.

Here's my belated "What I'm thankful for" list:

Loving family
Supportive and fun friends
Family pets
Shelter from the cold
Abundance of food
Access to affordable and quality healthcare (when I'm thankful, I'm thorough!)
Good doctors
Health; Able-body
Employment
The opportunity to have traveled this year
My iPod

And just in case I've missed anything, I'm starting a daily gratitute journal (no worries, I won't be recording it here!). I think it will be helpful in slowing down and appreciating what I have. So often we strive, hope and sometimes fixate on things that are out of our control and reach. I don't always recognize what I've got. And I don't want to have regrets later, having missed an opportunity to appreciate something when I had it.

"Be thankful for what you have: you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on the things you don't have you will never have enough." Oprah