A Year of Thankfulness. Pt. 1

One resolution I made this year was to be thankful for something everyday. I made this conscious choice, because I used to be very appreciative but somehow along the way I became jaded and bitter. I really noticed this tragic personality change around Thanksgiving, when everyone was celebrating and expressing their thankfulness, and all I could do was try not to gag when I read the “Today I’m thankful for…” Facebook statuses that were going around in November.

My life has been filled with appreciative people who love to express that or show it in non-verbal ways. Lots of things have affected me in this attitude: My parents who taught me to be thankful for things given to me. My Wednesday night Bible class teacher in high school who started each class by having us all say something we were thankful for that day. And perhaps my grandfather, a man of few words and even fewer emotions, who once gave me and my brother when we were young a brown paper sack for Christmas, it contained only an apple, an orange, and a handful of peanuts in their shell.The purpose of this gift was not only to share his childhood Christmas experiences (the typical gift that he received) but also that we should be appreciative for everything we get; whether I knew it or not that brief experience taught me a lot about life and how to live it.

In thinking of the best ways to do this, because I knew I would surely forget if I didn’t document in some way, I decided to keep a running note about it on my phone. I had thought about sharing this with the world at the end of the year, but then realized that that would be 365 things, which is a lot to read, so I’m going to put them out, month by month. Here’s January’s:

Jan 1- Quiet moments in the morning.
Jan. 2- Clean water to drink when I’m thirsty.
Jan. 3- A sky that reflects multiple colors
Jan. 4- Heaters
Jan. 5- Sunsets
Jan. 6- Naps
Jan. 7- Mid-day coffee
Jan. 8- Intelligent doctors with amazing memories.
Jan. 9- Friends
Jan. 10- Friendly Strangers
Jan. 11- Relaxation
Jan. 12- A Paycheck
Jan. 13- Games
Jan. 14- Conversation with thoughtful, sincere people
Jan. 15- Sunshine!
Jan. 16- A sarcastic family
Jan. 17- Breakfast with friends
Jan. 18- STRUCTURE! Especially when there is none
Jan. 19- Safety
Jan. 20- Epiphanies
Jan. 21- Thunderstorms, rain, and sunshine
Jan. 22- Good friends and pain medicine
Jan. 23- Down time
Jan. 24- Many flavors of tea
Jan. 25- Honesty
Jan. 26- Alone time
Jan. 27- Sunshine, even if it’s cold
Jan. 28- An eventful day
Jan. 29- Moonlight