This is the time of year we all are reminded to be thankful for what we have . I noticed a lot of people posted daily this month on facebook the things they are grateful or thankful  for each day . I think it is a wonderful thing to make a point of sharing what we are thankful, or grateful for, but it is too bad we only really do that this time of year. We really should do it every day.

I make a point every day to look at my life and be grateful for even the small things we take for granted. Once you start making it a part of your daily life, you realize how much you have that you really did not pay attention to.

How many times do we take clean running water,  sanitary bathrooms, a stove, microwave and if we have it , a dishwaster for granted.  Most people have a washer and dryer in thier home, but even having one at a laundromat beats washing clothes in a river . We are very blessed as modern Amercians to have so many luxuries that we consider our right. Or we do not consider them at all.

When I was a young newly  married girl, I was working as a waitress, yes, we were still called waitresses back then, not servers. If you were a man, you were a waiter !!  I was complaining about the mess at home and how I had to go  home and do dishes and pick up. This young girl who I really did not know well, said to me. ” You go home and be grateful you have dishes to wash and a house to clean. I have to live with someone else right now because I do not have my own place. I would love to have my own dishes to wash and my own place to clean. ” I was very humbled and that has never left me. When I find myself getting overwelmed with housework, I  stop now and think how blessed I am to have food to cook, and dishes to wash. I have a floor to sweep, mop and vacuum and I have bathrooms to clean and a bed to make and laundry to wash , in my own washer and dryer. I have never forgotten those words. I have days I forget, I will be honest, but most of the time, I stop , think and say Thank you to God for the fact I have these messes which indicate a wonderful life. Having a husband of 31  years to cook for, and do laundry for, I am very blessed . He works hard to give us a good life and when I am tired  and do not feel like cleaning I make a point to think about how it must feel to get up at five am every day to go to work, whether you want to or not, and I stop complaining and start saying thank you .

Of course, since I am far from perfect, lol,  I have times when I do not think of that and complain about the mess I have to clean, but I find more and more, I decide to be grateful for that mess as it means I am very blessed. Complaining is less and less part of my life.

So, as we go about our daily life, we  need to really look at what we have, not just the obvious, our families and friends and a home and a job, those are all huge blessings to be sure. But look at those small things, that are not small to many people. Food, clothes, electricity, clean running water, indoor plumbing,  a home to live in, not to mention that flat screen tv with dvr and the blue rays and dvd players and video games smart phones ,  and all those things most of us can easily  take for granted.  Just having this computer in a spare room, this is a huge luxury. I have an entire room to play in on my computer and with my crafts and beads, what a luxury.

So, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to spend with family and reflect on all we are grateful for. I hope more of us can continue that gratitude through the year , really looking at our blessings every day and thanking God for all we have , it really is a lot, no matter what tough times we are going through. Even if breathing, being alive and having a future ahead of us,  was all we had, we have hope of a better day and a good future.  Most of us have so much more than that. Every day we are alive, we have the chance to create the life we want and I do believe that being grateful for all we  have is the way to getting to the future we want. How can we attract the life we want when we do not appreciate what we have ?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and really digs deep and finds all the things in thier lives that they can be grateful for, I think most of us have so much more than we even realize to be grateful and thankful for !!

Happy Thanksgiving !!