Keeping Thanksgiving Going In Ocean County

I hope you enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving holiday.  If you were busy with food prep and/or football, you may not have taken time to think about all there is to be thankful for so I'm devoting today's blog to that topic.

As I've gotten older I've learned a lot about gratitude.  A quick online search will show you lots of examples and research findings about the health benefits of feeling grateful.  And I can personally attest to the psychic value of SAYING THANKS instead of keeping those grateful thoughts to yourself.   Looking back on this past year there are several examples of how I shared my thanks (and how good it felt for both giver and receiver):

While I was out of town, I got a phone call from a woman saying she found my dog on the street.  Apparently my pup got away from the new dogsitter and this woman, a stranger,  was able to lure Taylor to safety.  She saw my phone number on the collar and I was able to get my friend to take over dogsitting duties until I got back home.  A week later, with Taylor curled up beside me I was overcome with gratitude. I thought about how my dog could have been hit by a car or worse had this stranger not intervened.  I called the woman then to let her know how much I appreciated what she did.  She said my call made her day and she's glad she played a role in our happy ending.

More recently a power outage had me stressed and scrambling as the lights went out 90 minutes before I was to throw a dinner party.  Thanks to the friend who came over early to help set everything up while I was dealing with the generator.

Then when the power came back on ahead of schedule, before the guests arrived, I felt a wave of gratitude for the electric company workers who fixed everything ahead of schedule.  I had my friends raise their wine glasses and we all said "Cheers" to the utility guys!

My advice?  Think about the people who help you, who have influenced your life, who make your days brighter.  And say thanks.  EXPRESSING gratitude feels great!   And this is a good time of year to do it.

What are you feeling grateful about today?