I’m Tez (Teri to those who know me personally). I live in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. I’m in the sandwich generation: middle-aged and married. After the death of my stepdad, my elderly mother moved in with us so she wouldn’t have to live alone. I have an adult married son and 2 young grandsons; my husband has 4 kids who live about 80 miles away. Our household also includes 4 dogs: 2 Rat Terriers (ratties) and 2 American Eskimo Dogs (eskies).
My parents married just 3 months after they met in 1945, and were ecstatically married for 42 years until my father died of cancer in January 1988. My mother was devastated at the loss of her one true love. Although she remarried after a few years, it was more for companionship and friendship than love. My stepdad passed in July 2007.
I have two much older (8 & 10 years) brothers, which makes me the youngest and the only girl. Although we were all born in Colorado, I’m the only one living here now. Both brothers live out of state: one in San Diego, one in Maine. No matter how old we all get, I’ll still be their little sister, the brat, the spoiled one.
I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude since our family Thanksgiving dinner last year. We went around the table, each person saying what they are thankful for. Everyone had the same response: family. Everyone, that is, except the youngest one at the table. When it was his turn, my 4-year-old grandson jumped up and said that he was thankful for puzzles. We all laughed.
It was obvious that no one, including me, spent much time thinking about what they were truly thankful for. They simply said whatever came to mind that would fulfill the requirement.
Not good enough, I thought. Gratitude means so much more than being thankful one day a year. It’s more than saying “Thank God!” when some tradgedy is averted. It’s more than politly saying “please” and “thank you”.
To me, gratitude is recognizing and appreciating all the little things that give life meaning. If we just stop and pay attention, we’d realize that we all have so many things to be grateful for each and every day.
So that’s my challenge: to find something to be grateful for every day and to express my gratitude here on this blog.
