WOW Word-Of-the-Week #279: Grateful
November 29, 2009 by Susan Clarke
Grateful – appreciative; thankful.
Did your parents ever tell you how fortunate you were? Do you tell your children or grandchildren how fortunate they are? Do you feel grateful for the life you have?
This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving and it is always a time when people reflect on how fortunate and thankful they are. This year though, it seemed to me everyone felt more grateful. How about you?
You would think that couples facing job losses and foreclosure wouldn’t be grateful and yet newspaper stories this week focused on just that. Even in the face of possible failure and defeat they felt thankful for all that they had.
I have always believed that there will always be someone who has more things than I do and that I will have more things than someone else. But all that means nothing, if you don’t have your health, or the love and camaraderie of your family and friends.
Thanksgiving Camaraderie
This Thanksgiving was one of the best I ever had. Everybody got along and much of it was spontaneous. Could I be getting more flexible and less rigid the older I get? Is that what happens when you let go of needing everything to be perfect?
This week focus on those things in your life that you feel grateful for. Do you have your health? Do you need to connect with someone and let them know how thankful you are for having them in your life? Do you have children and/or grandchildren that give you great enjoyment?
Maybe having so many grand kids around made me feel more playful? I’m not exactly sure. But what I am sure of is that I am truly grateful to have so many wonderful family and friends and the joy they bring to my life!
Reader Responses
“Grateful is the perfect word for this time of year. As I approach my dotage, I find that the simple things are the most important. During my life I have never been a social climber. I realize that I don’t need very much to be happy. As long as my wife and kids are healthy, happy and terrific, that is really all that is important to me. I have told friends of mine that what I really enjoy is to simply sit in the backyard with a cup of coffee and a good book. I’m not a fussy person. I never aspired to be a millionaire. I just need enough to pay the bills and take a nice vacation with Kristen and the girls every year. My family has been blessed by good health, so it is something that I am very grateful for in my life. I read so many stories of those who have terrible diseases but have no insurance coverage. I am fortunate that through my work I have medical and dental coverage for my family. There are countless millions who don’t have any coverage. Hopefully, that will change with the passage of the Health Care Reform Act later this year or early next year. Growing up, my parents reminded us of the people around the world who were hungry and did not have anything in their lives. Now, I hear myself saying the same thing to my eight-year-old daughter at the dinner table when she won’t eat all of her vegetables. I don’t want to put the guilt trip on her, but I still tell her that one billion people in the world will go hungry that night. Because children have little perspective, they still have a tough time appreciating difficulties outside of their own little worlds. But, Erin Grace is learning. As part of her Brownie group at school, they have adopted a family in our area that is having a tough time making ends meet. The Brownies are preparing a food basket for that family, and will continue to do things during the year for it. There is a lot for which to be grateful for at this time of the year. Let’s try to remember that when others are worried about keeping up with the Joneses. Take care, Susan. Every best wish!” – “Warrior” Joe Moran.