How was everyone’s Thanksgiving?  Did you stuff yourselves silly with Tofurkey and mashed potatoes?  And pie?  Can’t forget about the pie!  Did you see a cornucopia and dive for cover because you’re still scared of them after reading The Hunger Games?  Did you put shoe buckles on anything and pass it off as Pilgrim?

And in between the Tofurkey-eating and shoe-buckling… did you spend some time reflecting on what you’re thankful for?  Sometimes I forget to do that, I’ll be honest with you.  It’s terribly easy to take things for granted.  And while I try not to take the big stuff for granted – like my marriage and my home – it can be easy to forget about the slightly smaller, but still important, things.  For instance, sometimes it’s too easy to get caught up in the fact that there is a Whole Foods employee blocking my access to the organic bell peppers and get frustrated… when what I really should be thinking is about how lucky I am to have access to a nice grocery store and enough greenbacks to buy organic bell peppers if I want them.  Or I’ll think, “Wow, it’s such a beautiful day.  Can’t believe I have to sit in an office all day.”  When I really should think, “Wow, it’s such a beautiful day.  Can’t believe I get to look at that beautiful blue sky and take my lunchtime walk down Embassy Row – how lucky am I?”

Yeah, I have it pretty good.  You probably do, too.  Are there things about my life that I’d like to change?  Sure.  Is everything perfect?  H-E-double-hockey-sticks NO.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t be grateful for all the good stuff I do have going on, and count my blessings every day.  I always try to do that.  Sometimes I’m pretty good at it.  Sometimes I’m not.

Well, I’ve decided to take this counting blessings thing to a new level.  And I figured the day after Thanksgiving was as good a day as any to start.  What am I going to do?  I’m going to jump on the gratitude journal bandwagon.  I have friends who keep gratitude journals, and I’ve always thought it seemed like such a heartwarming, life-affirming practice.  And you know what?  I could really stand to spend more time appreciating and less time complaining.  Hey, I’m not saying I’ll ever stop sweating the small stuff completely.  I probably never will.  But I can find three things a day that I can be grateful for.

Yep, them’s the rules.  Three things, per day, that’s it.  They can be big things – like, “I’m grateful to be married to such a funny, smart, and sweet guy.”  Fact.  Or small things – like, “I’m grateful that my iPod spontaneously started working again.”  Or even really obvious things – like, “I’m grateful for Mariage Freres tea.”  As long as I can think of three things to be grateful for each day, I’ll be in pretty good shape.

Let the gratitude begin.