I look back on this past year and, like many of you, I think about what I have achieved since last January. This leads me to think about the things I didn't achieve and that reminds me of all the things I don't have. Then I start really looking at what I need to achieve the following year so I can get the things I don't have and boy, it just makes me sad because thinking about what I don't have includes my Father and both Grandparents. Now if you ever read the book, "If you give a mouse a cookie" you know where this is heading.
This past year, especially this past year, things have been financially tough for many families. Many of us have lost family and friends, jobs and clients, promotions and opportunities. If you are like me you might have even lost some hair. We all spend a great deal of time thinking about our losses. We are sadden by what we no longer have with us and get angry over the things we did not get. And this all happens around end of the year when we should be giving thanks to anything we do have.
The obvious.
If your children are healthy, be grateful. If they are not well but alive, be grateful. If you have a roof over your head, be grateful. Even if it leaks, be grateful you have buckets. If you eat out at a restaurant once a week, be grateful. If you have a friend, or someone you love to share a peanut butter sandwich with, be grateful. Be grateful for health, food, shelter, and the necessities. Be grateful for love and companionship. Do not take it for granted.
The less obvious.
If your television is working on Super Bowl Sunday, be grateful. If you have beer and chips that day, be very grateful. If you have friends, good friends, be grateful. If you do not need to dry your clothes on a wire outside, be grateful. If you have running hot water and a working toilet, be grateful. Be grateful if you have a phone, internet connection, and fingers to text. Be grateful for the trees that give us oxygen, shade and fruits. For the bees that provide honey and the worms that eat the fallen leaves, be grateful. If you have a cat, bird, hamster, or dog, or any pet that brings you happiness, be grateful. I have a dog that doesn't' shed. I have a lot to be grateful for and I am 99.9% sure, you do too.
As 2008 ends let us all be grateful for this great country and grateful for the men and woman who protect us and keep us free. Let us be grateful for our police, firefighters, and teachers. Let us be grateful to our volunteers, our blood and financial donors, and our good neighbors. We are free in America to be grateful to any God we choose and for that, let us be grateful. Let us enter the new year with not one crumb of though about what we do not have and be grateful for the many things, big and small, we do have.
Happy New Year!
Seth Prezant is the founder and Bugmaster of www.CoolBugStuff.com His award winning web site was created to help promote fascination and education in science using nature’s most abundant creatures…Bugs! Seth is a true EEE (Education & Entertainment Entrepreneur) providing educational and entertaining nature shows for schools, camps, aftercare programs and home school groups all around South Florida. The Bugmaster can be reached @ seth@coolbugstuff.com
You can find many more easy parent/child projects to do together on Seth's website www.coolbugstuff.com.
