Gratitude...Lifetime Opportunities Greatly Appreciated

“Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. ... Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

Gratitude is oftentimes an overlooked word, or feeling, in today’s society. Many people take opportunities and gifts given to them for granted, which in turn creates an attitude of expectation.

These are just a few of the things I am grateful for in my life…

My Parents…

~taking our family on trips (mostly tent camping) around the United States and Canada when I was young~

I learned to appreciate…

• spending time with family

• building memories

• the beauty of nature

• sleeping in a tent

• hiking in the mountains

• learning about people from all different walks of life

• experiencing our beautiful country

• time spent at Holden Village… a remote Christian community located in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State

• The sacrifice parents made to provide meaningful experiences for their children..i.e not liking spiders, bugs, wet canvas tents, cooking meals on a camp stove, squabbling children in a car for days on end, car problems miles away from home, e.t.c.

~creating loving family times with relatives~

I learned to appreciate...

• celebrating holidays with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents

• visiting relatives out of state

• having grandparents for lunch every Sunday

• celebrating special times with relatives, i.e. confirmation, graduation

~encouraging me to pursue my love of hiking in the mountains when I was young~

I learned to appreciate…

• the camaraderie of spending time with like minded people

• the euphoric feeling of a long, strenuous hike surrounded by the beauty of snow-covered mountain peaks!

• the sights, sounds, and delicious scents of nature

~allowing me to travel to Norway and Central Europe with a friend at age 16~

I learned to appreciate…

• the trust they had in me and my decision-making

• the opportunity to have once-in-a-lifetime experience that shaped my life in enormous ways

• differences and similarities in people from many different cultural backgrounds

~paying for my college tuition~

I learned to appreciate…

• how long and hard my parents worked to provide this for me

• the opportunity and value of a solid education

• the gift of not having debt when I got out of school

~giving me the opportunity to study abroad in Sweden when I was in college~

I learned to appreciate…

• living in a different culture

• meeting and developing lifelong friendships with people from all around the world

• discovering my “roots” i.e. Swedish and Danish relatives

• spending time with my Swedish and Danish relatives

• experiencing the love of my host family members; parents, siblings, grandmother

~always supporting me through “thick and thin”~

I learned to appreciate…

• the emotional and financial support when Jim died

• the emotional support when my grandmothers died

• the emotional support when Patrick died

• the support through the issues at Dynamy

• the support through my difficult relationships

• the financial support when I needed it

Blessings Embraced:

• My parents sacrificed many things to provide a well-rounded and fun life for me.

• My parents provided me with many opportunities

• My parents gave me the freedom to make decisions for myself

• My parents trusted me

Affirmation: I am grateful for the opportunities afforded to me by my parents.