When I was 14 years old or so I asked my parents for a keyboard for Christmas.  Now before you get the idea that this was a way for me to learn typing on my Mac or HP PC, let me just stop you. Because back when I was in high school a keyboard meant only one thing…80′s music with a synthesizer. Oh yeah.

Unless you were a tech-geek like my hubby.  Then you asked for an Amiga 2000.

{{Yes, I know geeks rock, Babe.  Now go finish programming your app!}}

That’s right, I’m an 80′s girl.  Way back in 9th grade, my music mainly consisted of bands like Soft Cell, Thomas Dolby, and of course, Duran Duran.  I also played the piano so what else would any music-loving kid ask for but an electric keyboard.  Oh, it didn’t have to be an expensive brand like Roland.  It just had to be a keyboard.  With synth capabilities if possible, thankyouverymuch.

That Christmas was going to be awesome!  I had it all planned out.  Other than some clothes and a hair dryer the keyboard was the only big item on my list.  It was a shoe-in to get a privileged spot under the twinkling lights of our Christmas tree.  Right next to the bottle of Cache perfume I had gotten for my mom and some tools that were for my dad.  Christmas Day was going to be sweet!

Then the big day arrived and there, under our tree, was a huge square box…with my mom’s name on it.  Huh?  That big box turned out to be our very first microwave from my dad.  Needless to say, Mom was thrilled.  But where was my keyboard? Oh, I got the hair dryer and some clothes, but was I ever disappointed and moody the rest of the day.  And clearly very ungrateful.

Sound familiar?  It should.  This scenario plays itself out in numerous homes across the globe with kids and adults letting their ungrateful side show.  And if it’s not currently happening in a family near you then, sadly, you can rest assured that some alternate-reality-tv-family is living it acting it out on the tube.  In reality, being thankful isn’t something you just happen to pick up when you reach a certain age.  It’s learned.  My parents had taught me to be thankful, though sometimes it didn’t click with me right away.  That was the case on that Christmas so long ago.  Thankfully later that day, I was reminded of how blessed I was and let my parents know how I truly felt.  I was also grateful for their forgiveness.

In an effort to keep my own kids’ hearts in the right place, we’ve started “Thankful Journals.”  They each keep a small notebook in which they write down five things everyday for which they’re thankful.  And they each do it in their own style.  My daughter, ever the writer, loves journaling about each item in great detail.  My son, who would rather have teeth pulled than write a single letter of the alphabet, jots down the exact one or two-word descriptor that gets the job done.  Either way you look at it, they’re accomplishing two things.  They’re writing down their own thoughts {which might give them ideas to write about later} and they’re confirming on paper that they are grateful for certain things and people in their lives.  So in the end, it’s all good.  And that is music to my ears.

If you’d like to read more gratefulness, you can visit Ann and the rest of the Grateful Community here. Have a great week!

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