GRATITUDE

It's a new year and usually its a time when we all make new years resolutions which involve stuff like losing weight, exercise regularly, try to save more money, etc. This year I told myself to find something each day to be grateful for. With life being so hectic as it is, some days I thought would be harder than others. But when you really define the word "gratitude", it simply means "a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation". And I think we all know that the simple, small things in life are pretty easy to find. I know for myself, when my little granddaughter smiles at me, I need nothing else in life. I'm just grateful to be a daily part of her life.

At the end of last year, when I was short on help at the store, I hired a lady who was having a tough time. It's a long story, but she ended up basically homeless. She bounced from one persons home to another. She has a 16 year old son who has learning disabilities. Her life wasn't easy. There were times I have to admit, she made us a little crazy on some of those days. But even in the craziest of times, we all worried about her and wanted to make sure she had enough money for food and the basic necessities. It also reminded us to be grateful for own lives and having a roof over our heads! Well, to make a long story short, she left the state for the holidays to visit relatives. It turned out one of her nieces was going to move her to Arizona and give her and her son a place to live. I was sincerely happy for her, and didn't think too much more about it. I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks and had replaced her on our work schedule. Then one day out of the blue she called me. She said she "just wanted to thank me" for all I did for her, and how nice and kind I had been to her. After she hung up, I was really grateful that I had taken the time to be a short part of her life because I knew then we had both made a difference in each others lives for a short period of time. Sometime "life just happens while you are making plans".