Got Thanks? Time To Give It!

With the holiday season more hectic than other times of the year, finding time for reflection on what you have to be thankful for can easily take a back seat to more pressing things. You know, like making an emergency trip to the grocery store for that one Thanksgiving side dish ingredient you forgot or rushing to the mall in hopes of scoring the limited supply Black Friday buys your kids say they won’t be able to live without.

I certainly don’t take the time I should (as often as I should) to recognize how wonderful life really is despite the day-to-day challenges. Do you?

After reading numerous posts about thankfulness, I decided to follow in the footsteps of business professionals like Rachel Strella of Strella Social Media, Laura Spencer of Writing Thoughts, and Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks. They’ve shared what makes them thankful—and their posts served as the kick in the pants I needed to get my thankfulness on. Could you use a kick, too? If yes, check out my list, get started on your own, and then share some of it here in the comments.

I’m Thankful For…

1. My husband Shane’s love, support, patience, and encouragement
2. My daughter Natalie’s comfort level in talking with me about anything and everything (Although I admit I’m not always immediately thankful for that!)
3. My parents who are always there for me no matter how old I get
4. My brother (We used to beat up on each other as kids, but we’re beyond that now.)
5. Having our 89-year-old grandma on this earth
6. My in-laws who welcomed me with open arms into their family 17 years ago
7. My friends—from high school, college, and my past life at D&E Communications—who remain special people in my life
8. Facebook, for making it easy to stay in touch with those friends
9. The friends I’ve been blessed with on my self-employment journey (You understand the challenges, you give encouragement, and you inspire me.)
10. My mastermind group gals (Jennifer, Rachel, and Terry) for your insight, advice, support, and friendship
11. My assistant, Rose, who has helped me immensely this past year
12. Clients who entrust me to help them with their content and their brand’s message
13. The amazing connections I’ve made with people on Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn
14. The unconditional love of our boxer-mix, Luna
15. Our house
16. My 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that still looks great and runs like a champ
17. The corporate takeover that gave me reason to pursue my career in freelance writing
18. The amazing teachers in Ephrata School District. In eight years, we haven’t experienced a bad one in the bunch.
19. Where I live (2 hours to the beach. 3 hours to the mountains. Within 5 minutes of three major grocery stores. 3 minutes to Staples and CVS. 20 minutes from two malls. 7 minutes to the PA Turnpike. 30 seconds from the Green Dragon Farmers Market.)
20. Red wine
21. My chiropractor, Dr. Lee Lausch, who has kept my scoliosis at bay
22. The grace of God
23. Outgrowing my seafood allergy (I now eat shrimp twice each week!)
24. Broccoli and brussel sprouts
25. Making a living by writing (After five years, I still find that somewhat surreal!)
26. The gym in our basement (God bless my treadmill, free weights, and Wave Master!)
27. “Survivor” (The only TV show I actually sit down to watch!)
28. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the morning
29. Red wine (Oops, I already said that, didn’t I??)
30. A heart that beats
31. Lungs that breathe
32. Legs that run
33. Eyes that see
34. Ears that hear
35. Hands for holding
36. Arms for embracing
37. A mouth for smiling
38. Love
39. Laughter

I could go on and on and on but in the interest of time and attention spans, I’ll put a cap on my list so you can begin yours. Ready to go?

What do you have to be thankful for?

By Dawn Mentzer
Another Insatiable Solopreneur^TM post