Day Twenty One - Gratitude Challenge

Reflect on the 21 days of The Gratitude Challenge and what this process has meant to you.

As I have done this challenge it has made me stop and think about all of my many blessings in my life. I've always recognized what a wonderful life I have, but the challenge just made me put more thought into them and slow down and enjoy them. I encourage everyone to do this challenge, because even when things are about as bad as you think they can be, their really not.


“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.”

Eileen Caddy

Day Twenty - Gratitude Challenge

As The Challenge winds down, write a thank you note to yourself. Thank yourself for taking the time to stop and focus on all the little things for which you feel grateful.

Sometimes a simple Thanks is all it takes.

Day Nineteen - Gratitude Challenge

Have confidence in the all the choices you have made today and be grateful for being able to believe in yourself.

Day Eighteen - Gratitude Challenge

For the past three days, you have focused on appreciating what makes you unique. Write about all the things that make you so lovable. Take a moment to appreciate your personal style, talents and charm.
 
I think what makes me lovable hands down is my whit and humor. I can make any serious situation a *little* less serious. I can find humor in almost anything. I'm surrounded by stress everyday and sometimes that's what gets me through it. It's a gift. No really, I got it from my mom. Thanks Mom!

Day Seventeen - Gratitude Challenge

Write about something you feel grateful for in your life today.

Today I feel grateful for my warm and comfy home. We had the first snow of the season today and it was so nice to stay home and curl up on the couch by the fire and enjoy the day. I love that we have a nice, modest home to live in. I look at newer houses being built these days and sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in such huge and state of the art homes, but then I realize we would be eating ramen noodles and watching snow on our t.v.

Day Sixteen - Gratitude Challenge

Stand in front of the mirror for five minutes and focus on at least five things that you love about yourself. Write them down.

1. My Hair
2. My Smile
3. My subtle weight loss
4. My eyes
5. My feet

That about covers it.

Day Fifteen - Gratitude Challenge

Take the time to focus on yourself. Appreciate and give thanks for your unique personality, skills and talents.

This one kind of makes me laugh. I'm not one who likes to look at myself in the mirror let alone look at who I am as a person. I will say one thing. I'm a dang hard worker. I have and always will put my all into everything I do. I am proud of the great work ethic that has been ingrained into my personality by a family full of hard workers before me. If not for that I guarantee that I would not be the person that I am today.

Day Fourteen - Gratitude Challenge

It’s been two weeks since you started The Gratitude Challenge. Write about how The Challenge has changed your perspective thus far.

I think when I answered this last year I didn't feel like much had changed as far as my perspective went. The Challenge has just been affirmation of that. I have a fairly positive outlook in life with the occasional "bad day", but overall I'm a very grateful person. Everything I have I've worked hard for so it's hard to take it for granted. I do feel very grateful for the family that has returned. I'm thrilled that my children will grow up in a two parent home, and a year ago I wasn't sure that would be so. I'm grateful for my job, and I feel more grateful for it every time I hear of someone losing theirs. I'm most grateful for the people who surround me on a day to day basis. I can't think of a single day that I don't take something away from a conversation I've had with someone, whether it's my Grandma or a patient at our office, it's always good.

Day Thirteen - Gratitude Challenge

Pick three friends or family members you see regularly. View their actions and gestures through a positive lens, assuming their goodness and witnessing their best intentions.

Day Twelve - Gratitude Challenge

Today, make the effort to live life with a positive outlook. Restrain from criticizing the people around you. Dare to see the glass half full. Listen more than you speak. Give freely of yourself. Practice kindness at every

opportunity.

This is surprisingly easy for me. I work in a great dental practice, with great coworkers, where we have great patients. My kindness at work is always genuine because it's easy when you enjoy what you do, where you do it, and who you do it with.

Day Eleven - Gratitude Challenge

Try to see the world through the eyes of a child. Think about the things you take for granted on a daily basis,and then express gratitude for everything down to the basic necessities that sustain your current life.
 

When I read this challenge tonight the first thing I thought of was something my husband told me when I got home. He said that Punkin had told him on the way home from daycare that she missed Mojo and it just isn't the same without her. Heartbreaking, I know. The funny thing is, is that Mojo was not the cat they played with the most because she was confined to a kennel most of the time. But I noticed this whole weekend how empty our family room feels without her there. She used to jump from each level and every time she did the kennel would make a noise, when you walked into the room she would "talk" to you. The kids loved to just sit next to the kennel and "be". So, I quickly realized how much we take for granted the presence of our loved ones whether it is an animal or human.

In addition to this I also have come to realize how much I miss my Grandma. I realize she is still here with us and for that I'm eternally grateful, but she's not "here". I used to be able to sit and talk with her and learn so much. I still sit and talk with her and I still get a lot from our conversations, but it's always a struggle just to figure out what she's saying and it's not her usual words of wisdom. I can't say that I took it for granted because I cherished every moment with my Grandma, but I'm sure a lot more grateful for the times we had together.

I think it's easy for us to forget that the simplest conversations can have such a huge impact on our lives. If you think about it, just saying hello to the check out girl at the store and making small talk can turn her whole day around. I know things like that happen to me all the time. You never know what a person is dealing with in their own lives and how a conversation can make such a difference.  To me conversations and presence are a basic necessity. So for me, today, I am grateful for that.

Day Ten - Gratitude Challenge

Pick one of your five senses to focus on today. Take note of how many gifts come to you via that single port of entry. Write about this experience.

Such fun cuddlers

I am going with my sense of touch. This morning I enjoyed cuddling with my girls on our couch while we watched t.v., then later I sat with our cat Foxy and cuddled with her. I should have been doing so many other things today, but I rather enjoyed my cuddle time with the kiddos and the cat. I'm grateful for the few moments I get to just be with them.

Day Nine - Gratitude Challenge

Enjoy the people around you. Take a moment to appreciate their unique talents, abilities and personalities.

Today I had the most perfect opportunity for this. Most people know that a few times a year I am an instructor for a Dental Assistant school. So today as we were reviewing for the final next weekend I tried to find the positives with every student. There is always something with every student both past and present that stands out, everyone has their strengths. But everyone has the potential as well.

Day Eight - Gratitude Challenge

Send thank you notes to five people who deserve a little recognition.

I'm on it!

Day Seven - Gratitude Challenge

Take a picture of one thing, person, place or specific moment that makes you feel grateful. Share it with

your social network.

Today I feel grateful for this...........

I'm so grateful for my pets. When you have children, your pets kind of take a back seat, but they were and still are always a huge part of our family. Mojo was our first "fur baby". She wasn't your conventional cat, some thought we were crazy to keep her. She had been confined to a kennel for the majority of her life because she sprayed......everything. I couldn't get rid of her just because she had "issues", we worked with them. She was happiest and content in her kennel. And she was the only cat in our household that was allowed outside, because she would just lay by the door. She  was the most affectionate cat you could imagine, and she would come when called. I will so miss our Mojo. She was 12 years old, and very overweight. Like I said, she went outside and just laid there. Tuesday when I got home I noticed that she hadn't eaten her food from the night before and had barely used her litter box since Saturday. Wednesday night I came home to her lying in her own vomit. I cleaned her up and cuddled her for about an hour. She loved to nudge her nose under our chins and just snuggle and that's what she did for the majority of the time. By morning she hadn't moved from the night before and was very weak. I got her to the vet and after blood tests and x-rays it was determined that her body temperature and heart rate were very low, her heart was enlarged, and her kidneys were failing. They called her a critical case. So the decision was made and recommended by the vet, who was the sweetest vet by the way. I cuddled her one last time and loved her until her last breath. It was heart wrenching but the right thing to do. Her old body was just ready to go and it wouldn't have been right to make her hold on any longer. I'm grateful for the friends and family who shared their condolences for our "crazy" cat. She will be greatly missed in our family.

Day Six - Gratitude Challenge

Take a few minutes to call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Tell them how much you appreciate them.


I did.   :)

Day Five - Gratitude Challenge

Take five minutes to write about how grateful you are for all of the wonderful things that you currently have in
your life. Don’t long for what you don’t possess—instead, take stock of all the blessings you already enjoy.

I'm absolutely, hands down, so grateful for my family. Extended family included. I love that I can sit down with my cousin and talk for hours. And that I can talk to my mom about everything and nothing. I love visiting my Grandma and just being with her. I love that my brother and I can have fun together even as adults. I love coming home from work to my girls and my husband with hugs and kisses all around. I always knew that I would have a family of my own and honestly I don't remember life before my children. I could live in a cracker box of a house and as long as I have my husband, my children and the love of my family I know I'd be OK.

Day Four - Gratitude Challenge

Write a short message of thanks for some of the “negative” things in your life.

I had a hard time trying to think of something negative to be thankful for. I first thought, work, but then I couldn't really decide if that was negative. The last thing my Grandfather said to me before he died four years ago was to be thankful that I had a job. He was always a hard worker as is most everyone in our family. We had a great example to learn our work ethic from. And in the years since his death I've grown even more thankful for my job when so many people have lost theirs.
Another thought I had was that I'm thankful for my car. The "negative" about my car is that I need new tires, headlights, and a tune up. What makes that all negative is that it is so stinking expensive. I am however thankful that I even have a car. And a very cool one I might add.
I know these are silly things, but I really can't think of anything in my life that is more negative than that, and I've been thinking about it all day.

Day Three - Gratitude Challenge

Write about something you feel grateful for in your life today.


I was originally going to write this in the morning, but was not having such a great start to the day. Punkin was in full on screaming/whining mode and Peanut will not do the #2.......in the toilet. And then my husband had to leave for a couple of hours and then had another thing come up that took even longer. So, I thought I'd better wait and see what the day brought that might change my outlook. I also needed to give myself the time to feel grateful.

Today, I feel grateful for my marriage. A year ago I wasn't even sure I'd still have a marriage and now I appreciate the fact that I do. I am grateful for the partnership we share and the trials we have. Marriage is always a work in progress, but at least it's progress. I love my husband and am blessed to have a second go at this whole thing. His strength and faith in all that he does gives me a sense of security that I hadn't ever felt from him. He makes a great effort to do his part in the home and with the kids. I look forward to dates with him when we can fit them into our schedule, and enjoy just being at home with him to.

Day Two - Gratitude Challenge

Use the alphabet as a fun and quick format for making a list of things for which you feel grateful. Share this list with your social network through email, a blog post or a Facebook or MySpace page.
 
A - America
B - Brother (in-laws included)
C - Christmas (my favorite time of year)
D - Dad
E - Everyday
F - Friends/Family
G - Grandparents (both past and present)
H - Home
I - Independence
J - Jokes
K - Kids (because of the two cutest little girls I know)
L - Love
M - Mom
N - Normalcy
O - Opportunities
P - Pets
Q - Quilts
R - Raises
S - Second Chances
T - Time
U - Umbrellas (come on, if you have hair you can appreciate)
V - Vacations
W - Work
X - Xylophone (I know....)
Y - Youth
Z - Zebras (what's not be grateful for, they are Gods creation.)
 
Ok, I'll be honest, and maybe I'm just tired, but I just put the first thing that came to mind. I believe that sometimes your first instinct is your best answer.