Gratitude

 

 Another Thanksgiving come and gone.  Ours was lovely day with my brothers, cousins and our families.  As our grandparents and parents have passed away, we have all made a concerted effort to remain close and involved in each others lives. It's important for us-no one else loves us and knows our history like family.  It is also important for our children and grandchildren.  They need to hear the stories, look at the pictures and share the traditions that make us, us. This generation needs to know where they come from. They need to have an extended family who will dance at their wedding, ooh and ahh over newest additions and cry with each other when it's time to say goodbye.

 This Thanksgiving, between the food and the football, many of us contemplated the things in our lives which we were grateful for, and likely encouraged our children to do the same. Some experts say that by encouraging our children to appreciate what they have, we are also giving them their best shot at happiness. They say that  gratitude, combined with the sense of satisfaction in having earned what is ours, is a primary source of happiness. 

 For most of us, raising "happy" children is one of our primary goals as parents. But, these experts say that our attempts to make our children happy, may be backfiring. Many of us work too hard to smooth the way for our kids and satisfy their every want, thus inadvertently denying them the very happiness we seek to give. On the plus side, these experts also say that this troubled economy is actually making us more grateful for what we have (even though we might have less than we used to) and is causing many to question the materialistic ideals of the boom years. By modeling our gratitude for our kids, we are teaching them a valuable lesson that will stand them in good stead over time.

Almost December.  Take a deep breath- and here we go.  chrissie