Tag: Month of Thanksgiving


Who are you grateful for?

Who are you grateful for?

In the first week of Month of Thanksgiving, I’ve expressed gratitude for things including democracy, traditional jazz and New York City. I also gave thanks for my trainer, and there are plenty more people in my life who make me grateful.* Who are you grateful for? And why? Maybe you thought of your spouse, or your best friend, or the…

I am grateful for: laughter

I am grateful for: laughter

Back in my college newspaper days, one of the big editors sat me down for a talking to because as a junior editor, I was laughing on the job. Being a cocky 19 year old, I responded that I was sorry she didn’t like her job but I liked mine and as long as I was getting the work done,…

I am grateful for: traditional jazz

I am grateful for: traditional jazz

Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays New York tonight and I’m such a geeky fan girl that I’m going even though I think I’ve seen them five times already this year. Traditional jazz is my soul music. It never fails to make me happy. Whether I am covered in mud on a rainy day at New Orleans Jazz Fest or packed…

I am grateful for: democracy

I am grateful for: democracy

I’m no Pollyanna about our political system. From negative campaign ads to the influence of money, I get that American democracy suffers numerous problems. AP’s Liz Sidoti wrote of Washington, D.C. recently: This is still a city of red-hot polarization, gridlock the norm, with partisan rancor from the Capitol to the White House. Neither party is giving the country what…

Month of Thanksgiving is coming

Month of Thanksgiving is coming

Thanksgiving is about a month away — on Nov. 25, in case you haven’t checked your calendar. That means I’m getting ready to do another Month of Thanksgiving. Maybe you recall that last year I did a post every day leading up to Thanksgiving, focusing on gratitude and getting in a thankful mindset. What’s so cool is that Paul Taubman,…

Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow?

Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow?

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow? Is it a long tradition or a new idea? When I launched the Month…

Day 30: Giving thanks, social media style

Day 30: Giving thanks, social media style

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 30: Tweeting about thankfulness and getting ideas from a blog Thanksgiving is this week and that means lots of other people are…

Day 29: Life's messy and that's OK

Day 29: Life's messy and that's OK

There are certain life events that seem to amplify our natural tendencies toward perfectionism — planning a wedding and hosting Thanksgiving dinner among them.
We pull out a Martha Stewart yard stick to measure our efforts and almost certainly fall short. In real life, most of us don’t have a staff of dozens invisibily helping and we won’t make five turkeys so we can photograph whichever one looks most perfectly golden, then Photoshop out any flaws.
In short, real life is messy.

Day 28: Giving thanks for my family

Day 28: Giving thanks for my family

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 28: Giving thanks for my family The New York Times had an article earlier this week about breathtakingly bad behavior family members…

Day 25: What are you grateful for?

Day 25: What are you grateful for?

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 25: Some of the early contest entries from people sharing why they are grateful I assumed when I embarked on a Month…

Day 24: Giving thanks for simple pleasures

Day 24: Giving thanks for simple pleasures

    Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 24: Giving thanks for the simple pleasures in life Many Thanksgiving dinners I’ve been part of have included everyone going…

Day 23: Share your gratitude and win prizes!

Day 23: Share your gratitude and win prizes!

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 23: Join me in the Month of Thanksgiving and you have three chances to win prizes With just a little more than a week between now and…

Day 22: Finding gratitude in grief

Day 22: Finding gratitude in grief

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 22: Finding gratitude while we grieve It’s been a sad weekend for us. On Friday, we put down our 18-year-old cat, suffering from advanced heart disease.  Then…

Day 20: The value of giving and receiving praise directly

Day 20: The value of giving and receiving praise directly

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 20: Why should you bother to say thank you to someone who’s made you grateful? All week I’ve been writing about not only feeling gratitude but expressing…

Day 18: Thank you for your thoughts on thank yous!

Day 18: Thank you for your thoughts on thank yous!

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 18: Clearly my mother wasn’t the only one brainwashing kids about thank you notes I love when a post gets people talking! Your input makes the conversation…

Day 17: Pay it forward

Day 17: Pay it forward

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 17: Give someone a gift that reminds you of your gratitude Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William…

Day 16: Saying thank you in writing

Day 16: Saying thank you in writing

My mom was the thank you note enforcer. Writing them was non negotiable.
When I graduated from high school, Mom took custody of my graduation presents. Only after I had written a thank you note could I get possession of each gift.
So I admit to having a strong bias but I believe in the power of the thank you note — especially of the hand written and mailed variety.