Gratitude on the 29th

Gratitude? Huh?

Yes, I know Thanksgiving - the national holiday - is over. But that doesn't mean the gratitude has got to stop, right?

I saw an article from last Wednesday's paper, entitled "It's a Good Time to Feel Better". It discusses a study done by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, which asserts that happy people are more successful and effective, and anyone can learn to be happy. What a great epiphany, huh?

While the study is kind of like a "no-duh!" exercise, I appreciated these ideas/quotes:

• Happiness doesn't mean giddiness, or gratification, but feeling any of the positive emotions, such as optimism, hope, compassion, love, or gratitude.
• No one can be happy all the time - life is full of adversities - but people with sound skills deal better with hardship.
• Simple things work well; go around the table at mealtime and have each family member count their blessings - and do it all year round, rather than saving the practice for Thanksgiving only.

However, my favorite quote is so beautiful in its simplicity: "when people practice being grateful, they 'become considerably happier and more satisfied with their lives'." Funny how that sounds so much like a little gratitude talk by President Monson.

Anyway... here is my post-Thanksgiving, "giving-thanks-for-all-of-the-crazy-good-food-from-our-spread", List. It may be silly to list all of the food from our dinner, but when we can even find gratitude for such little things, it truly makes life that much sweeter:

1. Turkey - tender, juicy and flavorful
2. Fresh green salad - mixed greens, red onions, feta cheese, asian pears, cranberries, sunflower seeds & poppyseed dressing
3. Mashed potatoes - non-instant variety
4. Gravy - a little goes a long way
5. Stuffing - from stove-top to homemade varieties, it's all works
6. Pink lemonade - tart, sweet and pink goodness
7. Green bean casserole - good-old fashioned Americana dish
8. Warm rolls - melt in your mouth, yeasty and you can't just eat one
9. Pies - my personal favorite was chocolate meringue, but pumpkin, razzleberry and banana cream were also quite good
10. Krispy Creme donuts - I grabbed a couple of donut holes before dinner, but the two big boxes were devoured by the horde of little kiddlings at the house. But, you know, the adults were just as happy to be left with the pies.