Just 30 Days

Happy Halloween, by the way, but since I don't really do Halloween, that's all I have to say about that. What I do really do, because it helps in preparation for both the holiday season and for getting the next year off to a good start ... a hopeful start ... is 30 Days of Gratitude. I'm not sure when I started it. I'm sure there were a few years I didn't finish it, and a few more when I was typing some of the gratitudes with my teeth clenched.

Seriously, this qualifies for a teeth-clenching year. Which I guess is why it's important to remember to be grateful.

Since I'm not doing well at writing yet, I'm using today's post to start my 30 days. Maybe I'll make it 31 instead ...

Today, Day 1 of 30 Days of Gratitude (or 31), I am grateful for family and friends. It's not an unusual first day, but it's an important one. They are the people who've made this horrendous year bearable. They're the ones who've found the laughter when there wasn't any, who were all around through the darkest days, who thought for me when my brain couldn't seem to connect to what it needed to do.

They gave me donuts, brought other food, kept the silence from being too loud, sent cards and letters that I keep reading over and over. While they are first on this list, I am grateful for them every day. Every single one.

Tomorrow November will begin. The days will still have 24 hours in them, but they'll be counted differently. (Am I grateful for that? Nope.)

Wishing you good November in addition to a happy Halloween. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Don't forget to be grateful. Be nice to somebody.