Monday, November 9, 2009

30 Days of Gratitude

In the most recent issue of Reader's Digest, I read an article about a guy who embarked on a journey of gratitude.  Yes, I just read it last week, but, no, I don't remember all the details (I hope I have at least one kid willing to take care of me when I'm old because my poor memory is going already) and I'm too lazy to walk upstairs and get it right now.  Seriously, though, the details of the article aren't as important to me as what I've decided to do with it.

We are a family of complainers.  We tend, as a whole, to focus on the negative, rather than the multitudes of positives, with a lot of bickering amongst the siblings thrown in for fun.  I've also noticed that nagging and griping about the bickering and negativity doesn't really affect change.  Go figure.  Hey, I'm just keepin' it real here.

So, our family has decided to embark upon 30 Days of Gratitude in which we've purposed to do our best to focus on the positive and on the blessings in our lives.  Based on a suggestion from the Reader's Digest article, we've put a Gratitude Tree in a high traffic area.



I bought some pretty, fall-colored Post-It notes to serve as the leaves for our tree.



Each day, right after dinner since everyone will already be together, each of us will jot down some of the things we're thankful for or have appreciated during the day and add it to our tree.  I'm hoping, by the end of the month, we'll have a tree full of leaves and hearts full of thankfulness.  I'm hoping, too, that we'll see a change in our focus, from the negative to the positive.

Would you care to join us?  I think I'll post little updates in my Weekly Wrap-Up each week.  You're welcome to include updates in your Wrap-Up or leave them in the comments on Fridays.  I'm probably going to need the accountability and I'd welcome some friends to share the journey toward an attitude of gratitude.
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Posted by Kris at 8:00 AM
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17 comments:

  1. That is a wonderful idea!! I think we're gonna start that tomorrow, when my hubby gets home from work.
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  2. That is such a great idea! I think we will try that too.
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  3. I love this idea. We have done a thankfulness paper chain before, but the post its would keep it so much more contained. What a great way to set your mind on the right things this season!!!
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  4. We've been trying, key word there trying, to do it every day with the kiddos at school time.
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  5. I really like this idea. I know a lot of our families do the thankful thing at the dinner table or continued list of thankful items on our blogs, but to have something up in the middle of my living room or kitchen as a daily visual reminder (for the whole family) would be fabulous. We, too often, forget just out blessed we are--even when we're living the dream lives compared to most around the world. Thanks for sharing!
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  6. Where you at our house this morning?!?! I had just had it with the complaining and lack of gratitude displayed by my little darlings. And right before Thanksgiving no less!! We are going to start dong Thanksgiving projects this week, but I like your whole family, out in the open approach! Thank you!
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  7. Oh we definitly need a gratitude tree in our house!
    We have to try this out:) Thanks.
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  8. I happily join you! I can't wait to begin! Thanks for sharing!
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  9. Kris -

    That's a great idea!!!! :) Can't wait to see how colorful and thankful it turns out to be!
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  10. I love this idea. (And esp. love the idea of using Post-It notes for the leaves. So much easier than cutting them out!).

    The part of your post that really hit me, though, was your realizing that griping and nagging about the griping and bickering really doesn't work. Hmm. Reality check! I need to think about this one some more.
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  11. I have been wanting to do this, too. I was going to do a turkey with no tail feathers, then add the feathers with our words of thanks written on them. A tree might give more space for more thanks, though. Great idea!
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  12. We started our tree on the 1st and the idea is for each family member to write something everyday and then we will take the leaves off the tree and read them all again on Thanksgiving. We have ours hanging up in the kitchen. It is a great idea and fun to see what my kids want to put on their leaves.
    I've been posting about mine on Fridays as well (on my family blog not my homeschooling blog.)
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  13. Earlier this year a friend of mine did something like this, but in her case they had a glass door & the kids all wrote with dry-erase markers the things they were thankful for. I loved the idea but I don't have a glass door & my brain was (apparently!) too full to come up with an alternative.
    This, I can do, so I'm totally gonna steal this idea as soon as I can get to a store that sells big ol' paper like that!
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  14. What a fantastic idea!! We focus on thankfulness every day -- is it odd that I have the urchins give me a "Yay of the Day" at bedtime? lol -- but I love the visual of the tree. I think we are going to try this!
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  15. this is a wonderful idea! I am over from OvercomingBusy.com. My children are a bit young for this, but my husband and I could certainly do this...what a wonderful way to bring us closer together in our marriage. Many thanks!
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  16. Hey! We're doing it, too, so come see our "thankful tree"!

    And thanks for the idea. (I linked back to you!)
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  17. I'm making a gratitude tree for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It's the first time I've done it, so I'd love any pointers from those of you who've tried it -- do you like colored markers better than post-its? do you start it out with some examples to help get people thinking?

    I've been blogging about a Month of Thanksgiving, too, and I'm thankful I found you. :-)

    Happy Thanksgiving!
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