Thankful Month of November

If you didn't already know, I am Canadian. I have lived in the US for 12 years now, so technically only celebrated Thanksgiving in November since then. We Canadians celebrate in October. Same thing, the turkey, cranberries, stuffing, etc, just different month. When November rolled around, it got me thinking, why do we only take one measly day to give thanks for the things we have? Don't you think that we should be thankful the other 364 days of the year?

I try to teach my children about being thankful, even for the little things. Things that we take forgranted. Like power; water; food...you get my drift. Everyday, I have my oldest, C, say something that she is thankful for at night. Usually its her friends, or Minnie Mouse (yes, Minnie Mouse) but lately, I have tried to have her understand how good she's got it. I've explained about other children, even children she may know, who aren't as fortunate as her. Who don't have the "special sqeezy fruits" or LeapPad Explorers. I want my daughter to grateful. So, we say simple things like how were thankful for our yummy meal, or that we can stay warm at night.

For the 2nd year in a row, were going to have C pick out a toy to donate to Toys for Tots. She can pick whatever she thinks someone would love and give it away. I know how hard the concept of other kids not having things is hard for an almost 4 year old to grasp, but I think its needed.

I know I am not the best at thinking about all the blessings I have. I sometimes can focus on what I "need" or "want" and don't look at the big picture. We, as a society, can get so fixated on what we don't have and what we just have to have, that we forget to be thankful for that we already have. Bigger and better or faster and smarter aren't always what we need.

This month, via my facebook page, am writing 1 thing I am thankful for a day for the month of November. I am going to try to keep it going for 365 days in my journal. I know I have way more than 365 things that I can be thankful for but its a start. Going to also try to think outside the box. Things that I tend to overlook. Hope this mission will work...I feel that if I am going to try to preach thankfulness to my children, I must start to think of the things I am thankful for too. Like the saying, you must practice what you preach.