Today I sat down with my card box and pen and started to write my thank you notes. An hour later I realized that I was still going strong. It was humbling to realize how much had happened in the last month that we were grateful for.
Let me back up just a tad. My husband lost his job in November 2009. Even though there are some positive effects of the job loss (I get to see him now!), for the most part this has resulted in a major rise in our stress levels and a change in our financial situation. No more eating out, a serious crimp on gift giving, deep discussions over every financial outlay. We've tried not to focus on the negative, but it was a very different holiday season for us.
The interesting thing has been that instead of spending our holiday season shopping, we spent it with friends and family. Instead of going out to the cineplex or renting movies, we broke out the board games. In fact, except for the minor discomfort of not having gifts to give our extended group of friends and family, this was one of the best holidays we've had. It sort of snuck up on us, too. It wasn't until this week when I was writing thank you cards that I fully appreciated the value of the people in my holiday. I'm going to rectify this oversight by making a conscious effort to be more grateful on a daily basis in 2010.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more thank you cards to write.
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