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An Attitude of Gratitude

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Contributed by: Erin Di Paolo on 11/22/2006

I've got the travel bug. It's true, I'm almost always up for going somewhere, but right now it's even worse, for a few reasons. First, it's the holiday season and everywhere you look, there are stories about how crowded the airports are and you here people chatting about where they are going. Yesterday when I picked my son up at the RTD Park n' Ride station in Denver, the parking lot was overflowing with cars of holiday travelers. Last night I picked up a magazine entitled Caribbean Travel and Life and had to put it down because I started to drool all over the pages.

The second reason have the bug is because I have not gone anywhere for nearly four months. Yes, I know I sound a bit spoiled, but traveling is my only major splurge in life. When I have extra money I travel. Some people choose to spend their money on expensive cars or houses; I spend my money on memories. And in the past year some (my husband) could make the argument that I did just a bit too much memory-making. So I decided, relunctantly, to stay home for a year. It may not sound like a huge sacrifice to you, but for someone who takes at least three or four trips a year, believe me, it is huge!

In light of all of this, I got to thinking about gratitude this morning, not just because it is Thanksgiving, but because the news had a story about gratitude on this morning. And I realize that even though my heart is full of wanderlust at the moment, I have so many things to be thankful for, right here in Denver, in Green Valley Ranch.

I have a hard-working husband who is one of the most disciplined people I know. I have three healthy, strong-willed children who are doing great in school. My parents are alive and well and living 20 minutes away. I have an awesome brother and great nieces and nephews. I don't have to work full-time, I look younger than I am, I have lots of friends, and I'm a size 2. What more could a girl want? I could go on and on, just like most of you can, but I don't want to bore you.

My point is this: we all have issues in our lives. We all have things we wish were different, but they are not. A Rabbi on television this morning said that life is messy; I couldn't agree more. But in the midst of the resentfulness, he said, we can still have thankfulness. That is so profound, yet so simple and true. He also said that our families oftentimes bear the brunt of our ingratitude, that we take them for granted and that they know best how to push our buttons. Again, how true. We all know that the holidays are difficult for families who may not get along all that well. I understand that, too, as one of my family members is estranged from us and it is incredibly painful.

Regardless of the challenges or difficulties in life, there is always something to be grateful for. So even though I long to be somewhere warm and sunny with a tropical drink in my hand, slathered in suntan lotion, I am thankful that I am here, in the midst of my family, able to sit down at my computer and write something that, hopefully, someone out there can relate to and be blessed by.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Erin Di Paolo

Denver , CO

Erin Di Paolo has posted 66 blog entries and 1 comment since joining on 3/18/2006. Erin Di Paolo 's average blog rating is 4.45.

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