A Gratitude Activity

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.”   Cicero

After a few days away from Target, I was grateful to be back in the lobby this morning to see our friends as they came to work. Tay shared stories of pre-birthday celebrations from the weekend and how much she misses her mother and father this time of year. Jeff asked for pictures from my trip to Saint Louis to celebrate Olivia’s birthday. I received the usual score reports on the various sports ball games over the weekend. Helen asked about church on Saturday and ensured dinner was a part of the plan. Josh has not been around for a day, so I need to be sure and check on him. I experience gratitude in and for each of these daily interactions.

This week a friend requested notes to help her feel some holiday cheers on a popular social media platform. My favorite thing about this woman is watching her ‘mom’ on her social media stories. I wrote a note to tell her as much and share that Olivia and I were together to celebrate her 19th birthday, and the day she was born seems like a much shorter time ago. Sometimes I get in a rut and have a hard time focusing on the blessings in my life that bring joy and, in turn, lose sight of my gratitude. In those times, the reflections of our lives we witness in our experience with others help bring clarity and context to just how great things can be.

I would like to know if we can do an activity this week. I am never sure how many of you are reading this weekly report from my corner of the world. If you read the blog linked to a social media post, would you post a comment about what you are grateful for this season?  Or something about Target Education and Community Services that make our community a better place to live and work?  If you find us on the web, email me at mramsey@targetcommunity.org.

I will anonymously compile the results and report back in a future week.