>Giving Thanks
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The day after Thanksgiving, we took my parents and grandmother to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, where we have a family membership and go quite often, as those of you who read this blog regularly know all too well.
It was a gray, cold day, but that didn’t matter. We managed to have a great time despite the weather, simply because that was what we chose to do.
The life lesson I am learning this season is that on some level, we must choose to enjoy ourselves. We must choose to be happy. We can’t sit around waiting for happiness to find us. We must make it happen ourselves. Even on a dark day in November.
Our children certainly seem to have no trouble creating their own happiness. Let’s learn from their example for a change.
The weather may be frightful, but we can still feed the goldfish in this pond.
And we can enjoy ourselves.
We can discover our reflection in a hidden fountain.
We can scrape up every penny we can find and make wishes in that fountain for all kinds of silly things. I’d tell you what, but then those wishes wouldn’t come true.
We can pay yet another visit to the enchanted cottage…
…which is looking as enchanted as ever, despite the clouds overhead.
We can choose new paths and seek out new adventures.
We can run not to lose weight or stay fit, but for the pure joy of moving our bodies.
We can be grateful for the wonderful fall that we had together, and we can look forward to an amazing holiday season to come.
And we can remember what it was like to live our lives with an unfaltering belief in Santa Claus.
This post originally appeared on Parents.com.
