Back in 2015, I decided for every day in November, I’d send the important people in my life a daily “thankful”. Sometimes it was something specific to them. “I’m thankful for your laugh” or “I’m thankful you’re feeling better”. Sometimes it was something going on in my life they were privy too, “Thankful you stopped to see Monkey last night and that you still call her that” (she’s 55). Sometimes it was just something I’d been reminded how grateful, thankful I should be, “Thankful for the heater running on a chilly morning, the cup of coffee and the rotten dog laying beside me…and you”. The goal was really to remind myself how these particular people highlighted my life and how grateful I was for each of them.

I think originally, it was my husband and two kids. Then my sister and sister-in-laws got added. Each year it’s changed in some way. One year I added co-workers. A fiancé (my daughter’s not mine!). One year, it was a friend of my daughter’s who just needed to be reminded there were things to be thankful for and then he started sharing thankfuls with his two young sons. That was SO much fun getting thanksfuls from 8 and 10 year olds: my Batman pajamas, the corn dog for dinner. Kids have such a fun way of looking at things.

Each thankful was just a text to that person, a couple of minutes to compose and send them and then on with my day. But the real fun came when people started replying back! And now its almost like we wait impatiently for November so we can start sharing Thankfuls.

But oh my gosh, these were priceless! A history of our lives, of loving each other, of events! I started writing them down. Then one year I saw a pumpkin someone used to record their thankfuls for the month! A white pumpkin and a black marker with the thankfuls written around the pumpkin like a design. One year I found a paper turkey at Paper Source and used the feathers to record each thankful.

Last year, my sister made a thankful bowl out of cardboard circles and ModPodge that I filled to overflowing with fabric leaves with the thanksfuls recorded on them.

 

 

 

This year I’m making a wreath. I bought colored paper leaves from Amazon and a wire wreath frame and I’m tying each thankful on. Here’s what it looks like on day three:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not a big holiday girl. But this, this conscious effort to be grateful! This I love.

Here are some ideas from Pinterest if you want to start your own Thankfuls:

 A list just on paper or a paper leaf tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a few from that first year:

From The Beau: Beautiful weather. A great victory. (His football team won) And a beautiful woman to share it all with.

From Fred: Thankful that you still reach for and hold my hand everywhere we go.

From Fred: Thankful for the best opening day ever! Thankful for a life filled with you as my wife. [The first opening day he was home and wasn’t hunting in over 30 years.]

After they had friends over for dinner, from Gig: Thankful for taste testers! They will eat anything! Good friends!

And to Gig: Thankful for all the talks we have & the humor we share since we’re hysterically funny. Had to put my glasses on cause I couldn’t tell if it said tumor or humor.

From Sis: I’m thankful for the interesting discussions with you that make me think and really look at my beliefs. [Me: I like your thankful. Sis: I like that you like my thankful about what I like about you. Me: Well there’s that part too. Sis: ROFL]

From Sis after a slow response: HEY! Aren’t you thankful for me today?!?