Word of the Week: Gratitude

Benjamin Haas |
Categories
Family & Money

I want to take a pause from all my investment and financial planning commentary to breathe a bit of gratitude into our lives. These remain very difficult times, as the unknowns of a post Covid-19 world still look murky at best. When will a vaccine come? When can I get my kids out of the house again? When can people get back to work and feel safe doing so? Our resolve is absolutely being tested.

BUT…through all that fear and uncertainty, I bring you gratitude. It has a different meaning to me these days. When I look at the things I am most thankful for right now, it’s full of simpler things than I’m sure I would have listed just 2 months ago. Maybe your list is similar?

  • Gratitude is how I feel when I think about the nurses and healthcare workers out there
  • Gratitude is how I feel when I see the burly college kid at Giant who puts our groceries in the back of our car so that we don’t have to take the kids into the store
  • Gratitude is what I felt this week when I found that lonely package of toilet paper at the office and brought it home like a hero!
  • Gratitude is how I feel when the kids fall asleep early so I can turn on a show or watch the (replay of a) game and take my mind off things for a little while
  • Gratitude is how I feel when I log into a video conference. Social distancing stinks – but, I still get to see smiling faces. I’m grateful for that technology
  • Gratitude is how I feel when Amazon drops another box on our doorstep. It’s like Christmas, every day.
  • Gratitude is how I feel when I look at Desiree. She became a middle school, kindergarten and pre-school teacher overnight so that I could remain deeply focused on my work. And she still doesn’t have a single grey hair on her head J
  • Gratitude is how I feel when I see the kids having a dance party at home, or building silly forts out of blankets, or dressing up as superheroes. They have no understanding of the severity of the situation, but they still find joy in using their imaginations
  • Gratitude is how I feel when the sun shines. Having a job right now, being able to do it from home, in the fresh air, is not something I would have imagined 2 months ago.

These are tough times and I crave some sense of normal again, just like all of you, I’m sure. But as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “gratitude turns what we have into enough.” I’m thankful for all of you and look forward to reading your “GRATITUDE” list. Give it a shot.

 

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