One day a year, everyone sits around at Thanksgiving to say, “I’m thankful for turkey and family” (cue the cliché moment). But we really should be grateful for stuff more than one day a year. Life happens every day, and we’re grateful about the good things in our lives; we get annoyed by life’s disappointments; and we just ignore the rest. But I have a challenge for all of you until the end of the semester: be grateful once a week for something you take for granted every day.
We take so much stuff for granted every day, from family, friends that are like family, food (even food from the Rat), walking, being able to get dressed without needing help, or just opening a door. Last fall I got hit by a car when I crossed a street. It made me notice the small things in life that I had never noticed before. I could not carry my own books to class and needed a friend to get them from my apartment for me every day. I’m embarrassed to admit that I got stuck in a restroom in my wheelchair.
The experiences from the accident changed my perspective on being grateful for the big stuff, the small stuff, and the stuff you do without thinking. When I finished physical therapy one night, I actually called my mom to tell her how excited I was because I was able to open my apartment door without a five-minute ordeal to line everything up so I could get inside. I challenge you to try to just be grateful for something once a week that you don’t think of normally. I know it’s Easter, and I’m not trying to give you a sermon, but I hope you’ll realize that life happens every day and we all have so many blessings.
Happy Easter!
A Former Salem Sister
thesalemite.org 