How to be thankful

No one is eternally grateful every day of the year. Usually these feelings of overwhelming thankfulness are only experienced after watching the news, or a close call with the neighbor’s trash can while backing out of the driveway. But, every once in a while, I like to count my blessings fully.

I was born in wedlock with 10 fingers and 10 toes, one head and two mostly functional eyes. My parents never separated, and so far I’ve evaded serious injury for 18 years and counting. I live in a town where it isn’t necessary to screen the Halloween candy with a metal detector, because everyone here is practically my neighbor.

I have to account for each of these trivial blessings as major plus-ones, otherwise every bad situation would feel like a gut punch from an ornery mule without something positive to compare it to. If I didn’t have a bountiful supply of Top Ramen to look forward to at home, finals would probably be seriously depressing.

Tallying up the small things keeps me sane to the bare minimum; and then I have adequate enough material possessions to consider myself fortunate enough to live, in a small way, luxuriously.

I have a family, a few close friends, and a head on my shoulders. My choice to live life to the fullest is not based on the cards I was dealt, but how I chose to play them. I don’t have to worry about whether I've won or lost when it’s over, as long as I remember I've had all these Aces on my side the entire time.