November always seems like the natural season for a gratitude inventory. A time to look over the year, from beginning to nearly end, with a careful eye. To find the many different blessings, and give thanks.

Certainly, in the course of a year, there are highs and lows. But were there more highs than lows? (For me, definitely.) Did I handle the lows with grace and dignity? (Hopefully, but not always). Most importantly, did I celebrate joyfully and thankfully the bounties of the year? (I do try to be deliberate about that.)

I love the notion that gratitude is the memory of the heart, because certainly, it is not a heart’s only experience. My year was one of emotional polar opposites. Early on our family faced a health challenge which tested us on many levels, and stole my joy for quite some time. Luckily, we made it through and got ourselves back on track. My soul took a deep breath, and my joy took root again. It wasn’t destroyed after all, it was just sleeping for a while.

The second half of the year was filled with just as much intense emotion, but this time, in the form of elation, excitement, amazement. And above all, gratitude. My heart feels joyful. And for this, I give thanks.

Wishing you many beautiful memories for your heart, now and always.

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”

~W.T. Purkiser

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

~Thornton Wilder

“Two kinds of gratitude: The sudden kind we feel for what we take; the larger kind we feel for what we give.”

~Edwin Arlington Robinson

Thank you to the folks at The Quote Garden for compiling the above sentiments.

In Italiano: Sono grata/o di…I’m thankful for  ~  molte grazie…thanks a lot  ~  grazie mille…(literally:) a thousand thank yous  ~  grazie di cuore…sincerest thanks  ~  grazie di tutto…thank you for everything  ~ ti ringrazio tanto…I thank you so much  ~  grazie per la bella giornata/serata…thank you for the beautiful day/evening  ~  grazie per la compagnia…thank you for the company  ~  Please visit Becoming Italian Word by Word for a comprehensive list of Italian thank yous ~

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone  ~  Buon giorno del Ringraziamento a tutti