Thursday
Dec282017
An Advent of Gratitude (belated)
Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 06:06AM 
Each time I experience a family gathering, I am reminded of how fortunate I am. We are a drama-free group who all genuinely seem to not just love, but actually like each other, which is, I believe, more rare.
A Facebook posting a few weeks ago also reminded me of my fortunate station in life. While belated for this season, it may be worth reading now - and bookmarking for next year. It's a good reminder to me and perhaps it will be for you as well of the many, many things old, white, middle class guys like myself simply take for granted.
A Facebook posting a few weeks ago also reminded me of my fortunate station in life. While belated for this season, it may be worth reading now - and bookmarking for next year. It's a good reminder to me and perhaps it will be for you as well of the many, many things old, white, middle class guys like myself simply take for granted.
An Advent of Gratitude
Most Advent Calendars present us with a gift each day leading up to Christmas. The purpose of this Advent of Gratitude is to remind us of the gifts we already have, what we often take for granted, what we can and should be grateful for. Each daily reminder includes a suggestion for payment, a small monetary gift that in 24 days will grow into a donation, payable to a charity of your choice. At the end of this challenge, please donate to a charity, preferably somewhere local, that serves those less fortunate than you.
Day 1- Pay .25 for each woman in your family who graduated from high school.
Day 2- If you rode in a car today, pay $1. Pay $2 if you drove the car.
Day 3- Count the light switches in your house. Pay .25 for each one.
Day 4- How many pairs of shoes and/or boots do you own? Pay .10 per pair.
Day 5-If you have never experienced having your electricity or heat shut off due to inability to pay the bill, pay $5.
Day 6-If you have traveled outside of the United States, pay $2. Pay an extra $2 if you have traveled within the past 6 months.
Day 7- Pay $2 if you’ve bought a gourmet coffee in the past month.
Day 8-If you went to work today and earned an income, pay $2.
Day 9- Pay $1 for every refrigerator/freezer in your home.
Day 10- Count every cell phone in your home. Pay $1 per phone.
Day 11- If you graduated from college, pay $1 per degree.
Day 12- How many televisions do you have? Pay $1 per TV. Pay $1 extra if you subscribe to Netflix.
Day 13- Open your pantry. If there is more food than you can consume in 2 days, pay $2.
Day 14- Pay $2 if you have more than one bank account. Pay an extra $2 if you have investments that earn income.
Day 15- If you slept in a warm bed last night, pay $2.
Day 16- If you have visited your doctor this past year, for something relatively minor, pay $2.
Day 17- Count the faucets in your home. Pay .50 per faucet.
Day 18- If you’ve bought gifts for others this season, pay $1. If you added ‘a little something’ for yourself, pay an extra $1.
Day 19- If your home has more than 25 books, pay $1. If more than 50, $2.
Day 20- If your parents had a high school education, pay $1. If one attended college or university, pay $2. $3 if both attended.
Day 21- If you are traveling more than 65 miles for Christmas festivities, pay $1. Pay $2 if you are confident your vehicle will get you there.
Day 22- Count the coats in your closet. Pay .25 per coat or jacket.
Day 23-Pay $2 if you can name more than 5 people who love you.
Day 24- If you have a pet, pay $2. Pay an additional $2 if you have more than one.
Donation time!
There is an old saying about people who believe their lives have been home runs, when in reality they have been born on third base. I would guess most of the people reading this post have been born, if not on third base, first or second base.
So I should anti-up, not just at holiday time, but every day of the year. And be simply grateful.
Reader Comments (1)
Lovely. article! Thanks so much for sharing!