Season's greetings from the Blue Skunk blog

An advent of gratitude in a tough year

Christmas dinner 2017

Like many of us, I will not get to have a Christmas dinner with my children and grandchildren this year. I was respectfully requested to postpone any travels to their homes until after the holidays. I get it. I really do. But I will miss making "Tastes Like I Died and Went to Heaven" dessert, opening gifts together, and, well, just enjoying their company. Zoom is not the same.

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, and perhaps even more important.

The checklist below has been circulating for quite a few years, but especially in this rough year of isolation, financial distress, and political craziness, it's a good reminder to me and perhaps it will be for you as well of the many, many things I 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!*

I've thought about this list a lot lately. As a volunteer, I drive older adults to medical appointments and deliver groceries to them. So many seem to have no family, no friends, very small, basic apartments, and little income. Even more disturbing is driving past homeless tent camps in St Paul and Minneapolis on my way to or from these folks' homes. I have so very, very much in comparison. I wonder if a homeless person struggling to stay wam in their tent looks at me in the same way I look at  the latest movie star or politician who had purchased a mansion?

So I should anti-up my donations, not just at holiday time, but every day of the year. And be simply grateful.

*Personally, I would add to the list above donations for

1. how many friends and family members you have spoken to in the last week.
2. how many time you've been able to exercise.
3. how many organizations or activities you participate in.
4. how many neighbors you know.
5. how many Christmas cards you've sent and received.
6. how many days you wake up without pain or discomfort
7. how many times you've been able to afford getting your teeth cleaned this year
8. how many plans you have for 2021
9. how few things you desire on Amazon
10. how few people you envy
11. how many good books you've read this year
12. how many good jokes you've heard

BFTP: Snack reading

Snacking - especially on foods high in sugar, salt, and fats (you know, the stuff that actually tastes good) - we are told is not good for our physical health. I believe it. I only have to look at a doughnut and I put on a pound.

But what about "snack reading"? Here are just few of the short articles I was lured into nibbling on just yesterday:

• The History of the Ampersand
• America's Best and Worst States to Grow Old (Iowa is number 2?)
• 5 Picture-Perfect Long Weekend Bike Trips
• The Best Band from Every State

 oh, and

• In a Distracted World, Solitude is a Competitive Advantage

This does not count the product ads, funny cat videos, or moronic replies to Facebook posts that lure me away from reading anything of substance. And to be fair, I read the comics, Dear Abby, and other useless stuff in the newspaper and newsfeeds as well. (AppleNews and GoogleNews are real sources of junk rreading links lately.)

Although I have read or listened to 50+ actual books this year, I can't help feel that my snack reading is no more intellectually healthy than snack eating. So everytime I read a "Top Ten Reasons..." my IQ slips just a little more. Too bad it's a national epidemic.

I pity our kids who may never know a time in which snack reading was not in easy reach.

Original post 10/20/17