Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart
The boys and I drove by a rafter of turkeys (yup, a group of turkeys is called a “rafter”…I looked it up and everything) the other day. We like to open the windows and gobble at them to see if they will gobble back (which they often do!). Since it was so close to Thanksgiving, we decided to yell at them to be careful cause we all know what happens to turkeys on Turkey Day! Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate.
In this special bonus #inkripples post for the November theme of Remembrance/Thankfulness (see my original post “Where Did My Memories Go?”), I wanted to talk about something I’ve been trying to incorporate into my daily life: focusing on gratitude.
Turns out one way to be happier in life is to be grateful (see “Giving thanks can make you happier” and “The Neuroscience of Why Gratitude Makes Us Healthier” by Ocean Robbins). You don’t even have to express that gratitude to anyone in particular. Merely thinking about it and feeling it garners benefits, like boosting your mood and giving you a better sense of connection.
Ways to experience gratitude include actually, ya know, thanking someone and showing appreciation for them (in person or in writing), writing down or making a mental list of things you are grateful for, and praying or meditating (with gratitude in mind). It’s okay to keep it simple by noting the simple blessings in life.
I’ve been trying to take one moment each day and think about some of the things I’m grateful for. Building it into a daily routine makes it easier to incorporate into your everyday life. I like to do it in the shower. 😉
I gotta say, writing this post has actually made me feel good, and I’m not even thinking about anything specific that I’m grateful for. Maybe all you need to do is type the word “grateful” enough times and it will be true.
So what I’m saying is don’t reserve your thankfulness for that one day a year when you sit around the table eating turkey. Do it every day. And if your old Aunt Mabel is acting particularly grumpy on Thanksgiving, go ahead and suggest everyone take a minute to think of something they are grateful for. It might just bring a smile to the old bat’s face!
Have you joined the #inkripples movement yet? Ripples in the Inkwell is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll(me!). On the second Monday of each month, we post on a particular topic. The idea is that we toss a word, idea, or image into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There’s no wrong way to do it and we’d love for you to participate (full details here). Be sure to provide a link to your own #inkripple in the comments! Look for details on next year’s ink ripples topics in December!
My family likes to play games on holidays. At Thanksgiving this year, we decided to play a particular favorite poetry game.
The first person writes two lines of poetry at the top of the paper, folds down the first line, and passes it on. The second person adds one additional line and folds over the previous line, and so on until the page is full. So each writer sees just one line of poetry before having to add his/her own line. It can get pretty ridiculous!
Admittedly, they all end up somewhat offensive and slightly plagiarized, and none of them make much sense, so I just picked one that made me chuckle. Enjoy!
The lily wilted on the vine
Her veins they dripped with turpentine
It was an ugly Valentine
It had stripes in its center
They could buy, who not rent her
Spending money is the root of all evils
So hoard it all from the poor peoples
Raise a glass and salute them
Salute them for how they fought
The angry clowns who were addicted to meth
Made by the locals in the town of Bathe
He leaned back his head and drained the carafe
Down his scarf and into his banana hammock so as to set his sausage afloat
Well, I hope no one was seriously offended by that…it’s really mean to be all in good fun!
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