The Good Things Jar

I opened my “Good Things in 2017” jar on the first day of 2018. This was the Mason jar where I placed a strip of paper each time something good happened.

Those little strips of paper surprised me at times, even though I thought I would remember everything.

Here is what I found:

The jar contained twenty-seven slips of paper. It was good I wrote the dates on them. January had the most gratitude, with seven slips. Like most new years, January started things off with a bang and then motivation petered out.

But I did have entries every month, except May.

There were lots of slips of paper about fun things with grandchildren: going out to a meal with them, making cookies, fun trips they took with school, and even a special trip my eleven-year-old grandson and I took to Cave of the Mounds and The House on the Rock. That was really something to be thankful about.

Going out with friends made several appearances. Having a good social life is important as we age. Plus the slips reminded me of trips to Minnesota, Mackinac Island and my fiftieth college reunion in Iowa.

On the mundane side, I noted I was thankful for a sinus infection that finally ended in February, as well as a growth on my nose that turned out to be just a benign cyst in July. Well, it could have been worse.

I’m glad I was thankful when my Morning Glories bloomed. I started them from seed and they really took off. Reminding myself in January about those beautiful flowers almost makes me forget the snow and cold outside. Almost.

I will try to be more intentional with my 2018 gratitude jar, seeking to be thankful for something every month. It helps to have slips of paper cut and ready. Bring it on, 2018. What are you doing to savor those good moments in the coming year?

Perhaps Robert Louis Stevenson said it best,

“Life is so full of a number of things,

I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”