A Celebration of Global Gratitude

You may have read my post about #TweetsGiving last week; I'm participating in this global gratitude celebration, and I encourage you to do the same! Feel free to leave a comment here, or share your gratitude through your own blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or any other way you'd like.

Gratitude Au Gratin

Ingredients:

• 1 Mom who loves and supports me no matter what
• 1 Dad who never passes up an opportunity to tell me (and everyone he knows) that I make him proud
• 1 brother who constantly challenges me to rethink my preconceived notions
  
• 1 sister who reminds me that stopping to smell the roses isn't a waste of time
• 2 nephews who provide me with an endless source of unconditional love and hours of entertainment with their antics
• 1 grandmother who continually inspires me to strive to new heights
• zest of 1 lemon (because zest makes everything taste better; HT:GG)
  

Directions:

1. Mix all of the above ingredients.
2. Add a job that not only puts a roof over my head and food on my table, but that I genuinely enjoy and allows me to learn and grow.
3. Stir in opportunities to be involved in my community that (although they sometimes cause me stress and annoyance) help me to feel like I make a difference in this world.
4. Sprinkle in my wonderful friends who make life fun and interesting (you know who you are), who are there when I laugh and when I cry, who support and encourage me, and who aren't afraid to take me down a peg or two when I need it.
   

I'm grateful for my life; I'm in a very different place than I thought I would be, but then, who can tell the future anyway? I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Food for Thought (& a Shameless Plug)

Thanksgiving is a time to look around and be thankful for all that we have. It's also a time to look and see where the gaps are, and how we can help fill them.

My friend AK is involved in a fantastic organization called Epic Change. Last Thanksgiving, Epic Change launched a program called TweetsGiving, a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that successfully raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania.

This year, proceeds of TweetsGiving will help raise funds to build a dormitory/orphanage, library, school cafeteria and additional classrooms. And those children who learn in the classroom built from the funds of last year's TweetsGiving--they'll be participating in full force using the new technology lab Epic Change helped them set up this Fall.

There are TweetsGiving celebrations happening all over the world, and hopefully in an area near you! Check out the locations here; if you already have Thanksgiving plans or can't find an event in your area, take a minute to donate to this wonderful cause.