finding gratitude makes us smile

We started doing fun New Year's challenges instead of resolutions I will eventually forget or give up on. A few years ago, we did the coin challenge. We did the hanger challenge. The clutter challenge was a good one. This year we focus on gratitude. You notice we got classy and decorated a Hawaiian Punch bottle!? We also get resourceful for these!

This year we focus on gratitude. It's that time of year when we are itching to get outside, to go on a bike ride, go swimming, or for a walk. We typically go to the Dells in February just to break up the cold and have a little fun. Not this year. Everyone got so excited for 2021 to arrive without even realizing it's the distant, evil cousin of 2020. Instead of focusing on all that snow, the temps, and everything else that hasn't resumed like usual, we're focusing on gratitude. 

We write on slips of paper and drop them in. Done. I even made it easy and put paper under the jar and left a few markers behind it. I don't ask what she's written. I just remind her to put the date on each entry. I do the same. Om New Year's Eve we will dump them put and go through a Year's worth of memories, fun, and gratitude. 

Hopefully it will be enough to fuel us up for a year of positive attitudes and being able to see the bigger picture. One site I saw suggested having each person read someone else's. You could even collage them when you're done (probably won't do that, but it's a nice sentiment). We have a year of camping adventures ahead of us. We have plenty to be grateful for, so I am hoping for a full jar by the end of the year full of memories and gratitude we can all be proud of.