Week 2 of the #graditude train

Last week on November 1st I decided I would start my own hashtag #graditudetrain on Instagram.  I misspelt the gratitude(graditude) on purpose for two reasons; one- so that the hashtag will only have people who come aboard this train with me, and  two- because grad-itude has the word grad in it which is what I'm doing.  I'm determined to become a graduate in this life of gratefulness. 
 This is a train that is full of people who want to come against all the negative in this world with an attitude of giving thanks.  Even, in the midst of hardship and struggle I will give thanks. "Like the homies on the night watch!" 
I have to admit that for me, this is not a hard exercise of the heart.  Even though like everyone who has lived on this planet for 2.5 seconds I have experienced hardship and struggle in many different ways , my M.O. or resting stance of attitude falls very easily back into positivity and gratitude. 
For years, I have said I might not be rich in material things, but when it comes to what is really valuable in this life I am beyond wealthy.
The people that I'm surrounded by, and who I have crossed paths with are some of the most incredible people on the planet.  I feel beyond honored and blessed to know each and everyone of them.  Much like the above photo of my giant, (aka my husband) hugging my daughter on her home visit from Seattle last month... coming back to an attitude of thanks is like coming home for me. 
I feel the embrace of my creator everyday when I look around and see all that He has given me to enjoy.  My  heart swells with gratitude for the people in my life.  This first week of thanks has not only reminded me once again how rich in love my life is, but also how abundantly blessed  I am in the department of relationships.
There are 30 days in this month, and honestly every single one of these days could be filled with a shout out of thanks to certain people in my life that have shaped me. 
Just for fun, let's look at the numbers of my rather large family of origin and marriage.
I have 4 siblings, 4 children, 2 parents,  4 parent-in-loves, 1 husband, 4 nieces, 1 grand-niece, 1 grand- nephew, 6 Uncles, 3 Aunties, 2 brother-in-loves, 1 sister-in- love, countless cousins.... so you do the math!  In my family ALONE there are more than 30 people to give thanks for, and I truly DO give thanks for them ALL!! That is just my family that I didn't get to choose, but would choose each and everyone of them if I could.  Then there are the ones that I call family that I did get to choose.  My friends who are like family to me and who I choose to walk out life with, my inner circle if you will, I give thanks for ALL of them as well. 
I realize this is not the case for everyone. 
This gives some insight as to why coming home to a stance of gratitude is so very easy for me.  Even with all of these beyond amazing people in my life, I still struggle (like any human "being" ) does. I put the word "being" in quotes because just being human means we will from time to time fall out of the character traits that we would hope WON'T define us in the end. 
Ya know, like... I mean we all have bad days! 
Days we wish we could push the rewind button and do that part of life over again.  The great thing about this life though, is that we get to choose to push the reset button. We might not get to rewind, but we definitely can reset our course.  So, that is what this month is about for me. I'm hitting the reset button, and coming home to a place of giving thanks for what truly matters in this life.  I'm looking up instead of down. I'm determined to graduate from this life with a masters degree in gratitude!
Who is with me?