A Life In Review

A lot of people do a thankfulness challenge on Facebook each November. It’s called 30 days of being thankful. I’m sure you’ve seen it and while it’s great, I want us (as families) to be more intentional this year. I’m not asking you to share publicly what you are thankful for, but I am asking you to take this seriously.

November gives us the perfect excuse to actually remember to be thankful. This challenge is intended to be a family activity. It can be done at the table during breakfast or dinner, before bed when everyone is getting settled or in the car on your way to one of the 50 activities your kids are part of. It’s not meant to be a long drawn out thing, just an activity to get you talking.

The challenge is in the “rules”, so let’s get started:

1. You MUST commit to all 30 days. This isn’t a start it and forget about it challenge.
2. You cannot repeat what you are thankful for (i.e. if you’ve said it once in the last 30 days, you cannot say it again).
3. You cannot repeat what someone else has said that day.
4. You ALL have to share something (no one gets out of this)
5. It must be at least a sentence (your teenager does not get away with saying “my phone”).

That’s it. If you would like to put more parameters around it you can. It can be as basic as you want, or as in depth as you want. During the day, think about what you are actually thankful for. It can be easier than you think (I once did this for 365 days straight, some days were hard, but most days I could always find something I was thankful for).

If you would like to deepen the experience, here are some ideas:

1. Have each person write what they are thankful for on a post it note and stick them to the fridge. This way you all have a visual of things that you are thankful for.
2. End the month choosing what you were most thankful for during the whole month.
3. Have the littler kids draw a picture of what they are thankful for (this let’s them be super creative and you may be surprised by what they come up with).
4. Talk about why you are thankful for what you said that day (i.e. if you say “I’m thankful for you”, explain why you are thankful for that person).
5. Make it a special time each day. For example if you are a family who rarely does dessert, do a small dessert each night and choose that time to do the challenge.

I hope you choose to do this, and I hope your family gets a lot out of it. The year that I did the Thankfulness challenge, I had to stop and think, even on my worst day, that there was something to be thankful for. It can be a really positive family experience if you let it be. And remember, if November is super super busy for your family, this can be done any month, I just felt November was fitting. Just do it and make some lasting memories while you’re at it.