Over the past few weeks, life has tossed my family some lemons. We are attempting to make lemonade, but as anyone who has ever made it from scratch knows, the real stuff takes a lot more time than the instant.  Then I received an email from the newsletter editor for my local writer’s group.

Each month, she sends a question to the group for us to answer for the newsletter. Usually, they are something like “How did you get started writing?” or “How long have you been writing?” or something like that. Something dealing directly with writing. Something I can usually dash off a couple of sentences for in a minute or two. But this month’s question was different. This month’s question has made me stop and think. And it’s not even an involved question. It’s actually quite simple. It’s: “What are you grateful for?”

Five words. Only five simple words. And yet they carry so much power. They have made me look at the way I’ve been looking at life of late. Almost like I’ve been sucking on the lemon slices without benefit of water or sugar. Palatable, but barely.

So, I will answer her question.

I am grateful that I have a warm, dry, comfortable little house. I am grateful that I have a wonderful family who love me and each other and will help each other in times of need. I am grateful I have friends who stand behind me and nudge me or hug me when either is needed. I am grateful I have food on my table. I am grateful for the ability to read – and the books to read. I am grateful I have the ability to tell a decent tale and that people actually pay me for this privilege.

I am grateful for a lot more. But this is a start.

What about you? What are you grateful for?