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Being thankful

Janet Elliott

In honor of Thanksgiving, our residents reflected on what they are most thankful for.

June Hackathorn: “I am most thankful for family and Aberdeen Village friends.”

Jan Kelly: “I am most thankful for my wonderful family and friends here at Aberdeen Village.”

Evelyn Bergmann: “I am most thankful for a comfortable place to live and Zoom internet to see my ‘away’ children.”

Nancy Schulz: “I am most thankful for being a forgiven and bred child of God and my family, past and present!”

Gerry Ray: “I am most thankful for my family, a safe place to live and friends.”

Shari Rolph: “I am most thankful for my family.”

Janet Elliott: “I am most thankful for good health, friends, a loving family, grandchildren, a loving God and good memories.”

Oleta Garvic

Zoe Moore: “I am most thankful for family, friends and faith. This year I must add how especially thankful I am to be home after my long bout with COVID.”

Darla Thompson: “I am most thankful that I am living in independent living at Aberdeen Village and that my immediate family is living here in Kansas.”

Oleta Garvic: “I am most thankful for the grace of God and a Christian husband and for Christian grandparents that raised me from the time I was 6 months old. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for Christian friends and my son and daughter and my four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. I’m thankful for my country whose motto is ‘In God we trust.’”

Eva Murphy: “I am most thankful for this wonderful world, caring people and all God’s gifts.”

Mary Wilmoth: “I am most thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful family of five awesome children, which now has grown to five generations with another great-great on the way. We have cherishished many family Thanksgiving gatherings throughout 67 years. The BLESSINGS keep MULTIPLYING!”

Don Spriggs

Don Spriggs: “I am most thankful first for the Lord Jesus and for Friday 4 p.m. social time.”

Judy Salts: “I am most thankful for the staff at Aberdeen Village. I understand that this is a difficult time for everyone, but I believe our staff is working hard to please all residents. Thanks for the hard work.”

Remembering to be thankful

It can sometimes be difficult to remind ourselves to be thankful, especially when things are happening that we didn't choose. But it is very important for our own well-being and happiness to maintain a positive attitude. Here are some helpful ways to remind ourselves to be thankful, not only during Thanksgiving, but all year long.

Appreciate what you have

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." — Frederick Koenig

Whenever you get discouraged about things that are missing from your life, think about all the things that you do have and how thankful you are for them.

Keep a gratitude journal

“Previous research has linked gratitude to improved mental health, lower levels of anxiety and improved sleep,” says Blaire Morgan, Ph.D., a research fellow at the University of Birmingham in England. “Our own research has demonstrated a strong link between gratitude and three different measures of well-being: satisfaction with life, subjective happiness and positive affect.”

The idea of a gratitude journal is nice because not only does it start training you to think in terms of what you are thankful for, somehow putting pen to paper helps solidify this way of thinking. You can also go back and reread things you have written, and after a while you'll realize you have many things to be thankful for!

Focus on being grateful

“Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” Jim Rohn believed one of the greatest lessons in life we can learn is to be thankful for what we already have. But gratitude is something we have to work at — to prepare our hearts to be reflective and thankful and to provide room for contemplation of our good fortune.

If we want to be the kind of people who are characterized by thankfulness, by gratitude, then we must make sure that we focus on it at all times.

Have an attitude of gratitude

Are you a grateful person? Thankful for the good things — big and small — in your life?

In the hustle of life, sometimes it’s easy to forget that every day holds precious gifts. From the air we breathe to the friendships we hold close, there is always something to be thankful for.

With the season of thanksgiving upon us, try to retrain your brain to think of moments throughout your day that you are thankful for.

Get in the feeling-good habit

Every night as you’re getting ready to go to bed, spend a few minutes thinking of all the things that you were grateful for during that day. This is especially important when you’ve had a bad day and it seems as though there is nothing to give thanks for.

This can take work, especially when negative emotions are getting the best of you, but this is important. Sometimes you must push yourself. Maybe you had a few laughs with a friend or maybe you received a compliment. Or maybe you did something nice for someone, or someone did something nice for you and it lifted your spirits. It can be as small as a snack you enjoyed or a good seat you snagged. Believe us, you’ll come to find that it’s well worth the effort because you will be creating an attitude of gratitude, a habit that’s conducive to making you feel good.

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