I’ve set out on a quest to become a thankful man.
Now, that sounds spiritual, but I have to admit that it’s a bit selfish. I’ve noticed that I do better in life when I’m thankful. When I’m mad at someone or feel like they owe me something I’m entitled to, I don’t do well.
So, how do I get to be a man marked by a thankful attitude? I’m not 100% sure how to do it. But I know what will not work.
You remember how it was when you were six and your grandmother would give you a pair of socks for Christmas? You’d be standing there asking yourself, “What was that woman thinking? Socks! I wanted a model airplane.”
Your mama might say, “Tell Grandma thank you.”
And you would just stand there with your bottom lip stuck out. “Thank you? For a pair of socks? C’mon. Get real!”
Mamas are very persuasive, though, and suddenly you might feel a “whap!” landing on the back of your head.
“I said, ‘say thank you,’” your sweet mama might encourage you.
Your face would screw itself into a scowl as you tried to rub the pain out of the spot where Mad Mama had struck you. But between clinched teeth you managed to mutter, “Thank you for the socks.”
You did that because you were thankful, didn’t you? No, you did it because you imagined her hand poised behind your head, itching to deliver another blow.
That’s not thankfulness, that’s self-preservation. Continue reading
What do you do when someone tells you to be happy and you don’t feel happy? And what’s more, you don’t even want to be happy? Well, maybe you’d kind of like to be, but most of the time you’re not. You not really sad either as far as that goes.
The three children stood before their mom, like recruits in front of the drill sergeant. The fifteen-year old daughter towered over her ten year old sister and five year old brother.
were things that, if you didn’t do them, mama would make you wish you had done them.