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Thankful

As we’re sitting on the table a day before Thanksgiving, I tell my daughter that tomorrow we must all talk about everything we’re thankful for.

She’s decided that twenty four hours is too long a time to wait to be thankful. Now, had I been on a family table growing up, I’d have waited to be the last. That would have given me a chance to think about my list of things I’m thankful for. Luckily she’s a much faster and better version of me! She’s decided to go first, and jump straight in.

She starts with her parents. Yay! Now, I’m really thankful that she started with her parents, because you’ll soon see that this was not a very short list. She says that we’re both nice and not mean parents. I do want to record that, but then I’m trying not be mean!

Next, she’s happy for the house, and the fact that we have a place to live. So far so good. She seems to be going in the order I would have gone in too. Next she’s thankful that we have food to eat and clothes to wear.

Now at this point, I can really think of a few more things - the fact that me and my wife jobs, the rest of the family (not just the three of us) and our friends. If she says all these things, then I probably have nothing left to teach her? A comfortable life? She’s already covered food and clothes and the house, so she’s got the essence of that anyway.

This is where my daughter’s list deviates from mine, and she decides to surprise us, yet again. She’s thankful for the fact that there’s day and night, because it would be boring otherwise. The fact that there are other people on earth, not just us. She’s thankful that there’s earth, and not just space. She’s also thankful for gravity. She’s thankful for clocks, so we know the time, and cups, so we can drink water easily. She’s thankful for water. She’s thankful for seasons, but she’s okay with no seasons too (since we’ve lived in Singapore before). She’s thankful that the scenery is different everywhere, so when you go somewhere new, you get to see new things and feel nice. She’s thankful for plants, because they help us breathe; and for animals (because they’re nice). She’s thankful for friends and also thankful that most people are nice and not mean.

Phew! I was only taking mental notes, so I hope I got everything.

I’m thankful that my daughter is thankful for so many things, and sees the world in a much better light than I do. I think she might also make me a little more environment friendly if she keeps this up.

The only piece of wisdom I could give her after this list was, “Its a great list. The best list in the house. Make sure that you actually feel thankful for all these things, everyday.”

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About the Blog

I became a father on 17th April 2010. Even though I was prepared for being a dad, I was not the least bit prepared for what it meant to be a dad. This blog is about some of the pleasing, joyful, horrid, wonderful and annoying realisations that I've had as a parent of a beautiful baby girl.

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