Kicking Complaining to the Curb

It's November and and thanksgiving isn't just a Thursday with a turkey and football. People are gearing up not only for the Thanksgiving holiday, but are also donning that festive spirit for the following holiday, Christmas. They take time to count their blessings more so than most any other time of the year. They stop to help their neighbors. They become more generous with their gifts, money, and good cheer.
The past few days I've noticed a number of people listing daily something they're thankful for on FaceBook. I think that's great. But, I tend to buck trends and have shied away from it. Yes, I'm that weirdo. But, that's another story for another day.
This morning my friend Amanda and I were talking, as we do most every morning as she drives into work, and she mentioned about how she'd been reading a blog about 365 days of gratefullness. The blogger had already completed 365 days of thankfulness and was now using the opportunity to be complaint free for one month.
This intrigued me. The more we talked about it the more I was convinced that this was something I wanted to be a part of. Amanda said it would help her to have me on board, and I would certainly benefit from having her on board. We talked of ways in which we could turn the negative into the positive. We discussed how we could spin the bad and the ugly not into a gilded lie, but spin it around to look at from a different angle. We discussed how Secondborn, who was in the process of throwing (1) a sippy cup, (2) a flashlight and (3) her daddy's new book at me, wasn't just pushing boundaries, but that she was displaying she was right on track for normal growth development. I did have to admit though, that she wasn't just normal in that department, but maybe above average.
Amanda even had the brillant idea that at the end of the day I could crochet one square to symbolize a day free of complaint, a day of gratitude and peace. I took that a step further and named it the Grateful Granny Square project. And, at the end of the month I could piece all the squares together for a cozy afghan.

Now, I'm not sure I can manage to do it every night, but the intent is there and we'll see where it goes. But, I hope to be checking back daily and sharing with you some ways of which I could turn a complaint into a realization of the positive. I've always been something of a bubbly character, but I've let life bog me down of late. It's time to shed the negative, find the light, and chase after it. Who knows where it will lead? Besides "a positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." ~Herm Albright
And, I do so enjoying annoying grumpy butts.