Every Thanksgiving, I see a myriad of blogs and articles on Gratitude because many people think that the key to happiness is gratitude. And then, there are the cyncial people like myself that believe it takes a helluva lot more than just "gratitude" to be happy!

Hurricane Helene just blew by Florida, wreaking havoc here and throughout multiple states: 56 deaths and counting. Thankfully, we live about 25 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, so we went through the hurricane just fine. However, I glanced at Facebook and realized how lucky we were. One of my friends had 3 feet of water in her home. Another lost her car

Thanksgiving is a holiday that has become synonymous with gratitude. But how did this happen? The tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to the 17th century when the Pilgrims celebrated their first successful harvest in Plymouth. They invited the Native Americans, who had helped them survive their first year, to join them in a feast. This was a time of giving thanks for their blessings, thus setting the stage for Thanksgiving to be associated with gratitude.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have kept a journal. I was an only child and my parents worked a lot, so instead of talking to others I simply began writing down my experiences. Of course, when you’re the daughter of overprotective parents and home by yourself for hours on end as a teenager in the 1980’s…you don’t have much to write about. “Why do my parents work so much?” “I wish I was more popular.” “Rick Springfield is so hot, I wanna be his girlfriend.”