Gratitude by Debbie Seid

I breathe and therefore I am grateful…

I witness the beauty of a bird in flight, a tree gently swaying in the wind, and the waves crashing powerfully into the sand…and therefore I am grateful.

I think of the woman who gave birth to my daughter in China, a woman I do not know and will most likely never meet and I mourn for her…for all the joy she missed with the baby she carried but never raised, and therefore I am grateful.

I think of my own birth mother, the woman who gave me up before I was born in hope that I could live a better life, and therefore I am grateful.

I hear my mom, the woman who raised me and is now 88 as she says “Is there anything I can do for you?”, and therefore I am grateful.

I watch my dad as he runs up the stairs at 95 and says “watch me”, and therefore I am grateful.

I listen to the news at night and my heart is in so much pain for the parents who lost a child to war, and are now asked to live with the ultimate sacrifice and still go on, and silently I am grateful.