The Gratitude Game
One of my favorite things to do with my husband costs nothing.
We call it the gratitude game.
We sit down together and take turns saying what we're grateful for.
About each other.
About our relationship.
About our lives.
Nothing fancy.
No scorekeeping.
No agenda.
Just attention.
What always surprises me is how quickly the atmosphere changes.
The circumstances are exactly the same as they were five minutes before.
The dishes are still in the sink.
The to-do list still exists.
Whatever was difficult about the day is still true.
And yet something shifts.
Not because we've changed our lives.
Because we've changed where we're looking.
It's easy to spend our time noticing what's missing, what's frustrating, or what still needs to be fixed.
The gratitude game doesn't erase those things.
It simply reminds us that they aren't the whole story.
Sometimes the difference between an ordinary evening and a meaningful one is a few minutes spent paying attention to what's already here.
