Gratitude day 29

I am not in a grateful mood right now. In fact I am in a rather uncomplacent mood because I read some news that makes me envious. But I guess that is the benefit of this exercise -- to force me to write this.

Today I am grateful that my brother rode the Caltrain for over an hour to come to my work holiday party. He got to the Caltrain station early and walked a mile to buy a white elephant gift for the party. He bought gourmet chocolates and as a joke, put them into a giant Victoria's Secret box to embarrass the person who picked the gift. He also bought me a gift card when he was there.

(Ok this is already working. I feel more appreciative and happier, and slightly sheepish for being grumpy over my first world pains.)

Then Tom walked a mile back and sat at the Caltrain station waiting for me to pick him up. It took me longer than expected to walk home and drive over, and he waited patiently. When I got there, he had been sitting outdoors in the cold, holding a giant Victoria's Secret box, for an hour. I was super stressed because my top New Year's resolution is to be more considerate in everyday things. I could barely meet his gaze. But he was super empathetic and said it was okay and that he knew I would be stressed for this exact reason and it was fine.

I always say that I have the best brother in the world, and now you know 0.0000000001% of the reason why.

Wow, this exercise really works.