My wife, Shirley, and I have gone on vacations to a quiet beach in southwestern Florida for most of our married life. If that beach could talk, it would tell of teenage newlyweds who sunned and wrote "I love you" on its sands.
It would tell of a little girl with eyes the color of the sea gathering seashells and of three wild boys leaping and diving into the surf.
It would tell of joyous visits over the years from friends, parents, grandparents, new brides and grooms - and now grandchildren. The beach would tell glorious tales of warmth and gratitude.
But I realized one day that I had rarely expressed my gratitude to the one who'd lived those years with me. On our 40th wedding anniversary, Shirley and I walked again the familiar margin of the sea. I told her then how thankful I was that she shared my life.
We don't have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones closest to us - the ones so easily overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this: give it now! While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it. Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world's happiness.
~ Joe Fernandes
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
~ William Arthur Ward
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