The 2011 Thankful Blog

I am certain every blog in this cyber universe will be about some form of gratitude this week.  If you are like me, you have already had those moments in your day where you pause to reflect on your own personal gratitude list without even meaning to.  There is just something special about this time of year when the leaves fall, you watch your breath when speaking outdoors, hot chocolate, coats and scarves and knowing that Thanksgiving is only three days away; it gives you those tender moments.  I watched my children play this weekend and thought about their sweet little lives and how happy and care free they are.  One of them was ill, and it made me grateful for my health and their health and for how much I take it for granted when we are well.  My children make me understand why my parents always told me to stay young and enjoy my youth for as long as possible.

My life now obviously isn’t as simple as it was when I was young.  I now have bills to pay, a mortgage to keep up with, deadlines, and children of my own that need time, attention and preparation.  I think of how my parents prepared me for this future that I am now living in.  They always taught me to go to college.  That wasn’t an “if you go to college” in my home growing up, it was a “when.”  My father was very financially savvy and opened my siblings and my bank accounts when we were very young and taught us that saving was always the best policy.  I feel like the home I was raised in was my own personal Junior Achievement sanctuary, in which I am of course grateful for. 

I realize that I was not quite raised like the majority of my friends and associates.  Most of them didn’t have the financial guru father that I had and Junior Achievement was definitely not in my elementary or middle school at the time.  Many of my friends now have lost homes, declared bankruptcy or have more credit card debt than they know what to do with.  Much of this is due to the poor economy, however, I feel very fortunate that I have not had to experience one of those three nightmare situations. 

This time of year I am very thankful for a program that not only teaches my children how to save money, but helps them make wise decisions in preparing for their future.  Junior Achievement teaches our children and youth the value and importance of free-enterprise, a college education, workforce readiness, financial literacy and much more.   

I know one thing we as humans share in common is that we all want great leaders for our future.  When we are older, our children’s generation and their children’s generation will be taking care of our needs and some of our financial decisions.  The last thing I want is for those leaders to be uneducated in the areas that will influence my life.  Junior Achievement is a solution to educate these future leaders while they are young.  It is crucial that when these kids head off to college they have the knowledge necessary to keep them wise and maybe a little more focused.   Isn’t that something that we all wished we had when we were younger? 

This Thanksgiving, during our personal moments of reflection, as we pause and give thanks in our hearts for the things we hold dear, think about our children’s future.  Think about the short time they are young and then thrust into the world to make adult decisions on their own when sadly, our opinions may not matter as much to them anymore.  I add Junior Achievement to my gratitude list this year, thankful that there is something out there that will help fill in the gaps of readying my children where I may fall short.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!