25 Things

This is Peter Rosenberg and this is your caregiver minute. I'm doing this remotely today from a hotel room across the street from the hospital where my wife just had her 82nd surgery. It was a big one. It's about nine hours.

They worked on her back and surgery was a success, but we have the long road to recovery now for her. But I was thinking about something that a friend said to me, something someone told him on how to deal with bad days and tough times. He said, when you feel yourself getting stressed out, take a moment to write down 25 things that you're grateful for, that you're thankful for. He said, no less, 25 things. And watch how everything changes, period. And he tried it. He said it was amazing. And I'm going to do that today. And I was thinking about that. It doesn't have to be exotic things. It's just things that you're grateful for.

For example, last night, my sister, my parents sent me a gift certificate to my email. I got on the phone to Panera's. Well, Panera's is right next to the hotel and it's right across the street from the hospital and I like Panera's. And so I went over there and I got myself a salad and a bowl of creamy tomato soup. Now, it's snowing here in Denver. It's winter month.

It's cold. And what tastes better on a cold winter night when you're a little bit disconnected? You've got all the surgery and the stress of the hospital than just sitting down with a bowl of creamy tomato soup. And I'm thankful for that. And it was such a gift in time.

It doesn't have to be something over the top or exotic, just a bowl of creamy tomato soup. So today, I'm going to spend some time saying what I'm thankful for. Write it down. I'm going to write down my list.

Anytime I feel myself getting really stressed out, it's going to be a hard day for Gracie today. I'm going to figure out a sedation and the long journey of recovery starts. And I'm going to need a gratitude list.

How about you? Are there 25 things that you can write down that you're grateful for? And let's compare notes a little later and see if it doesn't improve the quality of life for both of us, no matter what we're dealing with. I really believe that. And we can be grateful. And there's no situation so bad that gratitude can't improve it.