Hey Babe,

Can I call you that?

I don’t want to freak you out…but I think I’m in love with you. It has taken me a while to realize my feelings for you, but better late than never, right?

I feel like you don’t trust me. I get it. You feel betrayed. You think us humans are cheating on you with your arch nemesis: Ingratitude. To be fair, we do flirt. But Ingratitude is just so... easy.

O.K. Let me lay it out for you like this…

You’re like that exciting, foreign hottie that comes around once a year and reminds us all how great you make us feel. You know what you’re doing; you’ve been around the block a few times.

So, as the cliché goes, we get your hopes up; make you feel like you’re more than just a temporary hook-up to keep us company during the holiday season. And then we dump you. Why do we do that every year? Why don’t we learn?

Well, Gratitude, I have learned my lesson. Actions speak louder than words, I know; but let me say my words because that’s all I have right now. I hope you stick around to watch as I prove it to you.

Why a sudden change of heart now? You’re not just a holiday booty call anymore. I’m getting older. I realized I want you in my life during the dark and bitter days, not just during the happy ones.

I love you for grounding me, and never letting me get too caught up in the materials of the modern world.

I love you for how you make me feel, wrapped up in your warm embrace. It’s like you highlight all of the positives in my life and never let me forget them.

I love how you do not conform to a measuring system. I cannot chain you down and weigh you on a scale, nor can I pour you into a cup or scoop you onto a spoon. I think that’s because nothing could ever measure up to you, Gratitude.

But mostly, I love you for not discriminating. Anyone can feel you. Any race, any gender, any socioeconomic class. You are a universal feeling.

You don’t compare yourself to anyone or anything; you simply instill an introspective view and leave me wanting more of you, and less of your loser enemy, Ingratitude. When you’re around, everyone stops counting their wealth and starts counting the intangibles. Health, happiness, life.

Oh, Gratitude…I am grateful for you.

Yours Truly,

A Grateful Admirer