It’s Thanksgiving morning. The sun is shining and it’s a shockingly balmy 53 degrees in Minneapolis. The chickens are fed and wandering the yard. The Westie’s eyes are closing as he rests on his favorite part of the sofa. It’s quiet.

And, like so many of us in the United States, I’m feeling a great sense of gratitude. It’s a powerful force, when you think about it. Beginning a day with gratitude is vastly different than starting out a morning feeling like you aren’t getting what you deserve out of life. Nothing combats stress like expressing appreciation.

I keep thinking about a story that was passed around the office at my day job this week. It’s about a Connecticut couple celebrating 80 years of marriage this weekend. 80 years! And when John and Ann Betar describe their lives and their marriage, it’s clear gratitude plays a central role.

**photos courtesy of ABC News

“We are so blessed. We are fortunate,” John Betar, 101, said.

Ann, who is 97, continued: “We are very fortunate. It can be repeated and repeated. It is unconditional love and understanding. We have had that. We consider it a blessing.”

One of the couple’s five children goes on to explain how her parents have an incredible ability to accept life as it comes, and that’s what’s helped keep them together since their wedding in 1932. They look around at life and see the blessings. They express gratitude even as they face life’s greatest adversities, like the pain of losing a child.

On this day, and every day, let’s give thanks for all of life’s blessings, big and small. Happy Thanksgiving!