Saying Thanks, and Reasons to Be Grateful
Written by Alecia M. Meila, MM, MT-BC
‘Tis the season to be thankful, and as I reflect back on this year, there are so many reasons to be grateful. Some are big, some are small, and some snuck up on me before I even noticed they were there.
Pulling Teeth
I remember having a conversation with my nephew when he entered middle school. I asked him how his day had gone, and was met with a monosyllabic “Good.”
There was a pause. We stared at each other. He blinked at me. I blinked at him.
“Good?” I echoed. “That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause. He was still looking at me politely.
“Did you have any good classes today?”
“Yeah.”
Okay. Change tack, Aunt Alecia.
“Tell me a story from your favorite class. Anything funny happen today?”
“Yeah, one of the kids sitting in the back made fart noises every time the teacher said a word.” He laughed. “He got in so much trouble.”
Alright. Now, at least, we were getting somewhere.
The conversation got me thinking about my own school experiences. On my first day of school, my mother would always say, “Good luck, you’ll be fine, and remember everything.” When I came home, my dad would meet me at the bus stop and ask me what the best part of my day was. Over dinner, my mother would say, “Well? What are your stories from today? Tell me everything that happened. I want to hear every little detail.”
Giving (and Holding) Space
Something I was so grateful for, even though I didn’t have words to express it at the time, was the space I was given to share about my day. Even better, I was encouraged to do so, with my parents seeking the smallest of details - indeed, no detail was too small - so they could connect with me and my experiences, and show their support.
I’m not the chattiest person by a long shot, but I always loved telling stories, so the way my parents phrased their questions invited me to speak in a way that I found enjoyable, instead of making me feel like I was being “grilled” for information.
There are so many ways to communicate, and not every child is going to respond to the same questions in the same way. And sometimes, the more creative the question, the more likely it is to encourage a response that has more than one syllable to it. Likewise, having more than a single verbal way to communicate feelings can be so important, especially because children of all abilities (and adults, too) can sometimes find themselves feeling things that don’t quite match up to a word immediately (or ever). That’s why this month, we’re including with our newsletter a resource of 25 questions kids will (probably) actually answer when asked about their day.
(Shameless plug: if you haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet, it takes about 3 seconds and you can do it here: Our Newsletter — Riverstone Therapies, LLC ).
Grateful for Connection
One of the driving principles of Riverstone Therapies is using a team effort to positively impact our clients. The reason for this is that humans are, by nature, social creatures who seek connection. That connection sometimes may look different to different people, but the underlying desire is, in almost all situations, present.
Being able to communicate, whether through words, gestures, or understanding, gives us the chance to honor that innate desire for connection. Each conversation and shared moment is an opportunity to listen, to empathize, and to support others in expressing themselves in ways that matter. For that, I – and all of us at Riverstone – are truly grateful, reminded daily of the simple but profound power of being truly heard. This November, as we reflect on what we’re grateful for, we celebrate not just the ability to communicate, but the connections it allows us to build, and all the small, meaningful ways we can touch each other’s lives every day.
