Jeannine and Ava’s Story - Shared Gratitude
This story is part of our Don’t Wait to Thank series, where Gratitude Plus and Kevin Monroe are challenging you to spread gratitude throughout July and share those stories with our community. Share gratitude with someone new each day and let us know.
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I “met” Kevin Monroe on a LIVE with Rachel Druckenmiller in the fall of 2022. His whole life is a lesson in gratitude, and he’s even built a business around it. In January of 2023 he posted a chance to “win” a free set of his I'M GRATEFUL FOR YOU cards and I jumped on it.
We practice gratitude regularly in our family, and my (now 8-year-old), Ava absolutely leads the charge. We have a gratitude jar, she loves writing thank you cards and notes, and she always sees the silver linings in challenging situations. She spreads kindness and thanks everywhere she goes, so I was excited to share Kevin’s work with her.
When I mentioned this to Kevin, he immediately asked if he could send a set of cards to her as well. He said he’d never sent a deck to a child before, but he felt inspired and compelled to this time.
Here’s what unfolded...
When Ava received her package in the mail, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She couldn’t wait to get started sharing her gratitude.
She immediately made a bunch of cards to distribute at our local grocery store that weekend. They know us well there – at the deli, seafood counter, florist, pharmacy, the cashiers, etc. – as we’re usually there a couple of times per week.
That Saturday, she proudly gathered up her finished cards and off we went.
🌹 First up – Dina the florist who gives Ava a fairy rose each week as she knows they’re her favorite. Ava has made her pictures and given her Thank You cards before, but Dina was blown away by her gratitude card!
💊 Next, we went to the pharmacy to visit our favorite pharmacists: Glen, Jessica, and Cheryl (yes, Ava has favorite pharmacists 😂). She has shared special rocks and little treasures with them before, but the gratitude cards made them feel even more special (you can tell by their big smiles!)
🔪 Then, on to the deli! There is one man in particular who knows our regular order and takes such care to slice everything super thin (just like we like it) AND layer it so it doesn’t get stuck together. When Ava gave him a card, I thought he was actually going to shed a tear, he was so moved.
💰 On our way out, Ava proudly gave our favorite cashier, Ariel, a card as well. Before we knew it, he had taken a piece of paper and made it into an origami crane for Ava. It was magical!!
The power of gratitude is a FORCE. It made us feel just as good as those Ava gave cards to, and inspired us to keep the momentum going.
I’m so grateful for people like Kevin who share such widespread messages of good in the world. And I love the example it sets for my daughter.
Do you have stories or insights to share? We'd love to hear your story!
