By Ann Minnett

Much of my attitude about gratitude derives from the well-being of the ones I love. Yours, too, I’ll bet. I’m grateful to announce that at this precise moment, everyone in my family is healthy and as far as I know, content with their lives. Whew!

That lovely blessing allows me to examine more personal attitudes about gratitude. No one is more surprised than I that I’m most grateful about being 65. Right. I can’t believe it, either. Sixty-five sounds ancient compared to the perennial vision I carry around of 35-year-old Ann.  I forget my gray hair until a photo reminds me. When people wish me Happy Birthday, I always respond with, I’m just happy to be here.

Here’s the truth:  I’ve never been more content with my life in my life. This age allows for less self-consciousness and more time to notice the world. I’m more likely to give myself a friggin’ break and less likely to martyr through hard times. I express hidden feelings in my fiction, and my age makes me far less apt to fall apart if what I say displeases you.

Ann