To say it has been a stress-filled week would be an understatement.

The elves didn’t show up to help with the decorating, and boxes are still scattered all through the house.

You would think that I would have learned my lesson by now and realize I need to downsize my Christmas décor expectations.

But, I haven’t, and in addition to not getting everything checked off the to-do-list, there were other extenuating circumstances that led to me feeling anxious.

Sparing you all the details, let’s just say having four grown children does not eliminate worry.

So with that being said, I have had myself a pretty good pity party going on this week.

That was until I remembered a Christmas ad I saw last week.

This was not your typical commercial where they are trying to get you to buy something. In fact, I would not even have called it an ad at all. It was more in line with a public service announcement.

The video begins with the Dad waking up in bed covered in wrapping paper.

As he begins to peel the paper from his face, with excitement, he says, “I’m alive.”

He then looks towards his wife, who is sitting in bed beside him, and she is also wrapped in paper. He pulls the paper off her face and says, “you’re here too!”

At this point, I was still not sure where the ad was going, but as I continued to watch, the message became clearer.

The kids then came into the couple’s bedroom, and like their parents, they were wrapped in Christmas paper.

The young son looks at his dad and says, “What’s going on?”

Next, the dad goes over to the light switch, which is, as you may have guessed, covered in wrapping paper.

He begins flicking the lights on and off, and with his continued excitement, says, “Look, we have power!”

In the bathroom, a bow is wrapped around the sink facet, and as he turns the handle and water begins to pour out, he yells, “We have clean water!”

From putting on his shoes to opening a gift with food inside a box, the dad’s excitement continues as the family gets ready for their school and workday.

The video is entitled “Gratitude,” and, for sure, the message is to help us recognize all of our blessings.

I know for a fact, on most occasions, I take for granted the gift of electricity.

Unless there is a power outage, I typically don’t get excited when I turn the lights on and off or wash my face with clean water.

Yet, I have all these wonderful gifts offered to me daily.

If you haven’t seen the video, which I also found on the internet, be sure and check it out.

Because like it did for me, it may give you food for thought during the Christmas season.

I live in a country where I have so much, and I often forget about what others don’t have.  Thanks to the creators of this short little video, I can be reminded to be grateful.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer at The Vicksburg Post. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.