Financial considerations often form the basis of adult children and parents moving back in together. Even with the potential costs of remodeling to accommodate the two families, maintaining one household rather than two generally creates considerable savings for everyone. As Rhea summed it up in her comment yesterday, there are positive outcomes from sharing housing with family - saving money, for one. "Necessity will force a lot of living situations that we might not initially choose but will save us from financial ruin. It pays to learn how to live well with others!"

The support generated on both sides can serve as the foundation for resolving past misunderstandings between parents and adult children. Understanding and forgiveness are easier to accomplish when different viewpoints are considered. And rather than taking each other for granted, family members can express their gratitude for one another.

An additional benefit of the multi-generational experience is the closer relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. Generations living together lead to a win-win situation for everyone here. A grandmother says, "It's been surprisingly wonderful. I'm getting a level of contact with my kids and grandkids that has been more rewarding than I could ever have dreamed." From the perspective of a busy mother, the reactions are more practical. "My husband and I are lucky because my mom helps take care of our kids while we are at work."

The close bonding allows the extended family to build rich memories to savor over the years. As the older generation continues to age, these times may be the impetus for planning their care by the new sandwiched generation, with the grandchildren pitching in to help.

With Thanksgiving just one week away, tomorrow we return to the topic of last week: gratitude. We will look at some reactions - internal and external - to saying "thank you."

With the holiday season now in full swing, the concept of gratitude comes front and center. Dina Lynch Eisenberg of www.thismarriagething.com started us off by encouraging us to say "thank you" three times a day to our significant other. It's funny how being attentive to something nice that a spouse does actually opens you up to noticing other's around you too. And expressing your appreciation to a partner sets the tone for expressing gratitude to the world around you.

With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, begin to note what you are thankful for and let that gratitude well up and spill over to your family, friends, community, country and the world at large. Then express your gratitude - by saying thanks, by doing something nice in return, by practicing a random act of kindness, by volunteering to help those who are needy, by acting as a citizen of the world. The opportunities are endless.

So, I'll begin by thanking you for being a part of our readership - it means a lot to us knowing that you are there!

Now pass it forward...

Yesterday we discussed why it may be difficult to express your gratitude. Today let's talk about how to get started in your new direction. You will need to become aware yourself of what you are thankful for before you can begin to acknowledge the part others play.

Begin to consciously notice what brings you joy in life. Awareness is the first step toward creating change. Set aside time for yourself to participate in the process of experiencing and acknowledging your gratitude.

Count your blessings. Each evening, note three things that happened during the day for which you are thankful. Be specific as you describe what happened to you. It could be a loving conversation with your partner, a thank you from your teenage daughter, a view of a magnificent sunset.

Re-live and savor each of these events. Spend some time re-creating in your mind the joy of the experience. You will feel your body becoming more relaxed, your emotions more positive and your head more focused. The pleasures of life are not only in present experience but also in remembering happy times.

Think about what you did to open yourself up to these moments. Then decide to direct your actions to include more of these delights in your life. The recognition of your own personal power will strengthen your belief in yourself as well as your willingness to consider the part others play in your happiness.

Recognize why this piece of good fortune came your way. It will help you identify the people you're grateful to have in your life. You can then seek them out and thank them for improving your world.

When you follow these tips, you will find that expressing gratitude not only makes those around you feel better, but it also benefits you and your mood. When you focus on what you are grateful for, you reap a wide range of benefits. These include sounder sleep, enhanced self-esteem, increased levels of contentment and improved connections with the world around you. Not a bad outcome - especially for a Sandwiched Boomer caught in the midst of parents growing older and children growing up.

The comment by one of our readers about The Gratitude Project, got me thinking. Laneris said, "To my mind appreciation and saying thank you is of high priority in a relationship. You should try show it to people not for the next 10 days but for all your life."

It started me wondering, Why is is so difficult to say thank you? Why do we need to be reminded to be appreciative for a mere 10 days of the year? As Laneris noted, of course it would be relevant to always express your thanks to someone with whom you share something as meaningful as a relationship. It would seem that your good feelings about that person would spill over into your consciousness and make it more likely for you to notice and acknowledge positive behaviors by him or her. Yet the truth is that we often fail to recognize what our significant others do for us. Let's look at some reasons why:

We take things for granted.Humans instinctively pay more attention to threats to their safety than they do to situations of ease and security. We are less likely to notice a supportive behavior so positive acts are often ignored.

We are often focused on ourselves. Galileo may have proved that the earth revolved around the sun but most of us secretly believe that the world itself revolves around us. It is sometimes hard to pull out of that orbit and become aware of the capabilities and needs of other's around us.

We view the giving of thanks as a zero sum game.It may seem that when you are thanking your partner for the generous way he or she treats you, they are less likely to notice what they could appreciate in your behavior. In truth, the expression of gratitude leads to positive effects for both the giver and the receiver.

Any change in behavior is difficult. Building life-long habits takes conscious repetitions. It may be hard to make the commitment to building this new skill, but it is well worth the energy it takes.

Let us hear from you about your reactions to expressing your thanks. Tune in tomorrow for some tips about bringing gratitude into your life. And check out The Gratitude Project at www.thismarriagething.com yourself.