wanted the job of being The Thank-you-er." "The Thank you-er?" I pause, knitting needles in mid-motion. She's grinning. " The Thank-you-er. That was the job they all wanted everyday. " Why? "Why The Thank-you-er?" My knitting needles hang, waiting. Sherri leans back, leans into it. "Because when they thanked the woman who made the snack, when they said, "Thank you" to her -- her whole face lit up and they loved making her smile and she loved making them smile. And when they thanked the volunteers at the craft station, or the fellows who ran the games, same thing: They said thank-you and whoever they were thanking just beamed all this joy. You should have seen it." I can see it. "I never would have guessed that that would be the work that everyone wanted." Sherri shakes her head. "That more than anything, the children wanted to be the job of thanking." What had I just read ? "...a new study suggests that helping teens learn to count their blessings can actually play an important role in positive mental health. As gratitude increases, so do life satisfaction, happiness, positive attitudes, hope and even academic performance .... [A]mong those kids who say they feel grateful for a variety of things in their lives, [the researchers] found an association with critical life skills such as cooperation, a sense of purpose, creativity and persistence." Students "who were among the most grateful gained 15 percent more of a sense of meaning in their lives,