"But Mom, how can I be grateful when my favorite toy unicorn is lost in space?!" Olivia exclaimed, her lower lip trembling.
Mom, ever so gently, knelt down to Olivia’s level, her eyes twinkling with understanding. "Oh, honey, it's okay to feel a little sad. But even when things seem lost, there's still so much to be grateful for," Mom said, handing Olivia a sparkly jar. "Let's fill this jar with moonbeams of gratitude!"
Olivia, still frowning, took the jar. "Moonbeams? But how?" she questioned.
Mom winked. "We're going to the moon, silly!"
And just like that, with a sprinkle of Mom's magic and a lot of imagination, Olivia found herself bouncing on the moon! It was like a giant trampoline park, but way cooler.
"Look, Mom, I'm floating!" Olivia squealed, giggling as her feet left the ground. She did a happy twirl, her pigtails floating around her.
Mom, after regaining her balance (floating took some practice!), pointed to Earth, a colorful marble in the distance. "See that, Olivia? We get to live on that beautiful planet. That's something to be grateful for, right?"
Olivia gasped. "You're right! Earth is amazing!" She caught a sparkling moonbeam in her jar.
Suddenly, a little brown dog with the biggest, waggiest tail Olivia had ever seen came bounding towards them, barking excitedly.
"He says his name is Comet, and he's lost!" Olivia exclaimed, her eyes wide. Olivia could understand animals, a special gift only a few had.
"A talking dog on the moon?" Mom's jaw dropped.
"He misses his family back on Earth," Olivia translated, scratching Comet behind his ears.
"We have to help him find his family!" Mom declared. "That's definitely something to be grateful for - having a family to love." Another moonbeam zoomed into the jar.
So began their moon adventure. They hopped over craters, dodging shooting stars, Comet yipping with delight. They met moon mice nibbling on cheese-shaped rocks (another moonbeam!) and helped a lost moon snail find its way home (yet another moonbeam!).
With every act of kindness and every new wonder, Olivia's jar filled with shimmering moonbeams of gratitude. She realized that even though she missed her toy unicorn, the moon was full of amazing things to be grateful for.
Finally, they found a friendly alien with a spaceship who knew exactly how to get Comet home. Olivia gave Comet a big hug goodbye, feeling happy and grateful for their out-of-this-world adventure.
Back home in Charlotte, Olivia tucked into bed, her moonbeam jar glowing softly on her nightstand.
"Mom, I learned something important today," Olivia whispered.
"What's that, sweetie?" Mom asked, kissing her forehead.
"Even when things are sad, there's always, always, always something to be grateful for," Olivia said, her voice filled with wonder. And as she drifted off to sleep, she could almost hear Comet barking happily under a sky full of Earth beams.
