Showing appreciation

"A bitter person is never grateful, but a grateful person is never bitter."
As I read the quote above on Lazer Beams this morning, I was reminded of the post I had written connected to this week's parsha and the giving of thanks.

The Gemara (Berachos 7b) relates that from the day Hashem created the world, no one thanked Him until Leah thanked Him for the birth of her fourth son Yehudah. At first glance, this Gemara defies understanding. Didn’t Adam, Noach, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Sarah, Rivkah, and Rachel have countless reasons and opportunities to thank Hashem? And why didn’t Leah herself thank Hashem for her first three children?
...From the time the world was created, no one ever felt that the bounty given to them by Hashem was totally undeserved. Even the greatest people thought that what was given to them was part of God’s plan for the world, and therefore not completely undeserved. But God’s plan could have been equally fulfilled if the fourth son born to Leah had been born to any of her sisters. Thus Leah felt his birth was totally unearned, and required the full measure of gratitude.
http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/leff/archives/tzav.htm

And here's a piece of advice from an article titled Vitamin for Marriage.
Make sure to exchange at least one expression of appreciation every day (or night) with your spouse. These do not have to be for dramatic gestures. They do not have to be flowery or excessively mushy; in fact, it’s probably better if they’re not. It’s just important not to let a day go by without saying thank you.