Sometimes parenting is all about slowing down and getting in touch with your blessings. Chances are good that you’ll remember lots of reasons for expressing a little gratitude.
Quick, what are you most thankful for today? Here’s my list.
1. My two children are healthy, growing up just a little each day and pretty much crazy as ever.
2. I just spent a wonderful “ladies weekend” with my mother and five of my eight sisters / sisters-in-law. Great company, great food and a really lovely hot stone massage. Mommy's happy. Woohoo.
3. My older son scored a goal at his soccer game on Saturday and he feels great about it.
4. My younger son is loving learning to speak French in school this year. C’est magnifique.
5. Our former nanny was able to make room in his schedule to spend Friday and Saturday with the boys, while I was away.
6. When the boys spent Sunday with their cousins and one of their cousins tried to bake cinnamon rolls on a paper plate in the microwave and the paper plate caught fire and the microwave started smoking and the police and fire departments showed up at the house, no one was injured. The house is fine, too. Not so sure about the microwave.
7. Our cats were really happy to see us when we all got home last night.
8. My sister Carrie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last week. Mommy and Baby are both home and doing great!
9. The sun was shining today.
10. The sun is expected to be shining again tomorrow.
11. The leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. I love autumn in
12. Our house is our home – our sanctuary. We are happy here, and safe.
13. I put grated carrots in the spaghetti sauce tonight and my kids didn’t even notice. Next time, broccoli.
14. We are enjoying beautiful weather. No need to turn on the heat (so far.) No need to pay for lots of propane to make the heat (so far.)
15. My younger son just finished his design-your-own-country-and-make-a-map project. His country is shaped like a baseball glove and called “The United States of Baseball.”
16. My older son, who has been asking for “more responsibility,” has chosen to not do his homework tonight. He insists that he will complete it on the bus tomorrow. He will more likely end up with detention this week and I’m okay with that.
17. I just had a lovely bath, scented with lavender and chamomile essential oils. This could explain why I feel so calm right now, despite item #16 above.
18. The Dow is up 112 points today. Parenting is easier when the college fund is growing.
19. We have food in the pantry and clothes on our backs. And while we seem to go through both at an alarming rate, we are able to replenish the supply when needed.
20. We live in a country called “The United States of America,” and baseball is only one of a million great reasons to raise a family here.
Related Posts:
Do you need a little help getting into your attitude of gratitude? Check out, “A Season of Thanks and Giving.”
You might find some tips for making your home your sanctuary in, “Finding Sanctuary in the Family Home.”
Recommended
You can find lots of ways to slip healthy vegetables into your family dinners in, The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals, by Missy Chase Lapine.
Here's another...Mixing wheat germ in with any breading or crumb mixture is completely undetectable. Go vitamin E and folic acid!!
Posted by: Ruth | October 17, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Ruth, great suggestion. BTW, I just mixed some pureed butternut squash into my gluten-free pancake batter and no one suspected a thing. The pancakes were delicious! - Meg
Posted by: Meg | October 17, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Chop the broccoli very fine and brown it with whatever you are using for meat. It just becomes another lump adding limited flavor or color!
Posted by: Ruth | October 16, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Perhaps, but I will still give it a try. I will report back if the sauce turns a distressing (inedible) shade of green. Thanks for the comment!
Posted by: Meg | October 13, 2009 at 01:17 PM
Don't you think broccoli will show up more than carrots in spaghetti sauce?
Mom
Posted by: Susan Brown | October 05, 2009 at 10:45 PM