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March break is officially over.
The preschoolers are not back at school though. Johnathan decided to travel outside of the country this year and the airfares were so high he made sure to book the return for this week. One week after everyone else was back at work? Why?
I get to rest. I get to take my time and prepare the books for school, the charts that have to be made, the school clothes and winter gears that have to be repaired. And most of all I get to sleep late. Open my eyes when I am ready, turn over and allow the cold air to gently seep under the sheets, stretch, ooooh to sleep late.
My dynamic household
You see my household has 3 preschoolers between 5 and 8+ with all of them happily following the advice of the eldest to “learn how to help yourself. I will soon be a teenager and you will have to look after yourself”. This is the age of independence par excellence and as long as you can withstand the screams of frustration when things don’t go right or being woken up in the middle of the night to hugs of I love You, it’s a wonderful stage of development. The self-esteem is growing and their understanding of where they fit in the daily universe is getting clearer.
So I continue to lie under the covers, thinking about gratitude. Saying thanks to God for everything. I explained to my children long ago that everything we have today is a result of God’s mercy. Paul in the scriptures did not explain to us why it is that sometimes things go wrong and ‘good’ people suffer. Suffice it to say that I pray that God will lead us not into temptation and in that way I will remain steadfast in my belief that God only wants good for us. His grace is freely given. So I think of ways to say Thanks.
How to show gratitude
Today I will find a way to practice gratitude. It’s still freezing cold outside. Freezing cold. Less choices. I am not going outside. I think I will say something inspiring to my 5 year old. Or maybe I can actually finish rearranging that corner of the basement. Johnathan will appreciate that.
You see gratitude is not only giving thanks. It’s like faith. You can’t just say thank You. You gotta show you really feel good about whatever it is and at the same time you are prepared to share this great feeling by doing something for someone else.
Do you remember that “pay- forward” habit that they have in Canada. You roll up to the Tim Horton’s window to order only to hear that your cup of coffee was paid for by the guy in front of you who is now long gone. That’s gratitude. God loves the cheerful giver eh? Makes you smile and get all that endorphin pumping and the smile stays with you for the remainder of the day!
I think I will get up now and do something great.
Time to sync mind and body.
Thank You God for another beautiful day.
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