Kids - 30th Day of Gratitude

Today is the last day of April, therefore, I have achieved what I set out to do at the beginning of the month, which was to blog about gratitude everyday.

I have to say, I am actually surprised that I have done it. I am also proud of myself.

I have had days where it took a bit of thinking to come up with a subject for the day, but when I really took a good look at how that day had panned out or a thought or realisation I had during the day, even a memory from days gone by, something has always come up.

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Most of all however, the thing I have noticed the most is the way I feel. My attitude is better, despite the fact that I have NOT done the other thing I was planning (getting to bed on time as spelled out in this post and followed up on here). I will deal with this tomorrow.

I've actually had quite late nights. I've had the kids home on holidays for the past fortnight and there have been a few things going on that have distracted me on different levels, but all in all, I have managed to keep it together and I attribute that to the fact that I have found something to be grateful for every day.

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You see, when you are focusing on what you have, celebrating it (particularly in writing), and not paying too much attention to the stuff that may not be going so well, your attitude is better, and that, can dictate how your day goes on the whole.

So, I would once again like to thank Melina Schamroth over at Grateful in April for such a great campaign. Without her brain child I would not have achieved any of this in April.  Go check out Melina's main web page to see all the other great stuff she is involved in.

So getting back to it; while the 30 days of gratitude have not been in any particular order, I feel I have left the best for last.

I love my kids, they keep me going, they make me laugh, they bring out the best in me and at times the worst, they keep me real.

Today we went on a last little outing before they go back to school tomorrow, which involved lunch, walking on the beach, scooter riding (not for me), playing in the park and some real time spent talking and laughing and connecting.

I am most grateful for my kids, not just today, EVERY day.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Author unknown

Time - 29th Day of Gratitude

As this month draws to an end, I find myself looking forward to the kids returning to school.

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I have spent the last two weeks with them as they flop around the house doing not much else than annoying me with their questions of "What are we doing when we wake up?" or "Can we have hot chips for lunch?" or "Can we go to the park?" and while we have done a few things, my God, just having to feed them three times a day has been exhausting (as was pointed out in this previous post). It requires a whole other level of planning in my day!

They go back to school this Wednesday, so it will have been 18 whole days of just me and them!  Now, the interesting part of this is firstly that we are all alive, secondly, we are all still speaking to each other and thirdly, we all seem to be happy enough, given the time we have had to spend with each other.

I know I sound ungrateful here; there is, however a bit of confusion going on for me right now, you see, on a regular weekend during school term, I can lose it!

Some weekends, two days is enough time to push me over the edge, and yet, here we are, all alive and well after 18 days!

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See how happy we are? Well, just imagine the two girls are boys and of course I don't actually have a husband, or any significant other and the most obvious difference would be that I don't have bangs! But it's close right? We are that happy!

So with the holidays drawing to an end, I am grateful that we had that time together, and I might even be so brave as to look forward to the next school holidays.

I am grateful for time.

T. S. Elliot: Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.

Absence - 22nd Day of Gratitude

It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I am assuming that is only when there is some fondness in a relationship to begin with?

Or does it mean that when a really annoying person who we are not very fond of goes away, by some miracle of delusion, that we start to think they are nice and that we wouldn't mind spending time with them? That we forget?

Sorry that is not my point, simply a random thought I was unable to let go of. Moving on ...

The reason this has come to mind today about the heart growing fonder and there already being some fondness is because my big boy (MJ) is with friends tonight.

MJ went off and met up with his friend in town this morning and they had a lovely day out (that will be discussed in detail in another post at another time) and then he went for dinner and a sleep over. I shall collect him and indulge in morning tea tomorrow. So a win/win.

Yes, it is true, I have missed him even though the school holidays had meant I was begging him to go somewhere ... ANYWHERE!!!

Strangely enough though, when one of my kids goes away or I go out for a day with only one of them, two things happen.

1st - I miss the child I am not with and "Absence makes the heart grow fonder".
2nd - I grow fonder of the child I am with!

The dynamics shift completely. There is no vying for attention, there is no need to prioritise my limited time, there is no need to referee them and there is no need to not just sit and listen or play or be there in their presence.

I so enjoy being able to give my kids one-on-one time, but to do that I must also experience a period of absence.

Today I am grateful for absence.

Leisure - 14th Day of Gratitude

We've had a good day today. A day of nothing really. The morning disappeared into lounge lazing and tickles.

A good movie was on the TV, so we sat and watched it.

LJ was determined to go to the park, so after the movie, a shower and off to the park.

A stop on the way home for some necessary supplies while trying to keep LJ from riding his scooter in the aisles at Wooworths and home to get dinner ready.

Finished the day off with Ice Age 3 and LJ was in bed and off to sleep.

What a relaxing day it has been.

Today I am grateful for leisure.