A Toast to Thanksgiving

 

Every year, it seems that the Christmas season starts earlier. As if it’s not enough that all the stores and television commercials center around Christmas as soon as Halloween is over, now radio stations are playing Christmas carols as early as the first week of November! I’m all for everything that embodies the Christmas season, but when it starts so early it seems as though Thanksgiving simply gets skipped over.

I have always loved Thanksgiving. Even as a kid I would get a heartwarming feeling of happiness and gratitude when we celebrated the holiday together with family over a huge feast. Sure, I was excited for the Christmas season too, but I always wanted to appreciate Thanksgiving for what it was before I really got into the Christmas mindset.

Sadly, today that is harder to do. There is much more responsibility for me during the holidays now as an adult and parent than there was when I was a kid. The commercialism of Christmas which starts in early November stresses me out. I have to figure out the kids’ Christmas lists not just for my husband and myself, but for extended family as well. Then I have to think about how I can save the most amount of money on Christmas shopping: Should I shop in store or online? Should I wait for Black Friday or purchase things earlier before everything is picked over? Should I wait for Cyber Monday? Or maybe mid-December will have the best deals. All of this anxiety causes me to forget about what’s in the present, the season of being thankful.

This year, I decided that I will not partake in the Black Friday shopping frenzy, nor will I check the online deals on the evening of Thanksgiving. I decided that I want to use that time instead to really be with my family. I want to play games and watch movies with my kids. I want to share Thanksgiving dinner with friends without a time-limit for when I need to start online shopping. I want to enjoy decorating for Christmas with the family on Friday while drinking hot cocoa and listening, finally, to Christmas Carols. I want to remember Thanksgiving as the perfect foundation for the Christmas season: gratitude and appreciation for all we have.

 

So here’s to Thanksgiving, a reminder of all my blessings:  family and friends, good health, food, water, and shelter, military life (which is very easy to NOT feel thankful for!), my kids’ school and teachers, the strangers who lend a helping hand, the doors which have opened for me and the doors which have closed behind me, the lessons I’ve learned, the people I’ve met, our beautiful country and the heroes who defend it, God’s unfailing promise, and the love that surrounds all of these.

This Thursday, take a moment to raise your glass, give a toast to Thanksgiving, and think about all you are thankful for. See for yourself how your heart fills with joy. Then, you are truly ready for the Christmas season. Happy Thanksgiving!

31 Days of Peace, Day 18

Thankful Thursdays: Thankful for my Kids

Another week has passed and there is much to be thankful for. Specifically, though, this week I wanted to focus on my kids. It is so easy for a mother to complain about the whining voices, persistent demands, rude behavior, lack of listening, and absence of a simple “thank you mom” to make her feel appreciated. But it is also easy for her to focus on those things her kids do which make her smile and melt her heart if she is willing to look past the challenges.

It is common for mothers to have an idea of how they want their children to be, as though there is a predetermined mold they hope their children fit into. But if we don’t allow our children to be their own unique people, not only will we suffer but so will our kids. It seems to be a law of nature that children must get on their mother’s nerves as much as possible, but then act absolutely perfect for everyone else. We fight it, we get frustrated, and we wonder why. Perhaps we should just let it be.

Here is what I am thankful for with my kids this week:

1.       That they come to me for their needs, like food when they are hungry, comfort when they are sick, and a blanket when they are cold because it means they trust me to help them.

2.       That my daughter is happy to see me when she gets off the school bus in the afternoon because it’s likely there will come a day when she would prefer I not be there.

3.       The increasing knowledge they display when they are playing in the house and having conversation. It’s amazing how much information their little minds hang on to.

4.       Their imaginations.

5.        How they want me to play with their toys with them.

6.       The extra kisses they give me out of nowhere.

7.       The messes they make with the art supplies because it means they are expressing their creativity and having fun while doing it.

8.       The loud, obnoxious singing from my daughter because it means she has a song in her heart.

9.       Their persistence in venturing away from me at stores or asking if I can buy them a toy or candy because it reminds me that I did the exact same thing when I was little.

10.   The temper tantrums, because it reminds me that they are still little and one day, when those tantrums are no more, I will miss these years.

What are you thankful for this week?

 

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Thankful Thursdays

It is so easy to get bogged down by our everyday responsibilities that we often forget to stop and appreciate the people and things around us.  We whisk past the minutes as though they are just another ordinary moment in our long lives.  But the truth is, that minute will never be returned to us.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.  We move forward taking our time for granted and planning our futures, forgetting that tomorrow is promised to no one. 

By practicing gratitude, we can avoid taking life for granted.  When we allow ourselves to recognize the appreciation we have for the people and things in our lives, our anxieties will start to lessen and we will begin to feel more content.  This is why I have decided to start a weekly gratitude link-up on my blog called Thankful Thursdays.  Every Thursday, I will write ten things I am feeling thankful for that week.  I invite you to post what you are thankful for, either through the comments section or by linking up to the Thankful Thursdays post on your own blog.  There’s no need to feel silly or guilty about what you post.  Gratitude can be shown for something simple like finding the perfect pair of shoes to something big like the friend who happened to call when you needed someone to talk to.  Be honest, and speak from your heart.  Let’s see how good being gracious can make us feel! 

This week, I am thankful for:

1.       Cooler weather.  The heat makes me very irritable!

2.       My husband is finally home for fall.  Here's to football and spiked cider!

3.       The new friends I have met in the past two months.

4.       The old friends who are only a phone call or text away.

5.       The support and positive reinforcement my readers have given me on my writing.

6.       A husband who still loves me when I am overtired and overreact to life’s challenges.

7.       The opportunity to be a military wife.  It has opened my eyes and humbled me to so many things!

8.       Healthy kids.  They may drive me crazy, but at least they're healthy!

9.       All-day kindergarten.   

10.   Coffee.  I'm not sure what I would do without it! 

Now it’s your turn.  What are you thankful for in this first week of fall?  Follow the link below to link up to your blog post, or simply write in the comments section. 

The Gift of Gratitude

So many days of my life, I get out of bed and immediately begin scurrying to complete my morning to-do list.  Number one, make coffee!  Then it’s get breakfast made for the kids and myself, make sure the kids actually eat their breakfast, sip my coffee, pack lunches, yell at the kids for getting their breakfast all over the table, clean up the mess, tell them it’s time to get ready for school, take another sip of coffee, get myself dressed, attempt to make my hair and face look like I didn’t just roll out of bed, keep sipping my coffee, herd the kids to their bedrooms to get them dressed, attempt to understand why it’s such an issue for them to wear what I pick out, allow them the chance to dress themselves to avoid the tantrum, lash out in frustration when they decide to play with toys instead of get dressed, try to find where I placed my coffee, eventually get everyone in the car without them getting some crazy boo boo that causes crying and the instant need for a bandaid, and chug down the remainder of my coffee.  I try to take deep breaths on the way to school when the kids strapped down in their seats and I can finally breathe for the first time in the day.  I am fully aware that my morning schedule needs a total overhaul, I just haven’t gotten there yet!

Then there are the times when I wake up in the morning and feel peaceful and thoughtful.  Something in my brain is signaling me to appreciate this day before it even starts.  I think about how blessed I am to have my children, my husband, my home, and my spirit.  I ponder how wonderful my life has been and how I really have no room to complain about any of it.  I wonder why it is so easy to get caught up in the fast pace of life and forget about all that has been given to us and why it is so hard to remember to be grateful.  I am a firm believer that gratitude is one of the most important traits a person can have.  By being thankful for our experiences, the things we have, and the people we meet, we can recognize all that is good in our lives.  Sometimes even bad experiences deserve gratitude because we become stronger as a result.  For military wives, it can be difficult to find gratitude for anything sometimes.  When times are hard, it is easy to have the mentality that those bad things are “happening” to us, or that we have been dealt an unlucky hand.  Sometimes we might think, “Man, life would be so much better if we weren’t in the military.”  On the contrary, military life lends us a multitude of things for which to be grateful.  We are not unlucky in the least but, as I see it, are some of the luckiest women in the world.  Because we are subjected to such extreme fluctuations in emotion, we have the ability to see life in a new perspective.  Without those hard times, the good times wouldn't be so great.  We have the choice to view the difficulties in our lives as something to be thankful for.  And when we choose gratitude, we will find something that many people struggle their entire lives to achieve: happiness. 

Keeping a grateful attitude not only increases personal happiness, it will benefit the people around us as well.  Imagine how good our husbands feel when they know we appreciate them and all that they do.  Think about all that your parents did for you while growing up and how wonderful it would be for them to know you are thankful for their efforts (I did this, I know!).  When you experience that ultimate customer service experience that just knocks your socks off, how do you think the manager would feel to know someone appreciates how hard his staff works to please people?  We feel good by making others feel good.  I encourage you  to practice being grateful by keeping a journal of all that you are thankful for.  Send a letter to a loved one or friend letting them know how much you appreciate them.  Leave your husband a note telling him that you are thankful all of his help, or how selflessly he serves his country. When you wake up in the morning, let the first thing you do be to thank God for this day.  Here are just a few of the things I am grateful for:

1.       My wonderful husband, his ability to put up with me, his selflessness in our relationship, and his trustworthiness.

2.      Two beautiful, healthy children.

3.       Good health, for myself and my family.

4.       The opportunity to experience different places in the U.S. by moving every few years.

5.        The humbling experience of knowing that life is not as easy as I had it growing up.

6.       The great friends I have met along the way.

7.       The ability to stay home with my kids in their early years of life.

8.       A life that challenges me to be the best person I can be.

9.       The things only God could give me: a teachable heart, joy for the simple things, strength to persevere, hope for my future, and His hand to guide me through it all.

10.   The sound of the garage door opening from inside the house because if I'm not opening it, there's only one other person doing it and it means he's home!