Teaching gratefulness and being grateful

Over the weekend I read a hundred different blogs, outlining so much of what other people are grateful for at this time of Thanksgiving.  I had plenty of time to blog myself over the weekend; however, I could never seem to find the right words to express my gratitude for all the good in my life.  What I came to realize after a very fulfilling weekend is that sometimes you have to take a step back and look in the mirror and "really" reflect.  I could have posted a very loving blog entry, outlining all the good; however, truth be told, I have actually been in quite the "funk" lately.  I am not sure where it is stemming from other than the fact that at times, having a high maintenance 5 year old and a 20 month old that is expressing his feelings in every way but words, can be very challenging and quite exhausting.  Don't get me wrong, I love every minute of it and cherish the chaos, but I am also human and reflecting back, I just hit the point that I needed a break and haven't had the courage to ask for it.  

In this time of self pity (I promise it was only 2 weeks), I had a hysterical conversation with one of my best friends, Sarah.  We spent 15 minutes during her planning hour (good use of a planning hour if you ask me) sharing the similarities in our challenges (our kiddos are the exact same ages) and laughing at our desire to do it all despite knowing our limitations.  That is quite the combination that makes us who we are...successful professionals who try their hardest to balance the life of a working mom.  90% of the time is a GREAT...the other 10%...exhausting; I mean, tear producing exhaustion.  Having just gone through this mentally tough few weeks, I came out of it being even more grateful than ever before.
Having the extra time to reflect this past week allowed me to come full circle on my funk.  Per Sarah's recommendation, I am taking 10 minutes every day to write down all that I am grateful for - with the kicker being that it has to be something new each day.  Needless to say, I am extremely grateful for everything and I have several little note pads to prove it.  In place of writing it all down again, I will highlight just a few of my most grateful things captured in the pictures below.

1) A little girl who lights up at any moment her mommy walks into the room (we are going through an extreme phase of mommy's girl and daddy's boy...big time)

2) A mother-in-law who was sweet enough to save some of Ryan's favorite things as a kid - a Pulaski County t-shirt with "RYAN" on the back and a sticker book that still smells tops the list

3) A little boy who now understands the word "cheese" as in take a picture, "cheese".  This is his new camera face and it makes me smile just thinking about it.

4) A family who doesn't require fancy china at the non-traditional Thanksgiving lunch of country ham, rolls, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, broccoli casserole, apple pie and banana pudding

5) Playmates...ahh...15 minutes of peace to get the casseroles in the oven on Thanksgiving morning

6) My kitchen helper; really, there is nothing better than her sitting on the counter keeping me company

7) Our sweet boys doing what they do best at 12 years old

 8) 3+ hours worth of screaming and laughter from 4 beautiful cousins

9) A date with my husband to the UK vs UT football game on Saturday (and a mother-in-law nice enough to make a day trip in).  A few beers during tailgating, a bourbon drink during the game, 2 free seats in the upper section of Commonwealth Stadium, 64 degrees and sunny on a beautiful November day, 5 peaceful hours with only my husband...and a 26 year losing streak finally broken!  Go CATS!

10) My family.  As exhausting as it can be, there is no better words than "my family".  Ryan, Kate, and Jake - I love you all more than you will ever know! 
P.S. - A lazy Sunday morning in our pj's until noon to show off a pair of fat baby legs in a diaper.

So with all this said, we have had a handful of lessons on what it means to be grateful this week.  The best full circle moment of parenthood has been the following:

In order to teach a life lesson, you must first understand and exhibit the qualities yourself.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and thank you Sarah for our brief but impactful conversation!