Thank-Fullness

So it's November and you can't help but think about what you're thankful for. In every elementary school in America you will find at least one turkey bulletin board where each child fills out a feather telling what they're thankful for. In my school we even have a staff one. I've even gone so far as to make my whole family do one on Thanksgiving in hopes of doing one every year and creating a collection of them for years to come. When we did it I gave carefully planned teacher directions. You can't just write family, that's stupid. Here's the problem...what else do you write? Let's face it, you're a total jerk if you're not most thankful for your friends and family. What I wanted was for everyone to really be specific. What are you thankful for right now? What is bringing you joy, what captures this year? When I went to my mailbox at school and saw that turkey feather staring me in the face, all I could think of is I'm thankful Sof will finally watch TV(even if it is the same Dora episode over and over)because 30 minutes of still and quiet from her is heaven. Isn't that just who you want teaching your child? So, I relented and wrote the basics, friends, family, great class this year, and being on the other side of the adoption process. There is a blog I follow that I love. Kelle is a professional blogger. She takes my thoughts and put them into perfectly worded entries with professional pictures to match. The other day she posted "What I Love About Right Now". Genius. It's the idea that gratitude is really about noticing the everyday stuff. What I love about right now is so much richer and deeper then what I'm thankful for. My teaching friends will think about it as the watermelon vs. seed theory. When we teach writing we tell kids to write about small moments. A whole trip to Disney World is a watermelon idea, but meeting Mickey is a seed, a small moment in a big event. What we are thankful for is like the watermelon. The givens like family, friends, stable paycheck, roof over our heads, food on our table, and most importantly health. What I love about right now requires being in the moment and noticing the blessings. What I love about right now...

*It's friday.
*I get to see Adrienne dance this weekend at a competition
*Lexi is loving being domestic. She wants to help with laundry and cooking.
*Sof is talking so much.
*Starbucks has their red cups out.
*It's good running weather which saves me from the 5am gym trips.
*Sof and I play in her kitchen every night before bed. She is so good at role play.
*My husband caters to the kids whims. I so don't. He's at Target with Lexi right now. Just because she asked him to take her.
*This season that doesn't require snowpants and boots, but loves candles, crock pot dinners, and baths.

I'm gonna wear this topic out this month, because that's what November is about. Being thank-full is all about noticing what's filling your cup. I'm just so happy that my venti, decaf, nonfat, no whip, cinnamon dolce latte cup is red.