gratitude

Dara and Iris before Thanksgiving dinner

I intended to spend more of today in a state of gratitude. I started off fairly well -- feeling thankful for the hot water in my shower as it got progressively cooler the longer I stood there. The day got away from me with hours spent with friends and, well, when you're in the moment it is sometimes hard to remember to be thankful. We spent a couple hours with Jesse & Amanda (and baby Owen) at their house in the morning. And then in the afternoon went to Jill's parents' house for the big meal. They are Jewish so we also got to do the lighting of the candles with them. Jill's parents got Iris a Hanukkah gift: blocks. I had been thinking that she doesn't have enough blocks and balls around so I was glad for this gift.

So now at the close of the day I'll spend some time feeling and expressing gratitude. I have been thinking a lot about how we can teach Iris to be thankful. This is a difficult concept to grasp -- even for adults. I suppose it's a habit or a state of being that can just as easily be adopted as it can be forgotten. I happened to read this article about how to raise thankful kids today and was reminded, yet again, of how difficult this whole parenting thing is. Parenting requires you to be the best version of yourself you can be, or at least requires you to attempt to be the best person you can be. And you have constant reminders when you have failed to be that best person.

In the past, Evan and I have been known to wonder aloud whether we are "thankful enough," as if there is an appropriate level to be achieved. That misses the point, of course, because being thankful is all about the feeling of gratitude in the moment. There is never "enough" because there are infinite moments in which one might feel thankful. It can't be a constant state of gratitude, of course, but even taking a few minutes each day to let oneself feel deeply thankful would be a great improvement to the well-being of most people.

I am thankful for pediatric cardiologists. I am thankful for pediatric ophthalmologists. I am thankful for oxygen concentrators. I am thankful for sunglasses. I am thankful for technological advances. I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for my daughter. I am thankful for my parents, my brother, my extended family and for Evan's family. I am thankful for our house and for all the work Evan has put into it. I am thankful that we live right across the street from a gym. I am thankful that we will be able to afford daycare starting in March (if just barely). I am thankful that Iris got the RSV vaccine and the flu vaccine. I am thankful for getting closer to sleeping through the night. I am thankful for my book club. I am thankful for my Penn State friends and colleagues. I am thankful for friends. I am thankful to live in such a beautiful state. I am thankful for our meditation cushions. I am thankful that the worst seems to be behind us.  I am thankful for morning naps.

Iris and Evan having a morning nap