I am in disbelief that
it is already November. Seriously?! It’s like one day the leaves were bursting
with color, and the next time I looked they were all over the ground.
I feel a twinge of
excitement as the holidays approach. I
start to get all excited about food and family and tradition. Pies!
Artichoke dip! Visiting with
family! Decorating for Christmas! It will be SO! MUCH! FUN!!
But that kind of
enthusiasm is hard to sustain. When
reality sets in, I become anxious about food and family and tradition. I find it difficult not to spiral into a combination
of the Grinch and Miss Hannigan from Annie (the Carol Burnett one, not the Cameron Diaz one).
Last year, I did a
series called Thankful Thursday. I find
that it forced me to shift my perspective.
Instead of being irritated at the whole world, I was finding little
nuggets of everyday life for which I felt grateful.
Practicing gratitude is
not easy, especially during the holidays, but it really helped to make the
season more joyful.
Take for instance, my
kids had Monday and Tuesday off, which was the worst timing with Halloween
being on a Friday and the Daylight Saving time change happening on a
Sunday. I am still trying to fine my
work-at-home flow, and this disruption was not ideal. When was all this stuff supposed to get
done?!?!
But I took a step back
and worked from a place of gratitude; I decided to embrace this time together
and go on some adventures.
I discovered that I am
(again) thankful that we are at a stage with the kids where we can do stuff
with them. We went to Target without a
fuss. We went to see to the Detroit Instituteof Art and actually had discussions about the similarities of the modern day
selfie and Impressionism/Post Impressionism art.
We also talked about not laughing at naked
people in paintings because obviously.
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| Some of us were more excited to be at the museum than others. This can be seen on Thomas's face. |
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| Makers gonna make. |
I was grateful that the
kids hung in at the Polish Village Café.
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| I seriously would eat here every day. |
I L.O.V.E. this food! If food
could give you a hug and wrap a blanket around you, it would look like the
Polish plate with fresh sausage, galumpkis (stuffed cabbage), pierogi, and
mashed potatoes with a side of sour cream cucumbers and potato pancakes.
The kids do not share my same enthusiasm for
Polish cuisine. Yet.
I am thankful that my
kids were excited about going to the library and Barnes and Noble. They may have different ideas of fun, but
they both agree that books and cupcakes are the best!
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| Just look at us with our books and legal stimulants of coffee (for me) and chocolate (for them). |
I was also thankful that
I had a chance to spend time with Marie and paint some pottery with friends. Actually, if I am going to be more precise, I
am thankful that she still thinks I’m cool enough to hang with.
These two days off could
have easily turned into a disaster if I chose not to take advantage of the time
we had together.
Having said that, there
was nothing like a hot cup of coffee in a quiet house.
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| Halloween candy always tastes best when eaten alone in a silent house. |
What has you feeling
grateful this week?
