Not Your Average Thanksgiving Blog

This week is Thanksgiving. A week that kicks of the busiest holiday I can think off.  A season full with you lots events, shopping, and expectations.

Thanksgiving is the day we stop and say thanks for all we have in our lives. I think this is an amazing practice to put into our daily lives.

Today I want to focus on what this holiday can be if we are not careful. I fall into many of these traps every year.

1. BUSYNESS: this is the time of year we pack our schedules to the brim. Not that they are free and clear any other time of year, we add to our ready crazy schedules. We NEED to do so many things. Yes, I think parties with friends, cookie baking, shopping, decorating, cooking for large crowds of family, wrapping, even elf on the shelf are fun...they all can cause lots of unwanted stress.

2. EXPECTATIONS: In my family these are called traditions. We can get so caught up in the things we have always done we can miss the fun new things around us. I am so guilty of this one, traditions run my life during this season, I never want any one in my life to not feel my love. Yet just because 5 years ago I thought sending a card to everyone I love would be fun does not mean it is fun now. (as your list grow, people move, letters come back, and I need to find something clever to say about our very boring life - LOL) This year I am committing to making a my "HAVE to" into I "GET to" if I feel like it would be fun.

3. LONELINESS: We are often in a room full of people feeling alone. This time of year is had for many different people. This time of year emotions are elevated for people who have lost love ones, are divorced, away from family, or dealing with an illness for themselves or someone the love (the list could go on and on). I feel like we can often look at others mountain top moments in at a time we are living in the dark valley of life. Please be aware of others valleys and if you are in a valley - you are NOT alone, we all struggle in life. For me I struggle keeping my head above water most days physically and as I see others running marathons. If I compare my bad days to their marathon I would never get out of bed. Some days I thank God I can get out of bed!

What can the root of all of the above...in my humble opinion...Un -Thankfulness! I do not take time in my life to be grateful for all I have in my life. I am too busy keeping up with the "Jones" to see my life is pretty amazing! What trap do fall into during this holiday season? Is there a way to make Thanksgiving a longer holiday than just one day with turkey?

I am going to blog or Facebook over the next few weeks my journey of Thanksgiving till Christmas. Will you join me in celebrating Thanksgiving till Christmas? Yes if you want you can have pie everyday to make it more fun ;)

 

Tie Your Shoes

Every year my daughter's school goes on a rollerskating field trip and before that field trip they practice rollerskating in P.E. class.This year the night before the field trip my daughter asked if we could teach her how to tie her shoes. The teacher had made a comment in class that even the little kids can tie their own shoes. She was humiliated at her lack of ability in this area. - I was even more humiliated since I have never thought about teaching her to tie her shoes - it only comes up once a year so I never focused on the skill. We took 10 minutes of working on tying shoes and she was a pro!

Now before you start judging my awful parenting, you could not say anything that I did not say to myself. I had failed as a mom, which lead to my daughter being made fun of in front of her class by a teacher...MY fault!

This event was like a snowball, it lead to a conversation with my husband that we realized how much we have not taught her and where we are lacking in helping her be "normal".  The things we "need" to teach her and guide her in became longer than one of my Walmart receipts.

The next day I was feeling overwhelmed by my inability to be a good mom, I said to my husband that I was sure this is why God only gave us one child  - God know I would not be able to keep up with more children.

Why do I always jump to the negative? I did not even think about how brilliant she is in so many areas, how she is a loving friend and that she is learning new things every day. I focused on the few things that she needs to know once a year. I focused on what Bible stories she did not know, when she know more than most her age. I focused on her slowness to reading not that her reading comprehension is 3 grades above her current grade.

Let's make this personal. How many times do you worry about the negative thing(s) in your life or the things you should do better? Do you think about those things so much you miss out on the fun around you? I have been known to get lost in my frustrations and miss an impromptu dance by my daughter or a  LOL moment with my co workers.

The main lesson I have learned from this "tying of shoes situation"  is to be thankful for what we have taught her, what she has learned, and the ares where she is still growing. Thankfulness put everything into perspective. So if you do not know how to tie your shoes, you can still learn...but please take the time to count all the things you are brilliant at doing.