Giving thanks...

Boy, these articles are coming full force for the upcoming holiday season. I did read one article that asked its readers to write down or think of 10 things s/he is thankful for each day. At first I thought, who has time to do that?? And then it hit me right on the back of the head....duh, that's the whole point. We are all so busy with everyday life that we really do forget to be grateful for the right things, and people, in our lives. I went to parent/teacher conferences last week, and I was just blown away by all of the wonderful things the teachers had to say about my kids. I literally cried when I got home and told my children how proud I was of them. But you know, I really should not have been surprised by the many compliments. I really do have great kids, but it just felt really good to know that I contributed to their greatness. We all come down hard on ourselves as parents, constantly wondering if we are doing right by our children, or if we are totally screwing them up! Anyway, so the greatest thing I have to be thankful for are my 3 great kids. They have issues like every other young one their age, but they're not juvenile delinquents; they're awesome athletes, they're extremely intelligent and well-mannered (straight from 6 teachers' mouths), and they're very sympathetic to others and have big hearts --- they're overall well-rounded and good people. Which brings me to the second thing I am thankful for, which is my spouse. I mean, he obviously had something to do with our kids' greatness (though I won't ever admit it!!) Let's see, that leaves me with 8 other things to be grateful for.....I'm grateful my husband doesn't have to be in Iraq fighting in the war, that I have the choice to work, that I have great employers, that I am needed by my family, that we're not hurting for wants, that we are healthy, that we support each other as a family, and that the Internet exists!! (couldn't be totally serious!) So I think it's a really good habit to think about all the positive things in our lives. It could always be worse, and that's not just a cliche, but definitely words to live by.