I’ve been bit of a grumpy gus lately. I don’t know if it’s the lack of consistent sleep finally catching up to me, or the general overwhelm of homeschooling three young kids, but my attitude has been in a rut. A deep, muddy, no-one-wants-to-mess-with-it rut.
And, quite frankly, that’s unacceptable. I have a great life, and have no true reason to be this grumpy. When ever I was in this type of mood as a kid, my grandma would sit me down at her kitchen table with a plate of cheese & crackers, a glass of milk, and a piece of scratch paper with the ABC’s written on it vertically. I could ask for more snack, but wasn’t allowed to get up for the table ’til I had filled out each letter with my gratitudes.
Ability to stay home with kids, even if it can be hard
BLM backed property – love that view!
Cats to cuddle & pet
Ducks for duck eggs
Encouraging community
Friends I love & that love me
Garden with irrigation to survive the summers
Healthy children
Ice cream from Texas being available in Nevada
Joyful children – they are (loudly) happy about ev-er-y-thang
Kindle & access to more books than I could ever read
Local gym with classes I love and a kid area
Movement for my body on the daily
Nice neighbors
Orchard
Pool in our freakin’ backyard! what a dream!!!
Quilts from my amazing mother-in-law (the world’s best quilter)
Reagan, love of my life
Spinning rainbows every morning – so much fun
Travel, I love having new experiences with my family
Unique, meaningful home decor
Village
Walking path in town – looking forward to cool weather walks again
X-mas coming up (this is throughly cheating, but Grandma allowed it)
Yummy recipes
Zoo within a day’s drive
To this day, I find it an extremely helpful exercise – I do find it has a great impact if you actually handwrite it, but I’ve typed it up this time for this column. Also, a snack is mandatory – I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.
Disclaimer/Reality Check: U, X, Y, and Z are always a stretch for me – if you have a good one for those letters I’d love to hear them. This column will be about motherhood, parenting, and homemaking for the most part. It’s just a peek into our lives, not the whole picture, which is an important thing to remember. Most importantly, I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
