Gratitude is a Process

Flanna at the aquarium on Saturday.  Love that girl!

This morning, our new priest spoke about gratitude.  It was such a nice little message for me to hear as I head into a busy week, chock full of travel for work and deadlines and meetings and Flanna's fall break (during which the poor thing gets to hang at day camp while we work).  I wish we could all take a week off and go camping or something, but, alas, our work schedules just don't allow for that.

Anyway, one of the things that stood out today to me in the message from our priest was the way he talked about choosing gratitude over and over as a way to keep ourselves from falling into selfishness.  I had never thought of it that way, but maybe that's what is so uplifting about being thankful--that it pulls us out of a self-focus and into a "bigger than me" focus.  I also liked that he talked about how we don't just become thankful once and then forever stay that way--it's something we have to work at, as we're pulled in a zillion directions all throughout our lives, and none of them are usually towards selflessness or gratitude.

So, this week, as I try to finish up a thousand projects and prepare for my work trip out of town, I'm hoping to be mindful of choosing thankfulness over and over, and moving myself forward in the process of creating a spirit of gratitude.

And here's a start:  Today I'm thankful for talking to my sister on the phone this week, yay!  And for seeing good old friends in Monterey!  And for my fabulous husband who let me sleep in on Saturday morning!  And for the anticipation of our cousin Molly's wedding!  And for having a few seconds to blog and take a step back to reflect on this too-fast life!




What about you?  Do you find that you really have to make a choice to cultivate gratitude, or are you lucky and it comes naturally to you?  

Tackle a Project

Flannery, Robi, and I tackled quite a few projects last week as we prepared for my West Coast BFF, Kelley, to come for a visit.  We took a trip to Ikea and got Robi a desk, and got a cute cabinet to go behind our couch.  Flanna even helped me put the cabinet together.  She is a great helper! (takes after her grand-dad at building things!)

We took a few bags of things to good-will that just didn't really fit or work anymore after the move, and got our guest room functional for guests rather than just as an office.  And it felt so nice to have our home in (almost!) tip top shape finally!  (I say almost, because I still have pictures and art to hang, but we're getting there!).

So, this week, I'm thankful for having the energy and time and help to get things a little more unpacked and moved-in at our place.  It's truly a gift to have this lovely little home we have here.  And as I sit tonight, with my sweet daughter tucked into bed and my husband writing away for a book chapter he's working on, it's easy for me to notice the gifts in my life.



What about you?  What projects did you tackle this week or weekend?  Or what projects if you tackle them soon, will bring you happiness?

Create Something

When I'm feeling overwhelmed, it always calms me down to take some time out to create something.  I think that's why blogging is so special to me--it's something I can create and put out into the world that is beautiful and interesting.

I remember one time during a particularly stressful exam week when I was a freshman in college, when I stayed up late into the night (when I should've been studying!) and painted flowers and vines on the side of my desk in our dorm room.  My BFF (and then college roommate) just laughed, because she knew me, and even though it was crazy, she knew it really did make me feel better to stop cramming my brain for a bit and just create something.

I think Flannery has that innate drive to create, as well.  She is happiest when she is absorbed completely into some art project, or is constructing a block city, or is setting up a neat scene with the stuffed animal in her room.  It's funny--I snapped these pics at different random times all week, and only once I was looking at them did I realize that my little bitty had been generating quite a bit of interesting and beautiful stuff this week!  What a gift.

Cutie Pops -- This is Flannery's invention.  It's a robot that starts out as a baby
and grows into a full sized adult robot.  Patent Pending.  :)

Flannery had been asking for a skateboard, and when I finally got her one, she didn't like
 the dragon on the bottom of it.  So she painted it.  Pretty cool.  

Loving the whimsical symmetry. 

This is what Flanna does while Robi watches UGA football.
The train city was pretty intricately constructed. 

Oh, and this last one just made me happy because I finally unpacked the
last box in our bedroom last weekend, yay!  :) 

What do you like to create (or bake, or design, or write, etc.) now and then?

A Few of My Favorite Things

This week has been hectic.  The life of an SLP at the beginning of a school year is just downright crazy sometimes, with all the meetings and scheduling and rescheduling and re. schedule. ing.  But the weekend is in sight, and I am trying to stay focused on the gifts in my life.  It helps that I have a husband who picks up my slack and never complains when I burn the chicken.

Here are some gifts I noticed and named this week.  They made me happy in between the moments I was stressed and burned the chicken.


40.  listening to Flanna banana singing "I-I love you like a love song baby" really loudly as she takes a bath
41.  Flannery's hair french-braided into two little pigtails (by our new wonderful baby-sitter)
42.  sidewalks all the way to Flanna's new school
43.  my husband's smile at the dinner table when Flannery says something cute
44.  our poor man's sandbox that provides limitless fun (just an underbed box with some play-sand and water!)
45.  Flanna playing Sound of Music songs on the iPad piano app.  (I love that movie/musical so much!)
46.  Amazing parents of my clients who are so open and honest and brave as I meet with them to try to learn more about their kiddos.  I've said it before, but it's just so true--life is full of typical and crippling struggles, and people are so strong everywhere you turn.
47.  An email from my BFF with flight info for her trip here very soon!  I can't get over how much I am looking forward to that!



What gifts have you noticed this week?