Cranky Mom to Grateful Mom
Autumn is the time of year that I love to watch the leaves race down the driveway like a group of excited children running to see a new attraction. I feel grateful to live in a part of the world where we get to enjoy four seasons. Each season holds its own unique gifts. Years ago, during the busy fall preparations for the holidays, I found myself becoming frazzled and cranky.
I was not feeling the true holiday spirit, and my acting job did not fool my family one bit. In my heart, I knew it was time for me to make some changes and turn this picture around.
I have so much for which to be grateful; however, I had gotten out of the daily practice. One of the most powerful things I have discovered that I can do for myself is beginning my day listing three things for which I am grateful at the beginning of my day.
The simple yet powerful step of acknowledging what I am grateful can help to shift me from being a cranky mom into a grateful mom who is a much happier person to be around.
When I take the time to focus on things for which I am thankful for in my life, I can feel a shift in my energy and my mood becomes much lighter. Our lives hold so many blessings if we allow ourselves to have the eyes to see and open our hearts to acknowledge them.
When our children are younger, we teach them to say “thank you” with the intention that it will become a learned behavior. We also need to help them practice gratitude on a daily basis. Then, we will be nurturing grateful children who grow into grateful teens and adults.
One of the ways our family practices gratitude by sharing something from the day for which we are thankful. Additionally, we sit at the dinner table and take turns with each family member sharing a quality or trait for which they are grateful in each other family member. My husband and I take turns sharing stories about our ancestors and their challenges and successes so that our children can start to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
Our family discusses how we are all standing here today because of so many people who longed to create a better way for their family. Our family is so blessed with a bountiful harvest because of the seeds that were planted by the efforts of so many caring people who walked before us, and for this, I am humbled and so profoundly grateful.
What are some ways that your family expresses gratefulness?