Day 28 of gratitude

Today I am grateful for our Wednesday night dinner routine with my Dad. Each week, my dad comes over to our house to have dinner with the kids (and us, he says, but we know the truth) and stays to help with bathtime, stories, and tucking in.  He started coming over during the week because he missed the kids too much between weekends, and it evolved into an every Wednesday occasion.  I am also grateful that he comes more for the company than for the food, and that he is equally happy whether we have take-out, leftovers, or a gourmet meal. 

Tonight he got Dash all ready for bed including the ever-important cuddle time (which can in fact be done by someone other than Mommy every now and then), and when I peeked into Dash's room and saw my little boy curled up on my dad's shoulder looking so sweet and sleepy and happy, my heart felt so full.  So I am grateful today for a wonderful father who also happens to be an exceptional grandfather.

Poor dude can't even eat his dinner with 65 pounds of grandchild on his lap

Day 27 of gratitude

I take a lot of pictures of my kids, but I always love to see pictures that other people take since the point of view always feels different than in my own photographs.  Last night I was working on Josh's ipad and I came across a picture he must have taken this summer, I think at a UNC women's soccer game.  I don't remember ever seeing this picture before but that's what made finding it so special to come across last night.  On a dark, gray, dreary winter evening, I felt so happy when I saw this picture of me and my girl in the sunshine.  So today, gratitude for a surprise picture that took me back to a happy summer moment.

Day 26 of gratitude

Today I had a moment of great happiness when I looked around the dining room table as we were eating dinner and saw everyone in my family happily gobbling up the stew I'd made for dinner.  I am grateful that we have the access and means to have nourishing food to put in our bodies every day and for the moments when everyone eats it willingly.

Day 25 of gratitude

Today I am grateful for a long, lovely weekend at home that wrapped up today with me getting some precious time to myself.  Josh and the kids headed to Raleigh to one of our favorite children's museums so I got to enjoy my favorite alone-time meal: sushi in my car while listening to NPR.  Now don't judge!  Back when I was starting my doctorate, I used to stop at the Whole Foods between campus and my house, and I would sit in my car and eat my sushi and listen to NPR in an effort to calm my screaming brain after an intense day of classes.  To this day, when I need to calm down, I find that wasabi and Car Talk are what I crave.  I then got to do some holiday shopping - fun and productive! - and ended with a head-clearing solo run in the cold air (my Alaska-dwelling sister only mocked me a little for wearing gloves when it was 51 degrees).  So today I am super grateful for time for myself.  Which was happily followed by an intense half hour of art table negotiations with Ella (she had a very specific craft in mind and some of my work was not quite up to her exacting standards), a family dinner where everyone ate the spinach lasagna (hooray for green things going willingly into bellies!), and stealing the final bedtime cuddles with the little dude.  Grateful all around.