Today, I’m thankful for the chance to take a nice long walk with a good friend before picking up our kids from school.  I’m grateful for teachers who work long, hard hours to help our children learn content and life skills like staying focused on the task, and making the best use of their time.  I’m especially appreciative of the time I have this year to be more available to my family and friends.

Having followed God’s prompting and taken a year leave of absence from the middle school classroom, I’ve been amazed by how invaluable the little things truly are.  After running and playing with our puppy after school, we met Garth in the gym as his practice was wrapping up.  The kids headed home with him while I stuck around to get a little more physical activity with some Bootcamp!  Seneca was less-than-thrilled about not being able to stay with me.

So when I arrived home and she showed me her coloring page, I knew we needed to do it.  Did we miss reading extra stories?  Yes.  Did they get to bed a few minutes later?  Yes.  Was it worth every moment to see her relish my undivided attention and watch her whole body delight when I praised her realistic coloring of the little witches broom?  Absolutely!

Even Calder enjoyed coloring with us and adding more spooky trees to the haunted house.  There we sat, all four of us on the couch – Daddy catching a much-needed catnap, and the three of us, arms intertwined – coloring.  And laughing.  And talking.

What more could I ask for?!

Today I am thankful for:

• Hooded sweatshirts and stocking caps
• Cool temperatures and warm afternoon sun
• An empty deck and clean flower beds
• Wind-reddened cheeks and dirty fingernails

Ironically, this lazy day began at 5am when I drove my brother, sister-in-law and adorable niece to the airport after a brief visit.  I was home and back to sleep on the couch by 7am!  Thankfully the kids slept in and were busy helping Daddy around the house.  Perhaps the sweetest thing was Calder swinging by to give Carbon a quick kiss on the head and then he planted a little kiss on my cheek.

A few minutes later, he came back by, brushed my hair away from my face and asked if I’d like some Cream of Wheat for breakfast because he was having some.  “You like butter and brown sugar and salt in it, right?” he asked.  Sigh.

The day progressed rather uneventfully – a few household chores, much homework, and a few weekly programs were all checked off the to-do list.  There was much snuggling, and the whole crew stayed in their PJs the entire day!

As I sorted papers on the living room floor and Garth watched the Spartans play their way to a victory, the kids bounced on the twin mattress in the living room and played around 428 different pretend scenarios.

The night ended with stories before bed and I was asleep on the couch shortly before 8pm – the earliest I can remember in a long time!

Days like today are few and far between.  And absolutely amazing!

I’m thankful for friends and family and moments of great joy that help bridge the gap of deep grief.