Attitude for Gratitude

Around this time of year a few years ago, I had a terrible accident playing with my youngest son, Peyton.  I was scooting him around on his tricycle and thought it would be lots of fun to go as fast as I could down the driveway.  Now, in my mind, I imagined catching some air over the three-inch hump that ties our driveway into the street. In reality, the front tire came down over the edge of our driveway, completely stopped, and threw me full speed over my son landing face first on the concrete.

I have to say that in my 40 years on this planet, I have never been in more pain than that moment and the days to follow.  Blood was coming from my nose, mouth, and both wrists.  Thank God my neighbor, who is a nurse ran over to help.  They immediately called my husband to come and take me to the hospital.  Over the next few hours my heart went from scared to death, to being extremely grateful.  After a tetnis shot, a shot of pain meds, an x-ray of my right elbow, and x-ray of my left shoulder and cat-scan of my face & head… it was a miracle that I had no broken bones.  I did suffer from a concussion and major scrapes and bruises on the entire left side of my face.  I am grateful I came home with no broken bones!

This accident left me being somewhat disabled for an entire week.  I had a lot of time to reflect on how we  take the little blessings for granted until we don’t have them.

It’s so easy to grumble or complain about our body, our home, our kids, our food, our job, our spouse, our parents, our school, our friends and life as we know it. In an effort, to be filled with joy, I want to challenge myself, my family and you to be more grateful for the blessings we are surrounded with each day. I challenge you to journal it this month.  Journal either in a physical gratitude journal or on social media platform.  Journaling your gratitude helps us put life in perspective which can be contagious!

My hope is that we can have an Attitude for Gratitude in our everyday life as we do the simple things:

  • wash dishes
  • stir the pot of soup
  • look into your spouses eyes
  • fold laundry
  • hold your child in your arms
  • change diapers
  • make lunches
  • sit in traffic
  • grocery shop
  • car pool

We are constantly surrounded by small miracles; let’s open our eyes, embrace them and be grateful. May the Lord open the eyes of my heart so I can see them!  The mundane activities of life can become boring if we let them.  Let’s change our attitude and be grateful for the little things.  One day the little things will be gone.  I am grateful for my children who keep my house a complete mess and are loud and crazy.  They will be gone soon and it will be still, quiet and clean.  Below are some ways to be grateful and ways to teach our children as well.  Children do not do what we say, they do what we do.

Ways to have an Attitude for Gratitude:

1. Stop, reflect and engage in a moment of thankfulness each day this month, with your family. It can be big or small moments of gratitude.

2. Start a gratitude journal and write in it each day. I keep mine by my bed.  Although we use our social media platforms as a way to proclaim to the world, so start showing your attitude for gratitude in a gratitude journal via facebook, blogging or however you choose.

3. Begin each day with a positive thought, prayer or mantra. Simply rely on God.

4. Doing random acts of kindness.  This feeds our soul and teaches our children the great joy to surprise complete strangers and brighten their day.

5. Model Gratitude for our children and others around us to see.

There are several ways to teach children to be grateful.  They need to see us serve others, including our spouse, write thank you notes, say “please” and “thank you” and show empathy. When we criticize less, complain less, and point out the positives more, not the negative, in people and in situations, our children and peers will be positively influenced for the better. See childhood 101 for more ideas on how to teach your children to have an attitude of gratitude

My body will heal, but the scars of the traumatic fall will live with me forever.  I am grateful for my family and friends for helping out so much.  Moms are not allowed to be down & out… so when we are, it takes an army to take care of our family!  So many dear friends helped out in so many ways… Thank You!  My heart if forever grateful!grateful life