“Our work-a-day lives are filled with opportunities to bless others.  The power of a single glance or an encouraging smile must never be underestimated.” – G. Richard Rieger

A little gratitude goes a long way – Honor your Self with some ME-Time Now™, and ask yourself, “What am I most grateful for right now and what is one simple way I can share this gift with another today?” When our hearts feel the fullness and warmth of gratitude, we can bask in the perfection of this moment and radiate our joy to those around us!

It has been said that gratitude is the mother of joy, so Mother’s Day month seems like the perfect time to practice building the gratitude habits that will allow us to commit to regularly taking time to focus on all that we are grateful for, even (and especially) when it would be much easier to focus on the inconveniences and distractions of our everyday lives.

So, how about it: What are you grateful for?

Well, I made a list… not a To-Do list, which we moms are all so adept at, but a Gratitude list, and here’s what I came up with:

• I am grateful that my daughters still think Mommy-snuggles are so special.
• I am grateful that my husband is my best friend who believes in me and my dreams.
• I am grateful for family and friends who “get me” and truly want the best for me.
• I am grateful that I can be genuinely happy for others and truly want the best for them.
• I am grateful for all of the opportunities I have created and been blessed with in my life.
• I am grateful that I always know I am loved and know that I am deserving of that love.
• I am grateful that my Dad passed along his wisdom and sense of humor.
• I am grateful for all of the new relationships that continue to bless my life, and the endless possibilities to grow, learn, and share that they bring with them.
• I am grateful for the biggest challenges that Life’s presented me, as I’ve been blessed with the ability to trustingly know each one has a meaningful purpose, even if they may come with initial pain.
• I am grateful to be able to enjoy my world with all of my senses.
• I am grateful that my children teach me more about Life every day.
• I am grateful for being able to recognize and savor those “Life is perfectly as it should be” moments of pure contentment (and that I am remembering to enjoy those moments much more often).

Of course, this is not a complete list, but it is what I feel in my heart at this moment, and tuning into these grateful feelings provides an instant boost of energy and joy.  Although gratitude is a very simple gift, it is not always easy to practice.  We all have times where we experience negative emotions, fear, anger, doubt, and the like. However, the value of gratitude is absolutely precious – since it is impossible to focus on both a thankful thought and negative thought at the same time, choosing to focus on gratitude is the fast-track to happiness, fulfillment, contentment, and hopefulness.

And, it is a gift that is topped off with all of the smiles and heartfelt warmth that it brings when it is shared freely with others!  A gift that allows us personal happiness as well as a joyful connection to others – and it is available to each of us, in limitless supply, at any time!

Happy Mother’s Month, and I am truly grateful that you are sharing this moment with me!

I saw this poem in our church bulletin this week, and I thought it reflected how we moms have all felt at one time or another (or much more often!). Yet, it also reminds us that there is always a reason to give thanks! So I’d like to share it with you during this week when our focus turns toward sharing gratitude.

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl
when the alarm rings each morning,
Thank you Lord, that I can hear –
There are those who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed
against the morning lights as long as possible,
Thank you Lord, that I can see –
There are those who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed
and put off the physical effort of rising,
Thank you Lord, that I have the strength to rise –
There are many who are bedfast.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic
when socks are lost, toast is burned
And tempers are short,
Thank you Lord, for my family –
There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like
the pictures in the ladies magazines
and the menu is at times unbalanced,
Thank you, Lord, for the food we have –
There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine
of my job is often monotonous,
Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to work –
There are many who have no work.

Even though I grumble and bemoan
my fate from day to day
and wish my modest circumstances
were not quite so modest…
I thank you Lord, for the gift of Life!

After my youngest daughter had a totally uncharacteristic, overly-tired-inspired toddler-style meltdown to the nth degree last night before bedtime, I got her calmed down and tucked into bed with a smile, full of hugs, and “I love you Mommy”s.  We discussed how it is O.K. to be frustrated or grumpy, but not to let that turn into a full-on one person scream-fest.  We also discussed how when we are getting carried away by those strong emotions, especially when we are really over-tired or really upset, that the little voice in our head isn’t always 100% honest with us, so we need to stop, take a deep breath, and ask, “How true is what that little voice is telling me, really?” For example, when she was super-upset and she said everyone was ignoring her and nobody cared about her, she could say, “Wait a second, I may feel sad or angry right now, but I know that isn’t true – my family always loves me and I never need to worry about that, no matter what I am thinking or feeling.”  I reassured her that the one thing she can always count on and never have to question or worry about is that her family, every one of us, absolutely loves her and wants her to be with us and happy.  She decided next time it would be better to come and tell me how she is feeling so I can “snuggle her grumpies away” before she lets them get her so wound up.

I left the room feeling pretty good that we had turned the situation around into such a positive and helpful discussion – score one for the “Feeling Like A Good Mom” column!  But wait, things got even better… This morning (way too early for a Sunday, as with most Sunday morning snuggle-visits), she came in our room to snuggle as her back-to-sweetness, lovable, adorable little self.  She said she was feeling all better and went on to share her always wise beyond her years “old soul” wisdom with me.  She said, “Mommy, it’s all right to cry because crying gets what is feeling sad out of your heart and then you can feel all fresh inside and your heart can get back to what it does best – feeling happy.”

Straight from the mouths of babes!  Such pure, sweet, simple wisdom – that is why I am in my master bathroom (so as not to wake up Daddy with his cold) standing at the counter as my desk at 6:00 AM on a Sunday morning writing all of this down.  Some gifts are much too precious to risk losing or letting fade by not capturing them and holding onto them right away!  So I share my daughter’s gift to me with you.  And the best gifts are often those you share most freely because they are so much a part of who you are that they just flow through you to others.  (Thank you for sharing your gift with Mommy this morning, my littlest Sweetheart!)

So, if you need to, have a good cry every now and then – hopefully minus the “thought you were having a limb amputated” wails we witnessed at our house last night – but an honest to goodness heart-felt cry that is right for you.  Let the sadness, the frustration, the anger, the hurt, the fear, and all of the self-doubts out, so your tears can help release those things and wash them away.  Then your heart can get back to doing what if does best – loving your Self and your life, and feeling grateful for all of the wonderful people and gifts you are blessed with each day.

The next time you are feeling angry, frustrated, over-whelmed, or just in a funk, think about giving this a try: take a deep breath and choose to focus on what you are grateful for in your life. Make a mental list or even say it out loud – your kids, your spouse/partner, your job, your home, childhood memories, your friends, food, your parents and siblings, your pets, your car, your favorite PJs – whatever comes to mind. But remain focused on those grateful thoughts for a few minutes. By shifting your focus from negative emotions to positive thoughts and their connected feelings, you will feel your mood change and your energy increase. It is physically impossible to fully focus on both a positive thought and separate negative thought at the same time. So realize at that moment that you do have a choice, and choose to focus on the positive, grateful thought.

I’ve tried this with my kids as well, and it works great! Let me clarify – yes, I’ve done this myself when my kids were driving me to the brink of insanity, but I was referring to having my kids try it out for themselves – they were smiling within a minute or two, and they forgot all about what they had been bickering over or upset about a few minutes earlier. In fact, my older daughter proudly told me one day after school how she had helped a boy in her class get in a better mood by taking him through this little exercise! We’re thinking about moving the kids’ little tiki bar from the back porch to the end of the driveway and letting her set up a coaching booth – 5 cents per “session”, just like Lucy from the Peanuts!

Take a deep breath, relax, and be grateful! You’ll be grateful you did!