September 30

I am grateful for these past 30 days, which have been just what I've needed.

I may well keep this up.  We'll see.

October will bring 30 days of conscious and conscientious eating and I am trying to be grateful in advance for how good I'll feel because of it.  Even if I think I am missing September's 30 days, already.

Today, I am grateful that the rain held off until we were just about ready to leave Hale Farm.  I am grateful for the patient and friendly service at Chick-Fil-A.  I am grateful that my 3:00 math group went more smoothly today.  I am grateful for lad back dinners and happy children making messes in a playroom and comfortable time spent with the best of the best of friends.

I am grateful for the love I am feeling in my heart just now, as I think about my day and the people who have been a part of it.  This month has been a lot about people, and all the love, and my kids of course.  And the weather.

But mostly, it's been about time.  Time, and the glory of it.  How lucky we are to have each day, even the worst days, certainly the best days, most especially the ordinary days in between...



Collection of "last lines" from each post this month...


I am grateful for what I have and for what I have yet to reach.
I am grateful for three day weekends. This is the way life should be....
I am grateful for delicious grilled chicken and salad, for the abundance of food, for coffee with cream, and the blessing of time to enjoy it all.


I am grateful for friends.  I am grateful for time.  I am grateful for the chance to sit with my feet up for a few moments.  I am grateful to be home.
I am grateful that a bed and a new day tomorrow await.
I am grateful for graham crackers dipped in milk


I am grateful for sunshine peeking out from behind a cloudy week.
I am grateful for how much I laughed today.
I am grateful for all the ways the stars have aligned in my life.  Even when I am tired.


I am grateful for my children who love to play together, all of a sudden.  
I am grateful for the chance to affirm that yes, I've got my priorities straight.
I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday, though the weeks are starting to fly precipitously fast all of a sudden and I think I would be just as grateful for more Thursday, to tell the truth.
I am grateful that I am not trying to entertain the queen this weekend, that's for sure.
I am grateful that the weekend is not over yet.


I am grateful for hot tea and our faux-fireplace on a chilly evening. 
I am grateful that this give me the excuse to look for a larger dining room table. 
I am grateful for all the joy and laughter in my life.
I am grateful for the body I have, in this moment of my life, and I will choose to its beauty and its strength.  
I am grateful for quiet evenings and early bedtimes.


I am grateful for all the richness and fullness of my life, one event scheduled tight against the other with mere minutes to spare...
I am grateful for the opportunity to bring my focus back to where it belongs. 
I am grateful I had more than 5 minutes to write tonight.




Thank you all for sharing this month with me.  I hope you'll stick around for the next 30 days, too.  Have you started your own 30 days yet?  Link me to your blogs so I can support you too!

September 29

Tonight I am grateful for so much.  Five minutes may not cut it, but I'll try.

I am grateful for the gift of a midweek day off with my time and my kids all to myself.  I am grateful for adventures and trains and the very kind volunteer conductors who helped me get the stroller up and down the stairs. 

I am grateful for my well-behaved children, for their laughter and curiosity and engagement.  I am grateful for passengers and passers-by who are kind and gracious and complimentary, who play peekaboo with my baby and smile at my boy.  I am grateful for the nice man who let Jack hold the coyote pelt for a very long time.  I am grateful for my little scientist of a boy and the way he just soaks up the world.

I am grateful for picture-perfect front yard gardens and red water-pumps in the side yards of meticulous century homes. 

I am grateful for train tables in restaurants and kind hostesses who seat mommas right near them so kids can play and mommas can drink their coffee.  I am grateful for coffee.  I am grateful for my kids who can play at a train table together.  I am grateful for my little love of a daughter, flirting and chasing and charming everyone she meets; kissing babies and laughing and daring life to keep up. 


I am grateful for lovely evenings with friends, for saying "We should do this more often" and really meaning it, for the gift of kindred spirits and bonding over our shared parenting experiences.  For the mutual support and the laughter and for seeing our truly adorable children playing together in the other room.

I am grateful for the people who have taken the time to tell me how this month of gratitude has touched them.  I am grateful that it is not just my own life I am changing. 

I am grateful I had more than 5 minutes to write tonight.

September 28

Getting near the end of the month.  Crazy.  I have to say, I have enjoyed this month of gratitude.  I've been grateful for it, in fact.  I've been grateful for the sense of obligation that comes from having a public forum, which pushed me to take that pause each night, to record my day in the best possible light.  Sugar coating my life for a month?  Perhaps.  But isn't everything better with sugar?  Why not see things as rosy, I say.

That said, today's musings:

I am grateful for Rosh Hashana-- for the holy day it is to many friends and neighbors, and for the fact that I have tomorrow off.

I am grateful that there is such a wealth of activity, scenery, and seasonal events in my city as to make it seem like there just aren't enough weekend days in the fall. 

OK, there are never enough weekend days, period.

But isn't it wonderful to have one's options over-full?  The hardship of decision-making is softened somewhat when the choices are all wonderful things.

 I am grateful to my son's Pre-K teacher who, in one day, taught Jack 4 yoga poses ("yogo class!" he called it...) as well as most delightful little song about buying bubblegum.  Perhaps these aren't the most earthshattering of accomplishments, in the grand scheme of things...but they both made him so happy and proud.  I love it.

I am grateful for the fact that Ivy went to bed quietly and sweetly tonight. 

I am grateful for brisk walks in the almost-rain and the soft fall air. 

I am grateful for quick trips to the library, for my two children who navigate the space independently and confidently.  I am grateful they love books.  I am grateful for their laughter on the library bridge.  I am grateful for simple evenings focused on my children.

I am grateful for the opportunity to bring my focus back to where it belongs.

September 27

I am grateful for the energizing effect of singing.  I am grateful for the genius of Mozart, the way the notes flow, the absolute sense of it and the magic it makes.  I am grateful for that one line, regina coeli, alto and tenor voices and the blend-- it's heaven indeed.

I am grateful that I will have my planning period tomorrow instead of a meeting.  Nevermind the meeting I have over lunch.  I'll take what I can get.

I am grateful for Tuesday afternoons, for a coffee date with my husband and family dinner with my mom.  I am grateful for homemade spaghetti sauce and my two kids playing on the piano together. 

I am grateful for sunny mild afternoons.

I am grateful for all the richness and fullness of my life, one event scheduled tight against the other with mere minutes to spare, but each event is good, you know?  When people, those random acquaintances, ask "How have you been,"  I answer, "Busy.  Busy.  But good."  And I mean it.

And I am grateful for that.

September 25 and 26

Tonight, sleep trumps gratitude. Not that I am not grateful. No, I am grateful for many, many things. But I am not sure my eyes will stay open for the rest of this sentence, much less a whole post. So, more tomorrow...

September 24

I am grateful for the gift of a sunny fall Saturday.  For Fall Harvest Festivals and Tractor shows and the children's amazement at the inner workings of motors.  I am grateful for hay mazes and corn mazes and crowds of littles wandering through them all.

I am grateful for a day spent "out and about", avoiding housework entirely.

I am grateful for my affectionate little girl, for the constant streams of hugs and great bit "mah!" kisses.

I am grateful for silly little overpriced pony-ride circles, for the joy and confidence on my son's face when he realized he really could do it.

I am grateful for the light in my daughter's eyes when she sees an animal, the way she pressed herself against the fence to get closer to the "nay nays" and the "seeee". 

I am grateful for a quiet ride in a horse-drawn wagon, around the perimeter of the farm, my two happy kids sitting on the bench seat with me, a delightful older couple for company, a moment out of time, lulled by the rhythm of the draft-horse walk. 

I am grateful for quiet evenings and early bedtimes.

September 23

I feel like  need to set the stage just a little bit for this post.  This morning I had a good run at the gym, my first "4 mile Friday."  Took my tired, sweaty self into the locker room and went for my quick weight check before my shower.  Sure enough, stiiiiillll stuck at 151, where I've been since, oh, I don't know... June??  I know, I know, I'm not REALLY dieting anymore, and I've only just started exercising more than 2-3 days per week.  But still.

Bleh.

Went into my shower, and the rest of my morning, feeling disgruntled with my body, flabby belly and aging skin and all.

But then I got to thinking about what I'd be posting tonight, what to focus my gratitude on, here at the end of the week. 

And I decided a paradigm shift was in order.

Today, I am going to dwell in some gratitude for my body.

I am grateful for this body I have, for its life and breath and vigor.  I am grateful for two strong legs that can walk and run (indeed, 4 miles, at an under-10-minute-mile pace, no less!) and climb and stretch and keep up with children.  I am grateful for two strong arms that can hold babies and children and dogs and hugs for those I love.  I am grateful for two good hands that can type and cook and draw and write, cut and tie and caress and hold other hands.  I am grateful for my healthy lungs and the steady beat of my heart and blood that flows unfettered through my veins.

These are things I take for granted. I am grateful that I am lucky enough to do that.

I am grateful for this body that has grown and birthed and nurtured two babies, that has brought two amazing little humans into this world.  This body works miracles.  This body holds life and creates and sustains and gives and it is amazing.

I am grateful for the stretch marks and unsightly bulges and new shapes and curves that seem to be a part of me now, because they remind me that this body is not just for me, it has a job to do and it is doing that job.  It is a body that has been pregnant or nursing (or both) for nearly 5 years straight, a body working on 5 short hours of sleep most nights... and still it can run in the morning. 

"Target weight" be damned.  I am grateful for the body I have, in this moment of my life, and I will choose to its beauty and its strength. 

September 21 and 22

I am grateful for friends and playdates that make Wednesday nights more fun, for trips to soggy wet playgrounds, for dogs rolling in the mud and babies who ask for "mo WEEEENG" and giggle as they fly through the air. 

I am grateful that I do NOT have a 4 month old and an 18 month old at the same time, all the time.  Five minutes of that was plenty for me!

I am grateful that my son has friends and enjoys playing with them.  I am grateful for having three children playing peacefully together in our playroom, little voices and little laughs and toys everywhere.  I am grateful for the big boys who look after the little ones, and for the little girl who mimics everything they do. I am grateful for the little glimpse into the future I get as I watch them play.


I am grateful that Jack loves stories, makes predictions about text, begs to hear another chapter of Magic Treehouse so that he can find out what happens.  I am also grateful that he loves documentaries.  And that he tells us about continents shifting and plate tectonics and says "I learned it from the doctor-memories, mommy!"

I am grateful for all the joy and laughter in my life.

September 19 and 20

Yesterday's list was short anyways. 

It was a long day that I was grateful to have started with a good, long, hard run.  Because at least that was productive.

I was grateful that my two little darlings were not any more uncomfortable than they were after all their shots yesterday.

I was also grateful to have a continuous 5 hours of sleep thanks to Nat letting me sleep upstairs in my office nest.  Amazing that 5 continuous hours can actually feel refreshing...

Today, some more:

I am grateful I started my day with a run again.  I have missed, in some strange way, working out every day.  I might get back to that.

I am grateful I worked with my students, all day long, without meetings interrupting until 3pm.

I am grateful that the sun came out this afternoon.

I am grateful for the music of Haydn and Mendelsohn and Mozart and the luscious richness of chords layered under a simple hymn.

I am grateful for car rides home with the wonderful Fiona, the most inspiring 80-something I've had the pleasure to chauffeur around.


I am grateful for the silly, ridiculously good TV show I get to come home to. 

I am grateful for my warm and comfy house that I get to come to.  Even if it is heaped with laundry right now and cluttered with children's toys. 

I am grateful for the children's toys, piles of books and a stray doll stroller and a dining room table so littered with markers and hotwheels and magazines that there's hardly room for eating.

I am grateful that this give me the excuse to look for a larger dining room table.

September 18

I am grateful for the shining perfect blue-sky day we were given today.

I am grateful for pleasant surprises and down-home comfortable art fairs and the chance to make clay sculptures with my son.

I am grateful for all the wonderful places we've lived and the connections we made, and kept.

I am grateful for impromptu picnics at magical parks, for children climbing rocks and scrambling through "hollow logs", and especially for feeding ducks.  I am grateful to all the ducks who came to our little buffet and made it wonderful for our children.

I am grateful for my friends, and for the time and leisure to spend with them. I am grateful for the support of my husband who put the kids to bed so I could have that time and leisure.

I am grateful for hot tea and our faux-fireplace on a chilly evening.

I will be grateful to snuggle into bed tonight.  A full, amazing, very tiring weekend around here.   A weekend for which I am very, very grateful.

September 17

I am grateful for resale events and garage sales today, new clothes and toys for my littles AND a clean conscience as I re-use for the environment.

I am grateful for Gram-gram's babysitting service and the gifts of time she gave to Nat and I today.

I am grateful to my children for the way they tackle my legs with hugs and give loud kisses and otherwise make me feel so very loved.

I am grateful to the woman at Flower Child who gave me a free barrette AND gift wrapped my necklace even though she knew I was buying it for myself.  Because she knows mamas need to give themselves gifts now and then.

I am grateful for the sunshine-perfect weather, for the people out on patios grabbing the last bit of summer and drinking it down.  I am grateful for the mobs of children on the playground, even the big kids.  I am grateful for how universally considerate they were of each other as they ran and jumped and clambered.

I am grateful for a precious half hour of time on that playground with my son, nothing competing for my attention.  I am grateful for fast tall slides that made me giggle in spite of myself.

I am grateful for community festivals, for the honest fun they represent, for cheap hot dogs and lemonade served by church groups.

I am grateful for alpacas.

I am grateful for coffee shops and resale shops and danish modern furniture.

I am grateful for perfect Saturdays.

I am grateful that the weekend is not over yet.

September 16

I am grateful for sunny crisp fall evenings, and views of cityscapes and rivers and bridges.

I am grateful for old spaces made new, for history, repurposed.

I am grateful for Drum Corps, all that energy and youth and rhythm; it is contagious.

I am grateful for exuberant children dancing and clapping and running, heedless of  anything in their way.  For their spirit and the smiles they bring to every face that passes by.

I am grateful for public spaces and festival-days and crowds of friendly strangers sharing a place in time.

I am grateful for the Drawing Room, which continues to be the best part of the Ingenuity Festival as far as I am concerned.

I am grateful for patient and flexible kids who accept a dinner of granola bars and goldfish, long car rides through the city, and a late bedtime without complaint, so that we can run off and feel the pulse of our city for an evening, and share it with them.

I am grateful that tomorrow is Saturday and that we have filled it with plans for fun and shopping and maybe even dinner out for Nat and I.  Who needs time to clean, anyways?

I am grateful that I am not trying to entertain the queen this weekend, that's for sure.

September 15

Tonight, its getting personal.  I am naming names. 

I am grateful for the company of the like minded, funny, kind, and brilliant women who shared my table at our Language Arts meeting this evening, for the commiseration and inspiration we shared, for the way they made the long meeting go much faster...Sue, Susan, Leah, Gail... I can try and try to complain about my job but it doesn't get very far, that complaining, once I realize just how lucky I am to work with people like you.

I am grateful for the excellent cooks that I am lucky to call my friends and dinner swap partners.  Tiffany, your pulled-pork it always perfect and Jack and Ivy are eternally grateful for the corn on the cob.  Sarah-- tacos!  Always brilliant!  Delicious, easy, and plenty of meat to keep my kids happy ALLLL week. Melinda, that tortilla casserole was not only easy to dish out and reheat, but it also had some sort of crack in it that made it barely last through next day's lunch.  We're talking sneaking seconds and thirds and slivers of it into the night...

I am really, really grateful that I can cross "menu planning" and "cooking weeknight dinners" off my to do list.  I love dinner swap.

Nat, I am not sure where to begin with the "gratefuls" I feel towards you but let me focus on today:  I am grateful to have this husband and father to my children, the one who spent the day taking them to stimulating places, providing them with fun and messy activities, feeding them nutritious meals. Who was still busy pulling out activities and playing with them when I finally got home at 6.  Who takes care of everything around here, including me.  Who listens and supports unconditionally.

Plus, he's really good looking.

I am grateful I married this one.

I am exceedingly grateful for the women of my book club-- Gayle, Jill, Sarah, Melinda, Melissa, Beth, Caroline-- as they are not only amazing, interesting, smart women but they also have given me the reason to be "reading" (OK, listening to in the car) The Hunger Games, which I am finding to be extraordinary and addicting.  I can't believe I've never read this before.  I also can't tell you how upset I was to find myself at the end of the first download, halfway through my drive home today. 

I am grateful that the second half of the book is being installed on my iPod now.  Can't wait to get in the car tomorrow...

I am grateful, now that I think about it, for my iPod, and for the Christmas money given to me in 2009 which allowed me to spring for a new toy.  I've used it every day since.  Best.  Impulse buy.  Ever.

I am grateful for the crisp fall sunshine that emerged just in time to leave work today.  For the bittersweet ritual of changing out my children's clothing, touching and folding up those summer clothes and the memories that go with them.  Sorting out things to save.  Pulling out and hanging up new clothes in browns and greens and oranges.  Sweaters.  Jackets.  Lists of things to look for at the fall resales.

I am grateful for the fall resales that are starting up.  This weekend!

I am grateful for my mother who watches my children while I feed my addiction at those resales.  When she's not shopping right along with me, that is.  I am grateful that I have inherited her enthusiasm for a bargain and that we can share giddy joy over the perfect outfit, an ideal toy, the money saved and the wonderful things we can provide for the children we love.  I think our enthusiasm is one of the best things about us, mom.  Thanks for giving it to me.

I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday, though the weeks are starting to fly precipitously fast all of a sudden and I think I would be just as grateful for more Thursday, to tell the truth.  Thursday.  Its a pretty good day, you know?

Thanks for listening.  

September 14

I am grateful that I am writing before 10:30 at night. That is is just 9:00 now and the dishes are done and the house is quiet.  Except for the dog snoring beside me.  But I am grateful for this snoring dog beside me.

I am grateful for a quiet day at school during which I went to NO meetings, and actually got to teach my students a bit.

I am grateful for the door in my classroom, for working with groups outside and having fresh air blowing in all day.

I am grateful for corn on the cob and my hilarious children who love it.  Ivy tried to eat it raw. Jack was thrilled to help butter it, roll it, and set the microwave.  They both enjoyed eating it one kernel at a time off of toothpicks.  They are awesome.

I am grateful for documentaries and my son's inquiring little mind; this evening he watched a geologist talk about the formation of Mount Everest with rapt attention for just under an hour.

I am grateful for peanuts and chocolate chips.  I am grateful for iced coffee.  I am grateful for excellent books on tape which make me look forward to my commute.  I am grateful for the fullness of the moments in my life even if it means the inside of the microwave hasn't been cleaned in a long, long while.  What's a little grime when you can be helping your daughter learn to somersault on the bed, instead?

I am grateful for the chance to affirm that yes, I've got my priorities straight.

September 13

I am grateful for  a lot today.  It's been a good day, actually.  A really good day.

I am grateful that I go to take Jack to his first day of Pre-K, to tell him to smile for his pictures on the front step and in front of the St Paul's sign, to watch him excitedly show me his name tag, the blocks, the clips he liked playing with at Meet the Teacher.   To meet, albeit briefly, the other children he'll be spending his days with, to see the space they'll share, carefully prepped and abuzz with emotion from the 14 little people and their parents all crowded in. I am grateful for that moment, watching Nat come out with him towards the car when (sleeping Ivy and) I came to pick him up, the huge grin on his face, all pink from outdoor play.  "I LOVED it, Mom!!"

I love him.  And I am so grateful for him.  So grateful that he loves learning and school and is confident, that we left him with his teacher with a "see you later!" and nary a backward glance, knowing he'd be fine.  Grateful that he is finding friends in his class and joy in his days.

I am grateful that I had my dentist appointment today, that I have sick time to take a half day off work, that I could finagle it to make this afternoon happen.  Even if it meant a root canal to fix my broken tooth.

I am grateful for novacaine.

I am grateful for dinner swap meals that serve up in 5 minutes.

I am grateful for the West Shore Chorale, for the luscious layers of Mendelsohn chords, for the sensible harmonics of Haydn, for the pure endorphins of joining my voice with others to make music.

I am grateful for walks to the library, for the easy comfort of our neighborhood, for greetings and chats with the people and dogs we know.

I am grateful for a sunny-breezy evening and a pink cloud-layered sky.

I am grateful for CityFresh, just for its existence, even if we didn't buy shares this summer.  Just seeing those tables laden with produce, people and dogs and children milling about with their reusable bags and their camaraderie.  Reminding me of why I love our neighborhood.

I am grateful for my children who love to play together, all of a sudden.  For jumping on the bed time, for playing "baby" with stuffed toys and blankies.  For the way Ivy ran laps around the children's area in the library, her sleep sheep wrapped tightly in a burp cloth and clutched to her chest, determined feet stomping, a girl on a mission, 3 times around before she came in and set her "baby"  ("bee-- beeeee?" as she says it) carefully on one of the giant giraffe-shaped floor puzzle pieces.

I love her.  And I am grateful that she is a happy and opinionated and interesting little girl who never gives us a dull moment.  As Grandma Gertie consoled my mother years ago-- "You wouldn't want a boring child, would you??"

Nope, I wouldn't.

But I would take more days like today.

September 11 and 12

I am grateful today for your overlooking the fact that I kind of missed my post yesterday.

[sheepish grim]

oops.

Yesterday, of course, I was reminded all day to be grateful that none of my friends or loved ones were touched in any way by the events of September 11, 2001. To be grateful that there have been no repeats of that fateful day. To be grateful for the freedoms and abundance and comfort we have here in this country that is a pretty amazing place to live, even with the political quagmire that currently infests our capitol.

Last night, and again at dinner time tonight, I was grateful for Dinner Swap.  Not a moment too soon!  I love Dinner Swap.  The ready made meals are an important part of that love, but so is the  evening of chatting with my momma friends, finding our way down this road of parenthood and leaning on each other the whole time.  I am grateful for the amazing people in my life.  And I am grateful they are all good cooks!

Tonight-- well, tonight I am grateful that the house is quiet and the dishes are done and I am 5 minutes of blogging away from getting into bed.

I am grateful for a great workout in spinning class this morning. And for the chance for a quiet shower in the pretty locker rooms, with no toddlers barging in on me.  Practically a "spa" experience, and it almost makes 5am worthwhile.

I am grateful for the sunny weather and the chance to get out in it for a few minutes during our fire dril today.  I am grateful for how much my kids love their bath.  I am grateful for the love of these children for the way Jack's eyes lit up when I said I'd be able to take him to pre-K tomorow.

I am grateful to the stars which have aligned to put my dentist's appointment in the exact day and time to allow me to go to my son's first day of school any only take a half day off work.

I am grateful for all the ways the stars have aligned in my life.  Even when I am tired.

September 10th

I am grateful for sunny days that redeem rainy mornings.

For McDonald's softserve and sandy shoes, for iced chai shared in Public Square.

I am grateful for the free smoothie we got at dinner.

I am grateful that Nat did the vacuuming for me.

I am grateful absolute steals at the thrift store (Keen sandals for Jack, $1.  Skechers shoes for Ivy, $1. A bottomless crate of Hotwheels paraphernalia, $8.  Good stuff, I'm telling ya.)

I am grateful for children who went to bed easily and toured downtown patiently and entertained us all day long.

I am grateful that it is only 9:45 and that I can sleep in tomorrow because I still have a lot to do before I sleep...

I am grateful for how much I laughed today.

September 9th

I am grateful that today is Friday. TGIF seems more meaningful than ever this year, somehow.

 I am grateful for little running naked baby feet, the sounds of 4 happy yelling children chasing down our hall with a dog woo-wooing along behind.

 I am grateful for simple pasta dinners shared with friends around our too-small table, baby bellies plastered with noodles and sauce, while we talk politics in short bursts over their heads, pausing to wipe hands and pass drinks and pick up dropped forks.

 I am grateful for sunshine peeking out from behind a cloudy week.

 For sharing books with my boy.

 For fun events to look forward to this weekend.

For having a planning period AND a lunch today at work.

For kind notes from colleagues I've only just met and hugs from old friends who miss working with me; affirmation of one's value and place in the world is so very revitalizing.  So is being able to reciprocate.

I am grateful for the chance to do that.




(sidenote:  next 30 days idea-- a note of affirmation to a different person every day.  wouldn't that just make the world a better place!)

September 8th

I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday. I am grateful for the crickets in the quiet night outside, for the cloudy purple sky shining through the gaps in the silhouette trees, for my son who thrilled in the beauty of the dark when we stepped out on the porch just before his bedtime to mail some thank-you notes. I am grateful for the archaic tradition of thank-you notes, for the moment of pause and reflection and kinetic connection with a person who cared enough to give. I am grateful for the chance to teach my children how to write them. Even if they are on the back of photo cards rather than inside fine stationary. One must make some concessions to the modern age... I am grateful for the chance to be in my classroom, with my students, all day long today. It was fun. Turns out, I don't mind teaching. Its just the other stuff that gets in the way... I am grateful for my husband who presented me with two napping children and taco salad dinner on the way, when I got home. I am grateful for an evening together as a family and strangely grateful for our crazy fall schedule, which is serving to only intensity my gratitude for my husband. I am grateful for graham crackers dipped in milk.

September 7th

Today I may be too tired to be grateful. We'll see.

I'm grateful for:

Chic-Fil-A, that ridiculously named and over-Christian establishment with the ridiculously good chicken and customer service, offering a one-stop evening plan wherein my children actually EAT something AND get to run and play in tubes. Add in the bonus of running into two seldom-seen friends while we were there... I am grateful for that one, smooth, enjoyable hour of my day.

I am grateful for my son, grateful that he is a boy who responds to a loud and in-your-face older child's behavior by calmly, clearly saying, " I don't like when you do that."  I would be more grateful if said older child had respected my son's request, but I am still pretty damn proud.

I am grateful that my children, in addition to be lovable individuals in their own right, are becoming real siblings all of a sudden.  Jack helps her and plays with her and seeks out her company in his games; Ivy listens to him.  Sometimes.  I would be more grateful if their emerging sibling relationship did NOT include yelling matches and grabbing each other's hands and arms, but I am still pretty damn pleased with them.  I complimented Jack tonight, on how he helped his sister and he said, "Yeah, I did a big brother way."  Yeah you did, buddy.

Have I mentioned I am grateful for him?

I am grateful for books on tape and a quiet commute to start and end long days.

I am grateful for spinning class and how it makes 5am worth it, at least once its over.

I am grateful for the blessing of a really excellent substitute teacher to cover my classroom while I attend meeting after meeting after *^%$#^&* meeting.  I am grateful that my students still seem happy to see me in the brief moments I have been in my room this week.

I am grateful to have my job, in spite of all this.

Somehow I have managed to turn a gratitude journal post into a bit of a vent session.  But I am grateful to have this place to let off some steam and refocus.

And I am grateful that a bed and a new day tomorrow await.

September 6th

Today I am working hard to be grateful.

I am grateful for:

New babies heading into this world in January and February, and all of the excitement they bring, the bits of joy and anticipation and the coming-together that happens when a bunch of women work together and then get to coo and kvetch about pregnancy and newborns.  The new bonds that come from shared motherhood.  I am grateful that I get to welcome some new friends into that fold.  And grateful for their healthy babies-to-be, their uneventful pregnancies.  I am grateful to be counted in their support system.

I am grateful for food provided before curriculum night, with the chance to share some pretty solid pulled pork and the company of my colleagues.

I am grateful for all the opportunities that have come, and continue to come, to find unity and strength and new friendships through our shared frustration.  It turns out that I work with some pretty amazing people. It turns out we are never alone.

I am grateful for a husband and a mother and that network of love that allows me to work a 14 hour day knowing my children are secure and happy in my absence.

I am grateful for a night-time nursing and snuggle with my daughter, for her soft hands and kissable hair and utter contentment in my arms.

For my dog who knows how to ask me to sit on the couch with her, who says so much without words, who is a true companion and not to be taken for granted.  I am grateful for all pet dogs and the opportunity they give their people, to experience a totally pure kind of love.  Even if a dog's life is too short.  I am grateful for each moment with my girl and hoping for 15 years with her too....

For a quiet house and a school bag in the car and connections with far off friends over the internet.  I  am grateful for Facebook, silly addictive thing it is, for the glimpses I get into the lives of people I love.  Just because I don't see them in person, does not diminish how glad I am to have each of them present in my life.

I am grateful for friends.  I am grateful for time.  I am grateful for the chance to sit with my feet up for a few moments.  I am grateful to be home.

September 5th

I am grateful:

For evening walks in the fall-soon air with just my dog for company.
For my dog, who is the best dog in the universe.  For her constant loyalty and her soft walk next to me, her eyes on me, following cues; for her floppy curly ears and the compliments she inspires; for her gentle nature and the trust I place in her.  I love that dog.

For friends who fit us like cozy sweaters, who we don't have to clean house for.  Who bring us apple cake.
I am grateful for apple cake.

For three little girls who play together on the slide while we drink our coffee.  For the big boy who helps them down from the ladder when they need it.  Who declares "Its a perfect time to light a fire" and relishes each toasted mini-marshmallow.

For chilly dusky hours when a fire feels great.

For scented candles.

For three day weekends.  Have I mentioned how much I love three day weekends?

For teamwork with the kids and alone time too; for sharing the load with the laundry and dishes and actually pulling off a full dinner for 8 tonight.  For delicious grilled chicken and salad, for the abundance of food, for coffee with cream, and the blessing of time to enjoy it all.

September 4th

Today I am grateful...

For chocolate Rice Krispie treats.
For picnics at Rocky River Park and my dog chasing through the waves. For random driftwood teepees and my two kids going down the tunnel slide together, all a-giggle.
For new necklaces and easy mornings with both parents home.
For early-Sunday quiet walks through our neighborhood, just the girls and I; the houses I never tire of, the sidewalk gardens and porches and color; the comfort of walking this same familiar path.
For napping kids and peaceful moments and time to talk and dream together.
For three day weekends.  Oh, I am grateful for three day weekends. This is the way life should be....

September 3rd

Today, I am grateful...

For the sunshine today and the heady, heavenly calm of the Botanical Gardens. For eating out on a hot day and not having to do any dishes.  For peach iced tea and iced coffee and an air conditioned car. For the glory of a hot, hot, still-summer day, on a Saturday, in September....
For my wonderful husband who mopped up the spilled Rice Krispies without a second thought.
For my children and their little blond, good-smelling heads.
For the way Ivy snuggles her doll with that smug, cat-who-ate-the-canary grin. For the way she says "hi!" and makes the rounds at restaurants.  For the way she kisses us with a giant "Mah!"
For Jack and his enthusiasm for learning and his sweet voice and the fact that he forgives me when I yell.
For my hair which looks better when its humid than when its not.
For having no plans for a day.
For pipe-dreams and creativity sparked by the beauty of a slate-roofed Tudor retail space for sale.  For the fact that, tiredness and frayed nerves and lack of time and semi-single-parenthood aside, Nat and I can still fall headlong into our dreaming at a moments notice.
I am grateful for that.
For what I have and for what I have yet to reach.

5 minutes up.  See you all tomorrow.

A day late and a dollar short...

That's me.

Forgive me for starting a day later than planned.  The beginning of this school year surprised me with its suddenness and ferocity.

But here we are, September.  And sometimes what you need to deal with the suddenness and ferocity of life, is a 30 day focus.

I'd almost decided this morning, on the goal of saving money somehow, every day. Goodness knows we could use some saved money right about now.

But.  This week has had its share of minor adversity, some frustrations at work, meetings mostly, which have left me a little emotional, a little raw.

And alongside that adversity has come a swell of support, from surprising corners, a realization that that in unity is strength and that we're never alone.

And I've been profoundly grateful.

So my 30 days?  Gratitude.  Five minutes, timed, each night, to commit to paper everything from that day for which I am grateful.  Five minutes to focus on the positives alone, on the negatives only insomuch as they might, too, make me grateful.  Five minutes to reflect and realize the beauty and favor that I have in my life, an appreciate it deeply.

Saving money will just have to wait til October.