November Series: I'm Thankful....

Being thankful is harder than it appears. Us ladies have high expectations of ourselves, how we run our families, jobs and home. We can be overly critical of ourselves, and lose sight of the big picture. Today (a day late even) I'm kicking off the "I'm thankful" series, a list of things I'm thankful about and why. I know it isn't the most creative, and that's ok.  Life isn't perfect, deadlines aren't always met and sometimes the dinner gets burned but the big picture is    truly a blessing.

Day 1.

I'm thankful for my  kids.

All 9 of them.

Even when they're stubborn, talking back or won't go to bed.

Yes, they occasionally talk back. 

Yes, they get lazy.

Yes they have to be forced into the tub and reminded to scrub behind their ears.

Yes they are LOUD. 

But they are fun. Happy. Loving. They care for each other. They have learned sympathy, empathy. Best of all, they respect mama's spot on the couch. They sit there, but when I come along, they kindly scootch over. Thank you. I love sharing the living room with them. Sometimes, before the babies go to bed, the living room looks and sounds more like a peewee version of WWE's Royal Tumble. That's the one where all the guys try to toss each other out of the ring and the last one standing is the winner. Except in our version, the kids aren't fighting, or trying to hurt each other, just playing around. It's our NORMAL. (normal is such a silly word)

It's fun. It's loud. It's home. I'll admit, I don't look forward to the day my house is no longer home for toddler feet pitter pattering down the hall... or babies in highchairs eating their favorite foods one little bite at a time... or even teens that want to talk about "life isn't faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair and dipping their feet into volunteer work, politics and grownup "stuff". I love the chaos. The blessings. 

 Maybe we should invite some of the WWE guys over for thanksgiving. I think my kids could show them a few wrestling moves. I'm sure the kids would trick them into "their spot" being on the floor

 I'm thankful that my home is full. My hands are full.  My heart is full. Yet somehow there is always room for one more.