Graditude

Man, do I love my husband! We got so spoiled this past week. Being on vacation and spending every moment together as a family can be so wonderful. I know, I know, it would get a little old after a while. Anyways, the children just adore him. My heart just about bursts when I watch him interact with the kiddos. He is everything that I would have hoped for in a father for my children. We are so blessed to have him. Spending a week on vacation together as a family of four made me realize that fact so much more.

Well, today he went back to work. The three of us that stayed home were really out of sinc. It was like a piece of us was missing and it was. We made artwork for Daddy, told stories about him, and generally spent the day waiting for him to come home.

I never really thought much about retirement but today, I just kept thinking about it. It seems sort of backwards to me. The main years of work for the average adult are the formitable years in their children's lives. Their children's waking hours are spent away from at least one parent. They spend their children's childhood working only to retire when their children leave the home. I know that's just how it is but on a day like today, something seems backwards about that. There's not really much I can do to change that unless we want to take up residence in a cardboard box. So, for now, I'll just complain about it and fanticize about ways that I could change it so that both of us could be home all the time.

I feel so lucky that I am able to be a stay-at-home mom. People are often astonished and say things like, "Wow, you gave up teaching!" or "Well, why'd you get your master's degree is you were just gonna stay home?" or "I'd get bored if I stayed home...don't you?" I just simply don't look at it like that. I wouldn't trade these years for anything! I do have to admit though, on days like today, I do feel a little guilty. My husband would be such a great stay-at-home dad. For so many reasons, this could work for our family. But that's not how it is and I love it the way it is. That makes me feel guilty knowing that I get to stay home rather than him. Then, I remind myself that unless he can start lactating, I gotta be the one at home!

He goes to work everyday so that we can stay home. I sure am a lucky girl!

Whelp, I didn't learn much but I sure did do a lot of thinking today. I felt a deep sense of appreciation today. I am thankful for my kids, thankful for my husband, and thankful for my life. I wouldn't want it any other way! Having an attitude of gratefulness made me more patient. I didn't sweat the small stuff as much. So there's my lesson, I learned that gratitude can bring peace and contentment. I'm happy with that.