Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Food for Thought: Thankful

Food for Thought: Thankful
When I was in college I would always put "FFT"(Food for Thought) in the margins next to notes that I wanted to mentally chew on later. Fast Forward ten years and now I've decided to expand it into my fun food making. Every year, in the month of November, I pull up this exact quote and really let it seep into my mind:

"There is always, always, always, something to be thankful for"

In a world that is full of me-me-me attitudes, and I need more-more-more to be a happier person, or if I just have xyz then life will be better -- it can be easily forgotten that we have plenty to be thankful for; right here and right now. 

It is so easy to think about what else we want, or what we want to be better in our lives. It is almost as if everyone is just focusing on what they can do to improve or enhance their lives. Not to say we shouldn't be looking to grow or be better as individuals, but in all that focus to become better we can forget to be thankful for what we do have right now. When we are in rough times it is easy to think there is nothing to be thankful for. However when we step back and think for a moment, we realize there is always something. Even if it is the littlest of things -- it is something. What we are thankful for doesn't even have to be tangible or material.

This year as a family, instead of just talking about what we are thankful for, we wrote it down on paper leaves and made a Thankful Tree. I have truly enjoyed watching the tree grow throughout the month. I encouraged Eliana to think about things we take for granted as well, when writing on each leaf. Sure it can be easy to take anything for granted, but I encouraged her to think of daily conveniences that sometimes we don't realize we should be thankful for. Among others she put "food", "shelter", and "the people who work to make 'our' home". My heart. This girl just makes my heart beam. Even Samantha added to the tree -- she scribbled on a few leaves and put them up :)

I hope that making a Thankful Tree will continue to be a family tradition that our kids will look forward to every year. There is something so significant about putting our words onto paper. It is so easy to talk, and say something. But when it comes to writing it down we all tended to stop for a moment and think before we wrote. 

Imagine if we took that kind of care to our spoken words; not just our written words. 

I am ever so thankful for my family; my husband, my baby girls, and our dog. I am blessed to have them all in my lives. Each one of them has added something special to my life. Just watching my children grow, watching their personalities develop is an amazing blessing I never want to take for granted. It is very easy to forget when we are exhausted, running on no sleep, cranky and stressed, but at the heart of it all, there is always love.

What are YOU thankful for?

♥ Michelle

Monday, November 2, 2015

Food For Thought: Good

Food for Thought: Good
When I was in college I would always put "FFT"(Food for Thought) in the margins next to notes that I wanted to mentally chew on later. Fast Forward ten years and now I've decided to expand it into my fun food makingI've been "chewing" on this for a few days now:

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day" -unknown

Today is just one of those days... I find myself spiraling. I am exhausted. My 22 month old doesn't seem to like to sleep. I haven't been able to get back into a workout groove since she was born. I haven't lost all the "baby weight". I eat more chocolate than I should. I let my kids watch an extra show instead of play with them because I was tired.

Isn't it so easy to point out all the BAD?

It is so easy to start pointing out all the bad when you are not feeling your best. One bad thing turns to another bad thing into another. You continue spiraling downward. Negative thoughts are an intrusive mental virus, spreading onto every thought, past or present, with the desire to infect. Next thing you know you find yourself regretting that you don't have the dream job you always wanted or that you don't own a house yet. Or remembering things that happened years ago and beating yourself up yet again. Then you deem yourself not a good mom for making mistakes. 

But let's just take a break for a second.

Life is hard. It's not easy for anyone. But somehow we hurt ourselves the most. No one is perfect. No one. We ALL make mistakes and so it makes it easy to find the bad in each day. But life isn't easy. So why should we let it be easy to see the bad? 
Why not take a second. a minute. and see the good.

I've found that this quote means a lot to me.  Life is hard, but there is a life. So let's try this again:

Today I am exhausted. I have a bed to sleep in. My 22 month old doesn't seem to like to sleep.  A few hours is better than NO hours. I haven't been able to get back into a workout groove since she was born. I have a healthy body. I haven't lost all the "baby weight". That body of yours held, nourished, and kept your baby safe. I eat more chocolate than I should. Chocolate has antioxidants. Eat some more ;) I let my kids watch an extra show instead of play with them because I was tired. We have a television and safe educational programming that my kids can watch.

Even when it feels like there is nothing good in your day, there is.  Even if you can't find ten good things. You can find one. One good thing. 


Now you try it: Name ONE good thing about today!

♥ Michelle