This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm and is filed under Positive Psychology Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I love my children, my oldest turning thirty in just a week or so. But, the challenges of being both parent and child can seem so overwhelming at times…the rewards, well, often in the distant future.
Now’s the time to talk about gratitude. Tis the season.
Last night in my Happiness Boot Camp we shared gratitude rituals, parenting behaviors, and how being a playful and “fun” parent is rewarding even in the presence of a young teen rolling her eyes at Mom’s ridiculous antics. But, when Mom’s antics come back around and the “child” does the same somewhat “foolish” behavior Mom is forever rewarded.
As my children were growing up, Thanksgiving was a time when they were “forced” to acknowledge what they were grateful for. I would put up a large sheet of white freezer paper and kids could color or write their blessings on that sheet of paper. Or, one year, a white board replaced the paper and I began requesting that their friends write about their blessings.
The annual Thanksgiving ritual was to go around the table and share what each of us was most grateful for. Oftentimes, they were grateful for their Cabbage Patch Dolls, Timmy and Jocelyn, or perhaps a new Miami Miss Bike, or the hamster they acquired. But, around the teen years the moaning and groaning began at this ritual. But, to their credit and (my persistence), the ritual continued in spite of rolling eyes and sighs.
Last Thanksgiving was the second one we spent together following their Dad’s untimely death. My oldest daughter hosted a beautiful dinner in her new home. She was “the boss of the dinner.” She and her sisters and their 20 something friends prepared the meal. I sat back so as not to interfere…they did a great job, but jokes flew around the chicken about the “anal” people who did EXCELL spreadsheets on Thanksgiving preparations. So, as the day went on, and dinner was just a couple of hours late, the notion of an Excell Spreadsheet didn’t seem quite so ridiculous after all. I, to my credit, exhibited restraint…not one lecture on planning ahead and thawing the turkey perhaps a little sooner then Thanksgiving morning.
The moment of real glory came when my eldest daughter sat down at her beautifully set table and announced that we would go around the table and announce how our lives were blessed…
Yes, dear ones, what goes around, comes around.
Let gratitude abound.
Parents, take heart, your efforts will be repaid and replayed…
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