Running along the coast on a clear, breezy morning, the wind pushing my hair from my face and the sound of little voices all around me, I couldn’t help but be overcome with gratitude. This life, this summer, this time spent with family…it both satisfies and overwhelms me.
I’ve never been one to take things for granted. From a very young age, I seemed to have a deep understanding of the importance of time and family. Arguments overwhelmed me and filled me with fear. What if they won’t like me anymore? What if the fighting never ends? In reality, of course, it always ended. And my internal locus of control was restored. But still, I sensed the importance of sticking together, helping others, and appreciating what I had.
I was lucky to spend my summers on the beach. I left my friends behind each year to catch up with other friends, the kind that feel like family. Long nights and endless days made for two months of bliss year after year. It restored us. It reenergized us. It brought us closer together as a family. We knew we were the lucky ones.
We were grateful.
Parents often ask me how to teach gratitude to young children. How do we get them to understand that things are not important, but family is? How do we get them to understand the concept of feeling thankful for what you have in life? Of appreciating the kindness that people extend to you?
The answer is both simple and complicated. The answer is that we have to model it. Even during the hard days, the pulling your hair out and wanting to hide in the bathroom days, we have to model it.
We have to show love. We have to show gratitude. We have to be the people that we want our children to become.
We have to live out loud.
In our house, we keep a jar. A little place to write down the things for which we are grateful. Each day, when the feeling overcomes us, we write down our thoughts of gratitude, talk about them, and slip them in the jar. Because even when we’re sad or mad or missing daddy every single second…we are still grateful.
This summer we are grateful for many things:
Long days on the beach.
Sunsets that never end.
Family dinners with the ones we miss the most.
An uncle who understands the love of cars and trucks.
And aunt who knows how to make a girl smile.
Grandparents around the corner.
Foggy mornings.
Long conversations over a great bottle of wine.
Days of play and relaxation.
Our jar is spilling over because we are so very grateful for this life that we live.
What are you grateful for?
Start your jar and watch the gratitude pile up.
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