Day 22: I'm thankful for a husband who will drive the whole way to my parents' house (it's about a 5 hour drive with no stops) so that I can work on Christmas cards and schoolwork from the front passenger seat.
Day 23: Today is Thanksgiving and is my all time favorite holiday. I love being together with family, the day long prep of food, snuggling on the couch, and watching the children play together as family reunites. I'm thankful for days like these that allow us to reflect on all we're grateful for and to gather together counting our blessings. I'm also thankful for pumpkin pie and extra whipped cream on top that I may have had multiple servings of today....ahem.
Day 24: Today was extra special since I met my new nephew and godson! Daniel Mark was born two weeks and one day ago on 11/09 and I finally got to hold and meet him!! He was so tiny and small and so itty bitty cute! Charlotte loved meeting her newest cousin and excitedly exclaimed, "Baby! Baby!" which was adorable. I'm grateful for babies and children who remind us grown ups to slow down and live in the present. What precious gifts they are!
Day 25: Adam and I were able to steal away for an hour or so to do some clothes shopping for him during the first part of today. He will be working in the area schools next semester and given that he had worked from home for so long, his "professional" clothes are limited. We were able to take advantage of some Black Friday deals a few days late and get him some nice shirts to wear come January. It was nice to be out and about with just him while Charlotte played with her cousins at her grandparents' house. Then, this evening, my parents, Adam, Charlotte, and I went to mass and out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the Harrisburg area. It has been probably 8 or 9 years since I last went to Your Place restaurant but my baked supreme chicken nachos were just as good as I remembered! It was nice to have this one on one time with my parents after having shared them with so many other family members before driving back to Ohio. Reflecting on how much I enjoy this time with my parents makes me hope that Charlotte Annie feels that way about hanging out with Adam and me as she gets older. Although a part of me thinks I relish these moments with my parents because as one of many, we all share our parents and it's only human to want to squeeze all the time you can get especially as we all get older and live apart from one another. Yet, for our Charlotte, she most likely will not have to compete for her Dad's and my attention and will always have it...so it makes me wonder if she will take it for granted or if she will not enjoy it as much as I do being one of four. In any event, I'm happy to be here for her as her mother and to serve in that capacity the best I can to meet her needs as long as possible. So, this one ended up being a bit of a rambling reflection but I guess what it all boils down to is that I'm thankful for new chances. Chances for Adam to start a new career. The chance for the two of us to spend alone time together. A chance to try to meet Charlotte's needs to the best of our ability as her parents and to Adam's and my parents for being such terrific role models for us.
Day 26: This will seem minor but today I'm thankful for our Christmas decorations/traditions especially those grounded in our faith. I say this as I spent today decorating the tree and putting out the Christmas decorations. I am also excitedly awaiting the Sacred Sunday mass journal that I will be getting in the mail any day now. It starts on the first day of Advent and I look forward to this period of preparation and waiting. I am hopeful that I can work on my prayer life and go a bit deeper with the masses during the upcoming Sundays / Holy Days as we embark on traditions, both new and old, of the upcoming holiday season.
Day 27: As I oversaw the work meeting with some of the student leaders for Students Serving Moms this afternoon at work, I was overcome by gratitude for them. Together, as a team, we prepped materials for this week's helper social to be held on campus. These girls have stepped up all throughout the semester and put their heart and soul into the ministry not only as helpers but as student leaders through representing Students Serving Moms at the Ministry Fair in August, by answering questions/emails and spreading the word about the group on campus, creating crafts and leading volunteer activities at a local nursing home and helping out with the Infant Class at a local Montessori school, and by holding informational sessions and two helper socials this semester. These student leaders have done so much out of the kindness of their hearts and I'm hopeful they will continue their service through the spring semester!
Day 28: To be frank, today was super challenging and at times, I found it hard to be grateful. It was a very very very trying day with Charlotte as many of them have been lately...she has been getting into everything, has tantrums, and has been a force to reckon with (just today alone, I had to vacuum three times to clean messes) all throughout the day. However, it is in these messy moments of cleaning up the paper shredder contents for the second time or picking up the scattered contents of my planner or finding coffee Keurig pods in the bathtub, that I have the chance to allow God to pour out His graces to help me to make the choice to embrace the chaos rather than to get angry and frustrated. I am glad Charlotte is learning more about her world in such a hands-on way and know that these days are fleeting. Yet, when I'm emotionally, mentally, and physically drained it's easy to lose sight of this. That night, as I walked the neighborhood with a friend for a much needed reprieve, I made the analogy of God pouring out His graces on us when we looked up at the constellation of the Big (or Little?) Dipper. I'm grateful for the chance to get out in the crisp cool air to look up at the clear night sky with the bright stars and the twinkling festive Christmas lights and decorations that adorn the houses in our neighborhood. Getting out from these four walls of our home reminded me there is a great big world out there with others facing different (or similar) challenges in their own homes as me yet the world keeps turning. I am thankful for patience, even when it is nearly nonexistent, and inquisitiveness that emerges in the form of one precious little 20 month old.
Day 29: Today was SUCH an exciting day! After a semester of working on Big Books, the students in Content Area Reading put on two Big Book Showcases at the same time! Four of my students presented at the local Catholic junior high school to 110 7th and 8th graders while 11 plus two students from last year presented their Big Books to local families and small children at the local library. My advisor from undergrad and professor of some of my classes made the hour's drive to come see us at the library. It was so wonderful seeing Dr. Klein again especially given that the Big Book project was actually her brainchild! I learned so much from her as her advisee and student (gulp!) 15 to 17 years ago and it was so surreal to have her there supporting my students and me in this way. I hope I made her proud as I owe a lot of what I do as a professor to her (and to my other long time mentor: Dr. Compton down in NC). Anyhow, I had made a Big Book as a student in one of Dr. Klein's classes, and with my Dad's help one Thanksgiving Break, that I wound up using in so many educational settings beyond graduation! When I started working at my current job, I leapt at the chance to incorporate this project in one of my classes with some additional components to the project. Today, however, was a first in that we had the Big Book Showcases off campus. For years, I had hoped for some kind of way to allow children access to these Big Books as they are just too good to "only" display them during in-class presentations at the end of the semester. So, last year, I implemented an off campus portion of the assignment in that students had to interact with children or students for an hour in a location of their choosing. This semester, however, I added the Big Book Showcase as a requirement to the assignment and from the reactions, feedback, and what I observed at both locations, it was a smashing success! I'm thankful for a community that allows the pre-service teachers to reach out to the children and to showcase all their hard work. Seeing familiar faces from the past and present at these events was just icing on the cake and I can hardly wait for the in-class presentations next week to see the Big Books in more detail!!
http://wtov9.com/news/local/franciscan-universitys-holds-big-book-showcase --- Check out this link for some pictures and video of some of the Big Books!
Day 30: One playdate fell through but another happened unexpectedly today. I feel really fortunate to live in a community that has such a strong supportive network for families and mothers in particular. Just look at this precious picture of Charlotte and her friend playing today!
As painful as it is to be surrounded by non only child families and constantly pregnant mamas, I'm trying really hard to embrace the joy and to see the beauty in others' growing families as ours stays the same size. Daily, I try to figure out the reason why Adam and I would be led here to this corner of the world where we thought we were going to lay some roots and have many children with other like minded practicing Catholic families only to have it not happen the way we had prayed and envisioned it would. What is the lesson here? I don't have the answer yet but have come to realize that comparison is the thief of joy as a friend so eloquently said when she dropped off a meal for us in the days following Charlotte's birth. I will never forget that conversation over the warm roast she had prepared for us in my kitchen. As I think back on Amy's kind words during those first raw hurting days, I'm (trying to anyway) focusing on all I do have rather than what I perceive that I lack. So, I'm grateful for the friendship and support of all kinds of folks who help us on the journey whether it be a friend who holds me accountable in getting out of the house and engaging in self-care through walking our neighborhood, a colleague at work who takes the time to help me with a silly dining room table project while working at her second job amidst her own family worries, or a fellow mom who invites me to come meet her at the local park on a whim as her car is in the shop. I'm so grateful for this village that Adam and I have around us to celebrate with us and to cry with us. I hope that we can act as supports to others much like they have for us.
And just like that the 30 day Thankful Challenge is over as the clock has struck midnight and it is now December 1st. I have really appreciated the chance to take the time to thoughtfully go back over each day and to list things/people/objects/events I'm grateful for and to pray more intentionally in thanksgiving and gratitude. I would much rather do this than to to dwell on things I would like to change or improve upon...so I think that this calls for more time in reflection and solitude on my part. As I stated earlier I am really looking forward to experiencing Advent in a whole new way this year. Therefore, I will be fasting from Facebook over the next couple weeks as I prepare for Christmas with Charlotte, Adam, and other loved ones. I will probably allow myself some time on Sundays to log in and check the various group pages I'm on but welcome the chance to reclaim some lost time to social media and redirect it to prayer, journaling/blogging (I hope), and being more present. However, if you have any prayer requests over the upcoming holy Advent season, please comment on this blog post or message me and I'll be sure to add them to my list of prayer intentions. Pax!!
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