I Love my Family MORE.

It might make me look bad to say this, but I am just being real. When our mornings start positive, with good moods, and with peace, I love my family more. 

Yes, I said it. I do!

And when we have those mornings, I feel more motivated to serve them.  I feel more appreciated. And I am sure all mothers have felt the opposite of that. I know I have. And it SUCKS!

By changing the start of our day, I feel more confident raising these young ladies that are growing and learning and will, without a doubt, be fierce, strong women who will make changes in this world. Guys, the emotional strength, the confidence, the power that they will need in their hearts to go against the grain and disrupt complacency, starts at HOME. What an amazing, yet terrifying, thing to think about. It is OUR responsibility as parents to ensure they have the tools needed to face this huge and scary world. WE have the power to help them. To guide them. To be sure they are their best and strongest self, both emotionally and physically. 

Changing our mornings (as small and insignificant as it may seem) has changed me as a Mama. For the better. I feel less resistance. I feel less “touched out” at the end of the day. I overall just feel more confident.  

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I didn’t even hear of the terms “power of perception” or “laws of attraction” or even just finding the positive in situations.  Teaching this to my children gives me hope and assurance that they will be emotionally and intellectually ahead of the game. That is something I will take great pride in and will take seriously.  

BUT, not everything has to be all serious all the time.  I mean, that is pretty much impossible anyway when dealing with children.  But doing small tasks and having small talks, can help us as parents bring up the phrases I mentioned above and describe our own experiences with them. 

Speaking of not being serious, I have a 5-year-old who does the gratitude journal worksheets with us.  A lot of times, I spell out the things she is grateful for, for her or even write it down for her to copy.  WE are working on her handwriting as well as her ability to sound words out. Win-Win, am I right?! Last week while talking about things we are grateful for, she mentioned, “Love. Santa. CARROTS.” Wait, Carrots?! This girl rarely eats vegetables, but is grateful for carrots?! I don't think she has eaten carrots since I was spoon-feeding them to her as an infant.  I still serve them occasionally on her plate, but she never eats them.  She hit 2 years old and BAM, pickiest eater on the planet.  (Has this happened to you guys? It was a first for me.)  

When I asked her why she was grateful for carrots, she replied, “because they are healthy and they help me grow and be strong”.  I couldn’t even believe that this was something that popped up into her growing and extremely curious brain. We talked about it together.  I asked her if she would like to have carrots for dinner tonight and if she’d be so kind as to help me prepare them. She excitedly said “YES”.  So you bet your ass I went to the store that day and bought a bag of baby carrots. I am going to serve them in different ways. Carrots with ranch dip.  Steamed carrots. Homemade chicken noodle soup with, you know it, CARROTS! Who knows, maybe I will be feeling super adventurous and attempt to make a carrot cake.  That would be a first for me.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FatalUnawareHippopotamus-mobile.mp4

This was a big deal for me! This is not something she has ever said. Nor did I in any way talk about being grateful for a certain food (though that might be something I encourage more in the future because I have a picky-eating kid). Had we not done this gratitude journal, I don’t think we would have had this whole carrot conversation. We had carrots for dinner that night. We all ate them. I told her I was proud. I am sure this would not be a big deal for most, but it was for us. We took a big step forward. 

These little early morning conversations have made a difference, as small as they might be, that often continue throughout the day. I remind my children throughout the day the things they said they were grateful for. I encourage them to tell the “Joke of the Day” to their friends. I remind them of their goals they set for the day and ask if it’s something they had accomplished. 

Maybe your experience might be different. Maybe it will take more effort to get your kids excited to give this a try. But I can promise you this: encouraging conversations, discussing goals, drawing together, and giggling at the “Joke of the Day” has brought such positivity to our family. Something that I had been yearning for.  

Give it a try! Print your own Gratitude Journal Worksheets HERE.

There are 5 pages, one for each school day. All are filled out with a journal prompt and a joke of the day. Easy and effective for starting chats and conversations while drinking your morning cup of coffee.  

Share your experience! How is it going for you, Mama?