Gratitude--Day 5 (4, 3, 2, and 1)

Maybe it's the two dogs.

Maybe it's the four kids in four schools.

Maybe it's the mistake of getting roped into being Rachael's Room Mom. (And the least involved Room Mom there ever was.)

Maybe it's the "job" I have at church that  boils down to planning a big activity for 30-40 women every month.

Maybe it's my (over)use of Instagram which feels a lot like blogging, but with much less time and hassle.

Maybe it's being married to a surgeon which can sometimes feel like being a single mom. (Though I am super happy Brandon was able to save the testicle future children of that 16-year-old boy who came into the ER at 2:30am Sunday morning.)

Maybe it's the process of actually--finally--trying to decorate my house for real for the first time in my life (as opposed to buying the cheapest scratch and dent Target desk off the floor or some unfinished kitchen table that ends up looking so bad you have to cover it with a tablecloth because you can't even wipe the top with a damp cloth without the "finish" bubbling up and flaking off) with no clue and very little support. (You would never know I was making progress if you walked into my entry, but I have a humungous hole in the wall of my master closet as proof that something really is happening.)

Maybe it's the age of 42 which feels like losing steam for all things that require extra effort or that are intended (at least in part) to impress other people.

Maybe it's the reality that teenagers somehow, inexplicably, take more time and energy than toddlers do--at least in proportion to the lack of energy that comes from not just aging physically but from tiring mentally of the five million daily details and demands of motherhood. (LADIES! Don't have babies in your later years unless you are prepared for the next EIGHTEEN!)

Maybe it's the Obamacare disaster and my propensity to watch WAY too much political news.

Maybe it's because I've been trying to live more of what I've been reading and writing about on Power of Moms for the last several years rather than just, well, reading and writing about it.

Whatever the reason, I've lost my blogging groove as of late, but that nagging little voice in my head keeps reminding me that I need to write and record my thoughts and keep my family's history in order to be at peace and keep everything in perspective (and make my mother in Iowa happy).

So here I am, trying to squash down my almost manic all-or-nothing tendency to go back and do mega-posts full of pictures from our week in California over the summer, Kate's 16th birthday in Seattle, and Rachael's 6th birthday with my parents here from Iowa (among other things).

BUT! I'm simple going to start again with a picture-less post in preparation/honor of the most underrated holiday of the year: Thanksgiving. This daily gratitude thing with people sharing simple sentiments of thanks every day during the month of November is going on all over the blogosphere, Facebook, Instagram, etc. so it seems like an "easy in" for me to get back into the blogging groove.  Yes, I've got to keep it simple.

SO! Today (Day 5) I am grateful at this very moment to be listening to Kate practice a positively GORGEOUS arrangement of Silent Night on her harp. (Especially since I have been a crab all day. This is very soothing . . .) I am also SO VERY grateful (this is incredibly shallow but completely honest) that I am able to get my hair colored on a regular basis (as I did today) because I am SUPER gray and too chicken and lazy to color it myself. (And I just really love that little mini head massage I get when they wash my hair at the salon . . .) I am also grateful today that the big hole in my master closet is almost completely taken care of thanks to my new favorite dry wall guy, and very, very grateful for the person named "Stouffer" who made it possible for my family to eat dinner at home tonight, even if it wasn't all together at the same time.

DAY 4--I felt grateful for modern technology as I took care of tons of business on my iphone while waiting forEVER in the orthodontist office while Will got his braces on. (And I'm also grateful for braces! Nice looking teeth are just . . . nice. And supposedly they generate less cavities due to less crevices and all that stuff. Is this just a scam to get my money? Because it's A LOT of money . . . ) I also felt grateful for the ridiculous bounty we enjoy in this country as I wandered the aisles of Wal-mart with Kate and Will yesterday afternoon. (Though I was NOT grateful to be shopping with Kate and Will--they are worse than toddlers in the grocery store, complete with physical fighting and hiding behind the mega paper towel packs.)

DAY 3--Super grateful for pumpkin pancakes (this is a good recipe!), playing beautiful Christmas music on the grand piano at church for choir practice, and a gorgeous sky with beautiful lighting on the mountains at sunset. Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

DAY 2--The weather was PERFECT, so I was grateful to be able to go on yet another beautiful bike ride, and then I had the best time ever planting tulip bulbs from Thanksgiving Point with my sweet little  Rachael. (Six dozen, but we won't know what kind until they come up next spring-- fun surprise!) Then I spent one last afternoon at Cornbelly's with the little girls and even scored a mini-date with Brandon after a wonderfully inspiring adults-only church meeting that night. An all around fantastic day! And I was grateful . . .

DAY 1-- I was really grateful I decided to do playgroup at my house on Thursday (Halloween) instead of Friday (Day 1) so I could put what was left of my energy toward cleaning up the after-party and then enjoying some dark chocolate on the couch while watching my DVR'd episode of Parenthood during the 15 minute time period when everyone is at school and I have a few blessed moments to myself. (Not really 15 minutes, but close: Kate catches the bus at 7:00, Will at 7:30, Elizabeth leaves at 9, Rachael has kindergarten at 12:30, and then Kate comes home at 2:45 . . .)

Okay, that's it! In my efforts to keep it simple I am still over reaching! More (the less kind of more) tomorrow.