November is here. It feels like the year is flying by, and before we know it, it will be 2013. The first year (well, 13 months now) of Jack's life has been super-fast, and at the same time, feels like slow-motion. My last baby won't be a baby for much longer.
This whole post probably could have waited for one of my 'random' days, but all the Facebook posts starting everyone's list of one thing each day that they're thankful for may just keep all of my randomness along the same thread. When I think of gratitude, obviously the first thing to my mind is my children. I can't even begin to imagine my life without them.
Well, that's mostly true, but I can somewhat imagine. But having never had a job I truly, truly loved - a job that gave me purpose - I can't help but wonder what my reason would be to get up each day. Now, the reason happens to come a few hours earlier than I consider ideal, but there's usually a smile on my face soon. I daresay I'd be happy either way, but it would be a different sort of happy.
I spent several years thinking I was headed back toward a grown-up life, if Maggie was to be an only child. With her starting full days of school, I'd have some time to myself. But now that the universe has gifted us with Jack as well, there's a whole new degree to my happiness. A big part of it, oddly, is watching the happiness he brings even to her. They are each other's favorite people, and it's an awesome thing to watch.
In trying to explain the word 'thankful' to Maggie, I'm not sure if she really got it. As I told her how thankful I was for her, and her brother, and her daddy, she said she was thankful for us all too. That's nice to hear, but I'm not sure how much she really 'gets it' yet. I suppose it would be easier to explain thankfulness for material stuff, just for illustration purposes, but that really isn't what it's ever about.
For now, I'm incredibly grateful for my family. Since words can't really express it, it will remain very difficult to explain. But Maggie knows the motions. She says thank-you, and I think she's beginning to realize how much people can mean to you. I'm glad she's got manners, and I'm sure she'll progress to knowing that sometimes you want to say thank-you even when someone hasn't given you something tangible. She'll even know that that's when you mean it the most.
2 comments:
This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!
I feel like I'm so lucky to have a career that I really totally love and wouldn't change. But my kids make me 100 times happier than my career ever could. I have a lot of friends in the same profession who don't have kids, don't want them, and it really brings a different, better happiness than work ever can.
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