Sunday, February 6, 2011

Gratitude (VI)

Yeah, it's repetitive; and yeah, it's worth it. Though maybe I'll start adding it all to one big humongous post so the posts don't get too dreary for others.

Today, I'm grateful that we got through all our shopping
I'm grateful that I remembered my new client's name when we saw her in the store!
I'm grateful that DH gave me time/space to walk the dogs before bitter nighttime today
I'm grateful that DH and I found a movie we both wanted to watch, and that we got to watch a movie together
I'm grateful that our new ice cream maker worked...even if the ice cream makes my stomach feel sick!
I'm grateful that the dogs like to eat our food when it's not quite good enough to eat!
I'm grateful that I'm the only one who ate the smoked salmon, which I then decided might be off....(maybe it's not the ice cream...)
I'm grateful to DH for shovelling the rest of the icy snow away from our mail box
I'm grateful to the powers that be for melting some of this snow away without any ice dams or leaks
I'm grateful that the snow was just high enough to make it easy for me to step over our gate to find nimbus' toy after I threw it over the fence
I'm grateful that I got to see the beautiful crescent moon in the early evening tonight
i'm grateful yet again for my YakTraks keeping me safe on our hilly, slightly icy walk tonight
I'm grateful to the sun for making my car so cozy and warm today...
And grateful to my husband for not complaining when I needed the icy cold wind on my wrist out the open window of our car
I'm grateful to Sequoia for lovely snuggles during movie watching tonight
I'm grateful to Fi for being my gelato-eating companion at Whole foods (another reason for sick stomach?)
I'm grateful to Fi for being so brave so many times today, when DH and I were feeling rather dictatorish about reinforcing rules about binkies only out for sleep (in the car, naptime, bedtime)
I'm grateful to Fi for her utterly charming dances, and for being pulled out onto the dance floor by the silliest of tunes!
I'm grateful to Fi for enjoying "Larryboy" with the same silly gusto that I do
I'm grateful to the icicles for falling in lazy straight pieces onto the snow, and being a different color, and just being lovely on the earth which I didn't expect
I'm grateful for dry, safe roads
I'm grateful to our amyryllis for it's beautiful, startling red blossoms that opened today
I'm grateful to my vision boards
I'm grateful to Jinxy for being almost a friend to Fiora today and yesterday

And then, for Feb 12th:
I'm grateful Fiora's cough hasn't gotten worse! (It's bad enough)
I'm grateful that I can feel enjoyment in my dogs, and am glad t make time for my cat - not sure where that priority had slipped away to, or why it had become work, but I am grateful to find my joy again
I'm grateful that there were other really interesting Parenting on Track posts to read tonight!
I'm grateful that my appetite seems better, and that DH made a non-greasy, yummy eggplant parm tonight
I'm so grateful that DH made brownies for the Valentine Ball, and even though he was sick!
I'm grateful that DH got up before Fiora and I got the sleep in - such luxury!
I'm grateful that DH is feeling better, well enough to eat dinner
I'm grateful that I can run past the 4 houses on the hill without getting out of breath again
I'm grateful that I feel anxious to get back to yoga after 3 weeks of "sick leave"
I'm grateful that we kept our rhythm at work today, despite all the complex cases we were seeing on a 2 person day
I'm grateful that, though it's hard to say goodbye to our patients and see their owners suffer grief, all the deaths recently have been good ones, at the right time, with loved ones to support them
I'm grateful that my staff is so much fun, and so supportive
I'm grateful that I thought of checking out the magnet school sites before applications closed
I'm grateful that Debby's comments on FCL made me look into what classes Fi can start if she's interested, and summer camps
I'm grateful that my dogs are snuggled up to me right now like they've never done before, one on each side
I'm grateful that I've gotten to hear Jinxy purr almost every day for 5 days now - happy sound
I'm grateful that the mess in my house does not depress me!
I'm grateful that the FCL community has parties and welcomes me and mine and that I got to see friends today!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Gratitude (V)

I need some practice.
Besides which, during the week or two I was really writing these down daily, life seemed really good. Obviously, this is something I could indulge in daily or every other day to the benefit of me and my family.

For today:
I am so grateful for the time I had on the sofa, in front of the lovely dying woodstove fire, napping on my husband's shoulder
i am grateful for cheery dogs excited (as always!) for a 9:30pm walk on icy roads
I am grateful for YakTraks making a walk on icy hilly roads an enitrely do-able project
I am grateful that I seem to have gotten the hang of putting on the YakTraks so they are no longer springing off my feet at unknown spots on the trail/walk
I am grateful that neither Fi nor I got hurt when we walked on an icy patch in a parking lot today (and slipped)
I am grateful for Fi's courage in getting right back on her feet and continuing to walk after slipping on ice
i am grateful for a husband who refused to let my grumpy, tired, self-pitying, sick-feeling self get him down today
I am grateful I had an excuse to go outside and do some excavation around the mailbox - it was good to be outside and exercise and forget how lousy I felt for a while
I am grateful to my husband for tending the fire all day, and for making a big dinner, and for cleaning up afterwards!
I am grateful to my husband for not taking it to heart that I didn't really enjoy his dinner!
I am grateful to Fi for enjoying yogurt with me today - the one reliable food stuff for my semi-appetite today
I am grateful to Fi for being so courageous as to apologize today after elbowing me repeatedly in the belly while climbing over me in efforts to be read to or work on the computer, and after I decided to get away from her to protect myself - she apologized an hour later when she got up to go nighttime potty
i am grateful to myself for apologizing to Fi for not being tough enough to be elbowed and climbed on - and for talking about the things I AM good, hugs and reading and chasing and massages and kissing booboos and drawing and carrying and the like - it turned my angry, turning-away moment into an affirmation of good loving stuff
I am grateful to Fi for not losing it more than she did when the car door tried to close on her today!
I am grateful to the woman at the post office who was completely charmed by Fiora and told me so
I am grateful to Fi for mostly helping us keep her face clean today
i am grateful to Fi for noticing and telling me when she needed to go potty
i am grateful to Fi for saying she didn't want her snow suit at all, and then for playing outside in her pajamas and boots, and then for letting me guide her back to the car when _I_ got nervous about her getting cold - something about integrity of desires and good communication there
I am grateful to Jinxy for not staying outside tonight ('cause I worry about him), and for not scratching anyone today - hm, need more positive thought patterns for the cat!
I am grateful to Fi for solving the problem of her post-dinner hunger - we don't like to do more food after dinner, dinner is for solving the hunger problem, though I wasn't too keen on dinner tonight - and I broached this with DH when Fi had repeated "I'm hungry" several times - and then Fi wandered back in the room with some leftover from dinner, and proceeded to eat it almost all up!
I am grateful to the fig tree and amyryllis for growing in this crazy snow season and being beautiful
i am grateful to the UPS lady for being so helpful with my un-taped package
i am grateful to Fi for being willing to leave the store after we'd gotten our valentine's supplies
I am grateful to PonTr and allowances for helping me and Fi deal with her desires for every candy on the shelf at the store
I am grateful to the nighttime for being here, and it being time to sleep and heal and recuperate

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Contributions, la la la!

Well, after posting about how contributions were completely getting away from me, I decided (1) we needed to write what our contributions are on the white board (it's mostly a cooking white board otherwise); and (2) it was time to reinvest in the training aspect of contributions.

It was been so worth it. And the timing couldn't be better - Fiora has just discovered a letters and reading program that she can use on our computers, and she's really motivated to use it just about every morning. When she's not, she's interested in a post-breakfast snack. So either way, we have an external motivator that helps gets her moving on her contribution in the mornings.

Fiora's last contribution has been the kitchen (and it's lasted for 2 weeks due to a lousy big sucky illness that has taken us all down and blurred right over family meeting). She's been learning to put the clean dishes away - and now that I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I could actually let her put away more stuff, use her stool or stand on the counter. It's so cool to see her really focus on putting a pot away in the right place, or learning how to stack the tupperware so it all fits (I should train DH this well!!). And then we've been washing dishes together, and she's finally starting to actually rinse, wash, then rinse again, and then stack the dishes so they can drain - it's amazing! I've seen her go through so many stages of washing dishes, but now it's finally all coming together. And I can honestly say, without the structure of Parenting on Track, I really wouldn't have managed to encourage Fiora to help around the house like this. But it feels so good and natural.

One of the things that surprises me is how much I enjoy spending time with fiora when we're working on tasks - washing dishes together (even though water does get rather all over), putting dishes away together (I'm in an entirely different heart space when I'm sharing this task with her rather than getting it done with so the kitchen doesn't get overwhelming!!), or even folding laundry together before late-day computer time - she really inspires me, and it really feels like bonding time, which makes the subsequent computer time she takes much easier for me to give her (computer time often feeling anti-bonding!).

She's definitely jonesing to get bathroom duty again, though!