A great way to connect with your kids &/or significant other every day: mark the start of dinner with a moment where you all hold hands and express what you are thankful for.
It's a pretty delightful thing to hear what comes out of my little toddler every night. Typically he's thankful for some form of transportation.
We've had:
- Trucks (the all encompassing category, followed by the question, "Are you thankful for trucks?") This single thing has been on the thankful list for a good 6 months running.
More specifically, we've had:
- Moving Trucks
- Airplanes
- Airplanes that carry moving trucks
Also mentioned with some degree of frequency:
- Generators
- Grandma and Grandpa
- The sun
- and my favorite "you" (directed at me and his dad)
Anyway, this tradition is borne out of my upbringing where we prayed every night - a rote, Catholic chant that we tore through as quickly as possible just to get to the part where my mom would say, "Anyone want to say anything?", which was our open invitation to beg God for something we needed, i.e. my sister to stop touching me or bugging me or telling me what to do.
Now that giving thanks is part of our daily life, it's a really lovely pause in our day. Many, many times it has been the stopping point where I collect my breath, my thoughts and my always forward moving energy to just realize how much I actually have already.
2 comments:
Going to add this to the routine pronto. I love it.
You know, I've had an aversion to prayers before meals for a long time. If I'm with a family who does it, I'll acquiesce, but in my mind I think it's lame. I think you hit the nail on the head; the evening dinner prayer was shoved down our throats before we ever took a bite of food. The sentiment was good - giving thanks - but the execution is where Mom and Dad were off. I like how you guys do it. Just give thanks without the memorized lines beforehand. Taking a moment to consider this is important, especially if it's instilled in your life on a daily basis. I can see why you also enjoy the Writer's Almanac podcast. It's another moment in the day where a person can take stock in the day, and appreciate this day as a gift. It's easy to overlook, and they go by so fast. Those few moments can add a lot of perspective. Thanks for pointing this out.
I'm happy your clouds are clearing, and you see some sunny skies ahead.
Post a Comment