I have so much to be thankful for this year.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. My life couldn’t be any more different than it was last year. I look around me at my beautiful children, this great place I live, awesome roommates, satisfying employment, sane piece of mind and a relationship with a man that I love more than I would have thought possible and I can’t believe my luck. Or blessings would be a more accurate term.

This coming year holds just as many exciting possibilities for me. I can feel it. Things are just going to keep feeling and getting better. Even if/when hard things come up, I have a much more stable foundation to work from. I’m sure with God’s help I’ll be able to keep tackling new challenges.

Christmas was wonderful. It was so nice to be able to take the kids to help out people this season instead of concentrating on the ‘I wants’. They’ve each surprised me in how quickly they caught on to the whole idea of giving and helping and took pleasure in the whole experience. I hope it’s a tradition we can keep doing every holiday I have with them.

It was very nice to have Joe around this year. The kids are getting used to him and notice that he is nice to me. They’ve each told me how much they are glad that he’s a ‘nice guy that makes you so happy’. It must be hard to be the guy getting to know the kids of the girl you like. I’m thankful that they all seem to get along alright.

Judging. It’s a hard thing not to do, especially when the lines of acceptable judging are blurred. FOr example, as a parent I feel I have every right to judge what I think is good or bad for my young kids. Isn’t that my job as a mother? Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? But where is the line drawn in between watching out for your kids and stamping your personal thoughts all over where they should be finding things out for themselves? And if you spend all your time deciding what is right for them, when and how do they learn to do it for themselves? And if I’m constantly judging things in that frame of mind, how do I let that go and just accept people for who and what they are instead of categorizing everything into the acceptable and unacceptable boxes? It’s a quandary.

quick recap for the kids:
it’s been so great to have you in my daily life this christmas, i look forward to seeing you a little more this coming year, still like tons of things about joe, the lines between things are hard to make out but i’m going to keep figuring things out..
much love,
mom