After an abbreviated night of sleep, I went into auto pilot feeding our 19 month old his breakfast. After doing so, I realized his bloodwork appointment that morning could not be after he had eaten. After I cancelled his appointment, I spotted the pot from dinner that I had forgotten to put in the refrigerator the night before. The internet wasn't functioning during a portion of Sophia's already shortened remote school day. A few minutes after the start of morning nap, I heard a scream. Our daughter who has started jumping in her crib bumped her chin on the railing and there was blood.
None of it was big, but all of it together felt like a lot.
That evening Joshua and Sophia brought a few things to a Mom who had just arrived in a homeless shelter with her two daughters. And it knocked me out of my funk from small, hard things as I considered her big, hard things. Even in the midst of a pandemic, I could reasonably anticipate a host of conveniences that she could not.
I am not thankful for messes or tantrums, but I am very thankful for the ones that produce them.
Sophia received the assignment to start a gratitude journal this week. She is excited for us to write and share what we are grateful for each day.
My first entry was, "a phone call with my Mom".
When my Dad died and the ability to call him on a whim was gone, I would sometimes call her just because I still could. Now when travel is limited, I am particularly grateful to be able to call her on hard days.
