Thank You {The Ordinary Moments}
I don’t know when this started, maybe when LP started preschool and understood more of what I was talking about, but as part of our bedtime routine I started thanking her for things.
This wasn’t about thanking her for being good, for doing as she was told or anything like that. It was thanking her for the little things, the ordinary moments of our lives and the things that usually pass without comment.
I would thank her for having dinner with me, for letting me dry her hair after her bath, for reading bedtime stories with me, for going to the supermarket with me. The list is endless, but I would thank her for anything I could think of at that moment, and I would vary it every day.
Now, I still thank her. I thank her for a lovely day, for holding my hand after school, for chatting to me whilst I cook dinner, for telling me the alphabet or for singing her song from the Christmas production. I thank her for telling me what she did at school or for going to her swimming lesson with me, walking to school with me or for the cuddles whilst we watch a movie in the afternoon.
It doesn’t really matter what I thank her for but to me those things mean so much. The children have enriched our lives in so many ways and each day revolves completely around them. I now have no idea what I spent my time doing before I had children and cannot imagine them not being there.
So for me, thanking LP for the little things keeps all those moments in the forefront of our minds. It stops us taking them for granted and makes me appreciate them just a little bit more.
I will never tire of having a companion when I’m shopping or driving somewhere. I will never get annoyed by a tiny hand in mine and I will never get bored of reading bedtime stories. I am grateful I have all of these moments and for that I am thankful.
This is a lovely post Donna and its made me stop and think about my own children. I always say thank you when they do practical things around the house, such as taking their plates into the kitchen. But sometimes its just nice to say thank you for the ordinary moments too x
This made me well up, Donna! I realise I do the same thing with M but I never thought to put it into words. You’ve done so beautifully. x
Aw, that’s a lovely post. I know just what you need about having their hand in yours. I don’t thank him all the time,but I do tell him as much as possible when I’m proud of him. All these little things must make them feel so secure and loved.