Being Thankful

It has been a little while since I have felt thankful for being able to stay at home full time with my kids. Around the time my oldest turned 5 last year I hit a wall of not really enjoying being a stay at home mom. There are highs and lows and certainly the older they get the easier it gets. I have found myself counting down the months on when my youngest will be in school and wondering more and more whether it would be feasible for me to get a part time job or find a hobby to do for myself.

I’ve been asking God and trying to figure out changes I can make in my life to get out of this feeling “burnt out” season. But today God surprised me and opened my eyes to see how lucky I am to be able to watch my kids grow up in their younger years.

A little bit before me and K were going to pick up her older sister from preschool we were putzing around the front yard. I watched her shovel dirt and pour it all over our flower beds and scoop up some more dirt and fling it all over our sidewalk and just having a great time doing it. And as I watched her “garden” I realized how much I enjoyed watching her play and grow and was filled with thankfulness that I get to catch these moments during the day. After we picked up C from preschool I watched the two girls run around the grassy lawn of her school hand in hand, dancing together and laughing, picking up seeds and just having so much fun together. I think as parents nothing can make a heart happier than seeing siblings get along like best friends.

But my thankful reverie was soon interrupted by my older daughter pouncing on her sister and wrestling her to the ground. As K whined and cried and tried to escape from being pinned to the ground I sighed and figured I should step in to help out. The rest of the day didn’t go quite as awesome and my heart wasn’t as thankful but those 30 minutes with the girls reminded me what a privilege it is that I have the option to not work and stay home and raise my kids and watch them grow and develop in amazing ways.

That’s not to say that I won’t try to think of ways to change up my routine of everyday with the kids but I’m grateful that God reminded me why I enjoy being a stay at home mom (that and the fact I really don’t want to go back to work full time). And even though it only lasted 30 minutes today it was enough.