Gratitude

For a few years now we've been saying grace at dinner time.

We are grateful for the food on the table
The many hands that helped provide it.
We are grateful for the time we get to spend together as a family
We ask for blessings on those less fortunate then ourselves
And, as always, we pray for Peace. Amen.

This served us well for a few years. It induced some giggles when Mommy would forget the line about family (perhaps, subconsciously after a particularly long day?) or when the kids began to say it and tripped over works like 'less fortunate" . The end is always said with great enthusiasm, and volume.

A couple of weeks ago I felt that, like many routine things, the pray had become...well...routine. So, instead of beginning the prayer I asked what everyone was grateful for. I have been amazed at what has come from the kids. I'm not sure what I expected, but I did not expect them to take the idea and run with it. Oh sure, there are days when they are grateful for a tv show or a toy. But other days we get some thoughtful responses:

L - I am grateful for 'No-No' (what she sometimes calls her brother)

N- I am grateful for going to the library

L - I am grateful that the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, and that the clouds are big so rain can fall from them.

N- I am grateful for my friend Dylan


Me, I'm grateful for those glimpses at the end of a day that show me we are, indeed, doing some things right. Amen