Gratitude

I've seen blog posts about gratitude and have thought them to be pretty corny. Well, call me corny then, too. This morning, as I rocked my baby boy to sleep for his nap, all I could think about is how grateful I am. I am, of course grateful that he is here. That he is healthy. That he is sweet. But, in that moment, I was thankful for his physical comfort. As a mother, I've found that the two things I am most often consciously grateful for are that my children are 1) warm and 2) fed. Nothing too fancy here. It just gives me great comfort, satisfaction and just gratefulness to know that I am able to keep my children physically comfortable when it is cold outside. And, since we're in Chicago, that is 9 months out of the year! While it is spring time now, and spring does seem to have sprung, I was comforted this morning knowing that Mr. Manny-Man was warm in his recycled longies, long sleeved shirt and socks. I was further comforted in knowing that his belly was full of momma's milk . . . and eggs . . . and a banana . . . and a pear!

I went grocery shopping yesterday and while everything I purchased was certainly not solely what we needed, I am grateful that it was everything we wanted. I am thankful that we are able to fill our fridge with what we want. I'm thankful to be able to offer the kids fresh fruit even when the fruit is out of season (although I plan to start trying to eat more in line with our seasons). We baked biscuits and chocolate chip cookies today. We ate them warm and everything was good. For lunch, my husband made chicken soup to help heal from his cold. He stopped by the market without consulting me, and, yes, bought all but 2 items we already had. I try to keep our kitchen well stocked. And am grateful that I am able to do it. For dinner I made my beef noodle casserole. And the kids ate from dinner I prepared yesterday. Just a simple meal of rice and beans. But, it was there in the fridge and they didn't have to wait for the other meal.

It just feels so good to be able to meet these two basic needs. And I know not everyone is always able to do so. For our ability to do so, I am so very grateful.