a few of my favorite things....

I would like to say that I am a glass half-full kind of girl, but that would be a lie. Although I did see this on Pinterest the other day which made me smile and feel like pouring another glass. 

I wouldn't call myself a pessimist, more of a realist. And a bit of a control freak. Just a bit. I don't like surprises. Let me clarify. I like good surprises. Birthday and Christmas gifts, found money in a jacket pocket, a cool front in the middle of summer, a rainstorm in the middle of a drought or a simple bouquet of flowers for no reason at all. These are good surprises. Sign me up. 

But there is another kind of surprise.  The unpleasant kind. Job lay offs, cars that break down, health problems, changes in schedules and routines, alarm clocks that don't go off, toddlers in full meltdown mode just as you are trying to leave for anywhere. 

For me it is challenging at times to not get bogged down and overwhelmed by all of this on a daily basis. I would like to say that I woke up one day with an epiphany that caused a paradigm shift, but it was actually more fear. It was the fear that I might pass my half-empty glass on to my children.  

So, now I am looking for ways to instill a rose-colored perspective to my children.  Currently, with my four-year-old, I am asking her at bedtime what was her favorite part of the day.  Sometimes her answers are silly.  Sometimes she waits for me to say mine, then says, "that was mine, too".  But sometimes, unique and special things come out of her.  Like the other night, when we went to a water park for the first time, and I thought that would be her answer.  Instead, she said it was seeing her friend.  I love seeing glimpses of a deepening character develop within her.  The plan is to begin doing this with my son, when he gets just a bit older.  For now, I will try to stand back and watch as my children teach me in the moments I think I am teaching them.