It is 5:55 a.m. and a thin sliver of creamy moon reclines just over the bare trees. For the seventh night in a row, I’ve been up with kids multiple times during the night, and it is very hard to get out of bed. I suffer from lack of motivation, too, because along with finishing my Advent book and sending it to the editor comes a sense of floundering. I have a million writing projects I want to work on, but no clear path to navigate them. And alongside it, for the first time in months, I’m coming up blank on blog topics.
But I pride myself on being a writer mom who doesn’t have time for writer’s block, so I throw on my robe and go downstairs. While the computer fires up I stand at the window and look out at the woods, the street lamps marching away beyond them, the new, untouched snow mounded on the deck rail, and I know what to write about today. I need to take time to be grateful, in black and white, not just in a hurried, whispered prayer in my mind.
Grateful for the feel of Julianna’s hand in mine…
…for her sudden shift into a (sort of, sometimes) cuddle bug (even if it’s only when she’s hungry and she wants to see what I’m making for dinner)…
…for her enthusiasm for putting on and taking off her coat, which indicates that she loves everything she’s learning at school…
…for her adorable enthusiasm for “talking” on the phone…
…for the way she wants to help me around the house…
…for the wisdom to direct her desire to get into EVERYTHING and use it to teach her to follow directions, and along the way teach her concepts like in, out, up, down, on, get it out, put it away…
…for finally running out of clothes, which means I get to shop for her!…
…for Alex giggling at having his cheeks chewed instead of getting angry…
…for his willingness to ride his bike almost a mile with his daddy the other day…
…for the improvement in his writing…
…for his dogged determination to earn money for a new toy…
…for the stolen cuddle early this morning when he climbed into bed with me because he was scared…
…for Nicholas’s mischievous eyes and his adorable laugh…
…for the way he loves to snuggle against me…
…for the inspiration to pull out all the frozen breast milk and start feeding it to him…
…for nice moments cuddling with Christian…
…for the anticipation of a Valentine’s Day date…
…for opportunities to advocate…
Now that I am in the mode, the things to be grateful for keep on coming. But it’s enough to share a few, and keep my attitude one of gratitude today. What about you? Are you stuck in a grumbly rut? Are you floundering? What are you grateful for today?
(For more, visit Tuesdays Unwrapped at chattingatthesky.com.)
Kathleen M. Basi 
I am grateful that even though my kids are getting older, they still need my help to get ready to play in the snow and need me to make hot cocoa for them when they come in…it truly is the little things!
I am grateful that despite the below 20 wind chill this morning, the sun has made a reappearance. It’ll be gone again tomorrow and the rest of the week, but for today, I’m opening the blinds wide and absorbing as much as I can!
Thanks for a reminder of all the things that are sweet in the life of a mother
I love the phrase… “I need time to be grateful, in black and white…” THis is fabulous! I need to do this more often, too. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a nice comment! Blessings!
I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience so many of the joys of parenting years after I thought I’d be done.
Aw, what a sweet post. Thank you.