Sunshine, Gratitude, and Goals for Living

 The Sunshine came out today!  Yes, I admit, I was feeling just a tad bit sorry for myself here in the pacific northwest at the thought that our last day of sunshine until June was already had.  No joke, this was a real possibility.  But the sun decided not to give up on us just yet...it came out just in time for the one hour of my day that I have once a week just to myself.   It came and it has been out for most of the day.  Maybe all day.  It is still out.  And to make things even better, I got to run the first 2ish miles of my 5 mile run with my friend Stephanie who was on her way to the track to run her 800's as part of her training for the New York Marathon coming up.  So sunshine and a sunshine of a friend and feeling sunshiney = a sunshine kind of day.  Bring on the sunshine.  Goodness knows that we won't see much of it the next eight months.

I've set a goal for myself to wake up every morning and spend time with just myself for the first little bit of time.  Before the computer or phone comes on...before talking to anyone...just time to ME.  In journaling, prayer, thinking, making a list, meditating....whatever that first bit of time brings.  This morning led to a list of thankfulness, one of my favorite things to include in my journals.  I always finish feeling charged.  And a sense of abundance in my life.

After school, I had several of the neighbor kids over to play.  Never too early to get geared up for my all-time favorite holiday that will be here in less than a month.  I mean, really, we are practicing thankfulness year round around here anyway but it was fun writing down our gratitude together and seeing little hands coloring and listing the things they are thankful for.  I used to love having this stuff covering my classroom walls.  And this was so easy and meaningful for the kids.

Some goals for my life:

Personal:  Take more time to myself.  More time to grow my brain...learn...set professional and intellectual goals.  Easy to get lazy and bored but really, there's no reason for that...our world is FULL of opportunities to keep LEARNING.

Professional:  Continue to savor this time at home with my kids but be thinking about some of those ideas I have floating around in this head of mine.  I'm not so sure I want to return to the classroom but I do have some ideas for writing and ways to use my gifts that will most likely be very stimulating and fulfilling for me.

Life:  Be in the present!  Soak up these last few months in this HOUSE of mine before we move.  Yes, that is looking more and more like it is going to happen.  Here comes Asheville, North Carolina.  99.9% positive at this point.  But I'm really focusing on not letting this time pass pass me by without really soaking it up.  This is our first house.  All three of my kids were born while we lived here.  We've made this our home.  I love this little house.  I love the memories we've made here.  But I also love the idea of branching out and experiencing new horizons.  This is one thing about life that makes it so exciting.

Kids:  Be silly, be fun, ENJOY THEM instead of grumping around all the time.  :)  I get so grouchy lately.  So stressed.  Overwhelmed.  When really, I would love to see myself just relax and let things go a bit more so that I can just BE with my kids.  And say YES more often.  Not just to them but to LIFE in general.  Yes isn't always easy but it sometimes leads to some pretty cool things.

*  What are some of your goals for living right now?
*  What are some top things that you are thankful for right now?
*  Do you find yourself always saying NO to your kids...even before really thinking about what they are asking for?

Amanda
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