gratitude

my oldest son is a complainer.  he's a glass-half-empty kind of guy.  he is equally adorable and intense and hilarious and sensitive.  but his first instinct in every situation, especially a new one, is to resist and gripe.  we initailly thought this was a phase.  as it turns out, this phase has lasted about five years.  this may just be his personality.  and in all honesty, many times, my first instinct is to bitch (and bitch and bitch and bitch).  i've discovered that it takes effort on my part to rewire my brain.  plus, being negative is exhausting and being surrounded by negativity is even more so. 

chris and i have worked diligently to remind him of the good in every situation. we make him tell us what he's thankful for. we play "mad, sad, glad" at the dinner table every night.  parenting is a lot like cooking spaghetti, you throw a handful of noodles at the wall and hope that at least some of them stick. 

here is my attempt at leading by example. expressing gratitude never hurt anybody. 

1) i have been constructing this post in my head for well over a week, but haven't had a spare minute to sit down and commit to it.  tonight, my boys are in bed, my husband is at a concert with friends, and i have some peace and quiet.  

i am thankful for this moment.

2) for christmas, my best friend gifted us a night away. we redeemed it on saturday night.  what that means is she watched the kids, while chris and i went to my parents' lakehouse.  we spent the beautiful afternoon outside at cedar creek brewery, drinking beer and having hours of uninterrupted adult conversation. we followed it with a catfish dinner, a 9pm bedtime and almost twelve full hours of sleep.  it was blissful.  i am thankful for my husband.  i am thankful for marcy, who always knows exactly what i need and when i need it.  thank you, friend.

3) i was a teacher once for many years. teaching is hard, y'all.  i taught in low-income schools, in transient communities, kids who needed a lot of attention and a lot of love and who required a lot of patience.  it's a toss-up to when i've cried the most in my life: my first year of teaching or those first few months as a first-time mother.  and as if those circumstances weren't challenging enough, i taught sixth-graders.  they were like puppies with giant paws, stinky, cute, hyper and annoying.
years have passed and these babies have grown-up.  just recently, i was contacted by a former student in a facebook message who is currently serving in the military and is stationed in spain.  he is a man, he drinks beer, he serves our country, and he remembers his sixth-grade teacher.  i was able to thank him for his service and cry tears of joy.  in michael's with my family a few weeks ago, i was approached by an employee and former student.  i was able to hug her, and listen to her tell me briefly about her struggles and her triumphs, and see face to face the woman she has become.  i was so proud and smiled for days.  this is what it's about.  this.
i am thankful for anthony and destiny.

4) my friend and photographer, melissa, has used images she took of my kiddos on sample products and promo materials.  the other day she gave me...for free...some sample canvases that she no longer offers to her customers.  because of her kindness, i got to see my babies when they were babies and be reminded of how sweet and little they once were.  
i am grateful for melissa for her thoughtfulness.

5) facebook has it's problems, no doubt.  i have hidden a lot of what i do not want to see.  it is especially a pain in the ass around an election.  but still i cannot help but love it.  it has helped me promote coco custom in a way that feels right.  and because of that limited exposure, i have been lucky enough to draw portraits for 1) a sweet friend from high school, 2) the sister of a dear college friend, 3) a friend of a darling friend of mine from my very first job post-college and 4) my bff from the fifth grade all within this past month.  i feel supported and connected and so incredibly lucky. 

 i am thankful for facebook, of all things.

6) i may be artistic but i am NOT crafty, therefore my kid's valentine's cards have been store-bought for years now, despite the pinterest pressure.  but every once in a while, pinterest can save your ass by the way of (free!!!) minecraft printables.  i am thankful for those super crafty mommy-bloggers who create really simple, cute things that you can download for free.  isn't that nice of them?  i mean, really.

oh friends, that felt good.  

what are you thankful for?  i would love to know.

love,

coco

p.s. i am thankful for you.