Mindful Monday Mix
As the week of Thanksgiving has arrived, there will be lots of hustle and bustle, at work, at school at home and in the community. While our children are grown and we’re preparing for their visit with such excitement, I can’t help but remember the beautiful chaos when they were little. As adults, they’ll help in the kitchen, we’ll play a lot of games, have a lot of laughs and just enjoy the week as it unfolds making new memories. However, I do remember and do miss when they were little during the holidays, the magic in their eyes, the excitement during the season as they felt no stress what soever, only anticipation of the days ahead.
This year, I thought I’d share an idea which some of you may have already thought of and done. Still, no good idea should go wasted! I’ve even thought to do this with our grown kids but am sure it won’t fly this year as we’re in a new place, new location and the time will go by quickly. If I were more prepared I would have asked them to follow along, perhaps next year.
What is difference between grateful and thankful?
Where thankfulness is an emotion, gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, but it is more than that. Gratitude means expressing thankfulness and being appreciative of life daily even when nothing exciting happens.
While this is an acknowledged ‘Thankful’ season, or season of ‘Gratitude’ I thought why not ask your children to think of what it is that makes them grateful? Some of them may not understand the impact that gratitude has on their lives, let alone the most simplest of things to be grateful for which increases being thankful and warms the spirit to no end. First, explain to your children what you are grateful for and how thankful you for it all because it brings you so much appreciation. Make it simple enough that they understand this at an early age and increase the meaning for your older children. This is going to get them thinking that’s for sure as it will also bring up some strong emotions in your life I’m sure. It’s is so impactful to recognize all that there is to be thankful for in our lives and enhance our gratitude, not only during the season, but to keep it going all year round. That’s impactful and hopefully you will see your mindset grow and learn to appreciate the beauty that not only surrounds you, but that is within you as well.
This is just simple and will get the kids to thinking and keep them occupied in a healthy way! Give them each a lunch bag or box, a container of sorts to collect the things that they find important, which brings them to being thankful for. The younger children will find quick items, while the older ones may find more than one item, let them collect them all!! Add to the list even, make it your own, make it a new tradition even. You can collect for an hour, or invite them to collect during the day or the week. For the older kids, while they probably will begin to reflect on these items, you can expand this by asking them to write about them. Offer a journal for them to keep and maybe start or continue another tradition this season. Finally, on Thanksgiving, while so many of us go around the table and share what we are thankful for, this year be sure you have plenty of time as each child shares what they found to be thankful for. You might even choose an older child who isn’t helping in the kitchen or setting things up to gather the kids and then allow each one to dig in their bag or container and take out one item at a time to share why it makes them thankful, I suggest going one by one, meaning taking turns with the children so that you keep their interest during this time and they will be excited to share the next thing it is they find gratitude in with the family. If you want to really get creative, have a table set up and cover it with butcher block paper or even a tablecloth which you can write on and keep. Write the year on it and the leader can help the younger children write as they show their items. Ask each child to write their name on the tablecloth with a permanent marker and continue this tradition for years to come. With all this technology today, you can even take pictures and build a photo library for Thanksgiving with pictures and memories of your choosing to build Family Journal, or a Family Blanket or something to have and to hold for a lifetime. That’s how traditions are made.
However your spend your Thanksgiving, may it be filled with memories, good food, surrounded by family and friends and held in your hearts for years. From our Family to yours,
H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G!
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