Tuesday, November 03, 2009

In Your Eyes

Day Eleven of the Gratitude Challenge: Try to see the world through the eyes of a child. Think about the things you take for granted on a daily basis, and then express gratitude for everything down to the basic necessities that sustain your current life.




For the second year in a row, we were invited to attend a Halloween garden party hosted by the parents of one of Jeep's former classmates. The family has an amazing lakefront property with a truly wonderful garden and they do a spectacular job of transforming it into a Halloween wonderland! Thanks in large part to the Gratitude Challenge, I was able to focus on the joy in the eyes of my children, rather than comparing their lot in life to mine. I don't have a home on the lake or a boat or a nanny or a gardener, but even so I am abundantly blessed. My bountiful basics include:

*Healthy, beautiful, smart, delightful children
*A loving, talented, funny, handsome husband
*A warm home - we even have a garage (so grateful on cold days)
*Two cars that carry us where we need and want to go
*Amazing friends and family members that always support me
*Plenty to eat (maybe even a little too much)
*A faith community that accepts and inspires me
*Natural beauty all around me

At the party on Saturday I especially loved Jeeper's ease as he ran through all the various parts of the Spooky Garden (he assured me it wasn't really spooky at all) and CeCe's absolute delight at the fun food (she thought cheese puffs were divine.) I watched my kids getting great joy out of the simple little things and realized that I can too! Jeep enjoyed every party game and CeCe loved the pretty decorations everywhere. I admired the bountiful vegetable garden (still producing!) and the creative touches, especially the fun wine labels (Ghoul's Blood was delicious.) It was a GREAT afternoon and I can't wait to go back again next year.

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