Practice.

For Handwriting in school this week, we are working on thank you cards for all of our family members who gave gifts this Christmas. Some years I am much better about this than others. But, as my children grow older, I am more and more seeing the value and importance of this - on so many levels.

This "attitude of gratitude" - this life of thanksgiving does not come naturally. Even as Ransom's new words explode out of him each and every day, words that I am shocked that he even knew in the first place - the words "thank you" were never two of them. These words have had to be taught. In the beginning, they were not words that he initially thought to speak on his own. They had to first become a habit.

And as my bigger boys are growing, the "thank you's" come more fluid and more often of their own volition, but anything beyond that is work. Having to write that many words on paper takes time. And energy. And Mama wants me to be neat on top of that? This is no fun!

So many notes?
Yes. Because of so many gifts.
For even the small gifts?
The small still involved sacrifice. Someone still gave something.

But I already told them when I unwrapped the gifts. Isn't that enough?
Maybe...but there was so little effort involved in that.

I want the thanks to go deeper.
I want the giver to know that the gift is truly appreciated.
That the boys took the effort to really show that they are thankful.

* * * * *

And then I look at me. And at my attitude.
And at how my Gift Giver must sometimes feel...
The prayer at day's end ~ "Thanks for today, God...."
No list. No specifics.
Just a sloppy brush stroke that encompassed my last twenty-four hours.
No effort to really show that I am thankful.

How much more special is a thank you where gifts given are specifically mentioned and told how they blessed? That takes more effort. More work to remember the details.

And just as my boys need to learn, and need the sometimes mind-numbing practice of writing and repetition; so does this Mama. Thanksgiving is a practice. A lifestyle. And a thought process that we practice until it becomes second nature.

We practice. We train. We repeat. Over and over again.
And when I forget ~ I practice, I train, and I repeat.
And I am transformed.

And so for this new year, I will continue to name the gifts. I will be specific. I will practice until it becomes second nature.

So before bed tonight...
Thanks God, for today. For:
:: sleeping in until 7:00.
:: fresh eggs for breakfast.
:: the day's first cup of coffee. Always thanks for the coffee.
:: Ransom dancing in the kitchen.
:: stopping and reading stories on the kitchen floor. Right then. Right when he asked.
:: a husband I trust with my future.
:: three boys who daily give me purpose.
:: a mom-in-law who drops in for tea.
:: sun breaking through the clouds.
:: Healthy bodies; happy family.
:: a warm home full of love.
:: a fridge and cabinets overflowing with food.
:: sweet neighbors.
:: loving friends.
:: another day to live.
#2240-#2255

"To name a thing...is to bless God for it and in it." ~ Teresa of Avila.

May my thanks become my habit ~ as natural as my breathing...