#Gratitude365 Day 38

#Gratitude365 January 25 2014

I saw a butterfly go by in the front yard as I left to teach my class this morning. A sweet little sign of nature announcing "Hey, look at me! I am here for you to enjoy!" I used to draw butterflies all the time when I was a little girl. Now Amberly draws butterlfies in her drawings. I love it that we have a shared fondness for this whimsical creature. I wonder what the symbolism is in that? 

Christmas is a month behind us and some of those warm fuzzies that floated around during the holidays have been lingering, some of them seemed to have been boxed up with the Christmas decorations. I'm choosing to be grateful for the ones that are still floating around. For instance the way I see the kids all want to do the same thing and be silly together. Tonight, Cory played Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby on his phone and that immediately had me put on the brakes and start moving. Then Owen wanted him to put on my favorite song, Blurred Lines, which the kids hate. Owen asked me why I like that song so much and I said "It makes me feel like I'm in high school." Things that make us either feel youthful or remind us of "the good ole days." have a way of standing above the rest. The best part was when Gangnum Style came on and Kyle danced his way down the entire stairwell and took over as the little hhip hop dancer! In the past I've wanted to record him, but this time we just embraced the moment and it will live in our memories. We need these crazy impromptu dance parties to blow off steam and laugh. So good for the soul to see everyone share in the moment and feel included and have their part. These moments are the ones. The ones we wait for. The ones that make everything else worthwhile.

Gratitude for butterflies and dance parties. I know there will be many more of them to share this year.

#Gratitude365 Day 22

#Gratitude365 January 9 2014

1. People who can make you think differently.

2. The vast amounts of education available at our fingertips due to the internet. And especially now with Google+.

3. Having a moment to be real and push back a little bit with a public post to give people something to think about.

4. Witnessing a father be a good teacher to his son.

5. Songs that come on the radio that make you feel good.


I felt the need to list out the things I found gratitude for before I write about them in depth so I wouldn't forget them. It was a full day and I know there are more than the 5 I listed above, but I'm finding I can write on and on about ALL THINGS so I kind of have to cap it and eventually get to bed!

People who make you think differently. This stems from watching an amazing TED X talk by a 13 year old boy who is wise beyond his years, sharing what he wants to be when he grows up. He breaks down how his ambition will be realized because of the homeschooling experience that he's having. I know some people who homeschool, and I have sort of envied them on one side of the coin and on the flip side of the coin thought they were nuts to take that on. Well, now after watching this video I think if they have the same hackschooling philosophy that Logan and his mom do - then they are brilliant!

The vast amounts of education available at our fingertips due to the internet. And especially now with Google+.... We love learning, well, at least I do. Television is for entertaining and the internet is for connecting and researching and G+ seems to be ALL of it - but most of all inspiring learning. I just love how much I have learned by being on G+ -- and seriously being around people who share their ideas and their knowledge and express their creativity has rubbed off on me because I worked on a couple of infographs - which I'd never considered creating before. I'm still working on them, using the resources online to figure it out.

Now, number 3 above I'm not going to retype - I'm just going to copy straight from my Facebook page:

I have heard this comment on a handful of occasions in reference to what I do "it's not rocket science."

Yep.

You're right, it's not. And neither is what you do. But I offer far more than vocabulary in my classes. I make it fun! I offer you a chance to see what's in your blind spot. I save you a ton of time in tracking down the information online and present it in an organized, easy to learn fashion. Plus, I keep you committed to your goal. I even inspire you to adopt a new goal of why you're bothering to sign with your baby. I don't JUST teach ASL vocabulary. It's NOT rocket science. But, just like any rocket scientist, I have a passion for what I do, continue to hone my skill, and appreciate when someone recognizes my specialty.

Witnessing a father be a good teacher to his son. We were in the family restroom at the mall and a father and son came in, his son about 11 years old. The son looked around at the breastfeeding stalls and asked what it was. His father replied that it was an area for moms to breastfeed their babies. Now we were walking out of the family restroom and I could hear the son asking what that meant or something of the nature. Without skipping a beat the father said while looking directly over at his son "It's when a mother feeds milk to the baby from her breast." Having nursed 3 children over the span of 6 1/2 years I am a big breastfeeding advocate - and Nursing In Public advocate for that matter. I just thought this was such a win. A simple moment to realize that if a man can tell his prepubescent son with great ease what breastfeeding is, then we are making great strides in the stereotypes surrounding breastfeeding.

Oh, and the last one.... Blurred Lines came on the radio when we were driving home and I of course got my car dancing groove on. My kids hate the song, we certainly hate when they yell and scream in the car, but when this song comes on, I turn it up and sing along and the kids just have to wait it out.

Alright. It's your turn. Can you think of something really cool that happened that just made you go "Wow, I'm really grateful for that" --- comment below as I'd love to celebrate your gratitude journey as well.