Choosing to Celebrate

Like most moms, I think, I choose to dwell and to doubt, to give into guilt, most evenings.  As the day ends, I look around and see the laundry that didn't get put away, the trip to the gym that didn't happen, the project due in three weeks that needed attention today, but didn't get it, and the list goes on.

I don't think I have a Supermom complex.  I'm not terribly insecure.  This post isn't a cry for affirmation--really; it's not.

Tonight I'm choosing to celebrate instead, largely because tonight our family rallied to get some things right. But I'm also aware that I'm making a choice.  It's my choice to reflect on my evening with joy and pride instead of dwelling on the things that didn't happen.  

Here's what did happen tonight that I'm celebrating...

We ate dinner together.  French onion soup and wedge salads for the adults--bistro fare at home, homemade, a tad healthier than a bistro and a lot cheaper.  The kids ate dinner out of a can and made their own "salads" from our salad toppings, namely bacon and tomatoes.  Sounds like a good salad to me.

My kindergartener did indeed chip away at a large packet of fine motor skills homework that's due in weeks.  He's brilliant (says his mom:), but he really does need help with fine motor skills.  I know he needs the work, and he really wants to do it and do it well (no idea where he gets that:).  It's the ideal homework situation.

We are trying to house train a puppy and potty train a 2-year-old at the same time; prayers are appreciated:)  I'm tired of stepping in puddles (sorry if that's TMI).  Tonight the kid crossed a potty training milestone.  I praised her.  We called Nana who praised her and promised a treat.  We smiled, yelled, danced, laughed, and hugged.  She enjoyed that attention, but it was her brother whom she was watching.  When he clapped for her, she came to me and said, "He's clapping for me!"  When he said, "I'm so proud of you," she glowed.

An hour later it was time for bedtime stories.  When he sounded out and read the first three words of his story all by himself, it was her turn to turn on the praise, "You did it!" she exclaimed while literally patting him on the back.

Tonight, we got some things right.  That's worth celebrating.  Lots of nights we gets lots of things wrong.  That's okay, too.

Even on a good night, there's a stack of clean laundry staring me in the face, there are dirty dishes on the stove and in the sink, and I've stayed up too late again.  It's still a good night and one I choose to celebrate.

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