Daily Thank-You's
A few months ago, Mike arrived home from the Benco National Sales Convention with a new motivation. The guest speaker he'd listened to had presented some pretty neat concepts that struck something inside Michael's heart. I'm so grateful because we've instituted a few of those suggestions at home, and I like them... a lot!
Forgive me, but I can't remember the speaker's name. However, one of his observations was regarding the amount of television we watch as a nation. It's INSANE. He decided to cut back 'x' hours a week and use that time to do more productive, self-enhancing things. We have made a sincere effort to limit all of our screen time since then. Now, of course there are days that we allow more time in front of the boob-tube because we are tired or frustrated. But, in general, I am very proud of our family's efforts to watch less T.V.
We do projects with Ethan. We read books. Mike practices programming to keep his skills current. I am studying again - instructional design and adult education theories. We talk. We play outside. We play cars with Ethan. Board games are often a top activity. The possibilities are endless, and finding creative (and often educational) ways to spend our time together - alone or as a family - is so rewarding.
The other suggestion the speaker made was to take time to be grateful. Specifically, share at the dinner table three things you are thankful for from the day. I believe we have always found ways to recognize how appreciative we are of the many wonderful things and people in our lives. But, I don't know that we always shared them with each other as often as we should have.
Every night, during dinner, Mike, Ethan, and I each share three things we are thankful for. We try to focus on the day's events or interactions but there are no real rules. Ethan is sometimes thankful he was allowed to have Koolaid with dinner! I am sometimes thankful that my workday is over. We can be thankful for the awesome weather, for having dinner to eat, for a roof over our heads, for toys to play with, or for each other... the list is endless, and that in itself is pretty awesome.
Sometimes Ethan doesn't want to participate, but our goal is to help him understand just how fortunate we are for even the smallest things. He always participates, and he's even started to remind us if we forget!
Life has its ups and downs, as we all know. But I am so happy that Mike was motivated at his conference to share these suggestions with our family. Making ourselves better individuals and a stronger family can only be a good thing. And for that, I am thankful.
Forgive me, but I can't remember the speaker's name. However, one of his observations was regarding the amount of television we watch as a nation. It's INSANE. He decided to cut back 'x' hours a week and use that time to do more productive, self-enhancing things. We have made a sincere effort to limit all of our screen time since then. Now, of course there are days that we allow more time in front of the boob-tube because we are tired or frustrated. But, in general, I am very proud of our family's efforts to watch less T.V.
We do projects with Ethan. We read books. Mike practices programming to keep his skills current. I am studying again - instructional design and adult education theories. We talk. We play outside. We play cars with Ethan. Board games are often a top activity. The possibilities are endless, and finding creative (and often educational) ways to spend our time together - alone or as a family - is so rewarding.
The other suggestion the speaker made was to take time to be grateful. Specifically, share at the dinner table three things you are thankful for from the day. I believe we have always found ways to recognize how appreciative we are of the many wonderful things and people in our lives. But, I don't know that we always shared them with each other as often as we should have.
Every night, during dinner, Mike, Ethan, and I each share three things we are thankful for. We try to focus on the day's events or interactions but there are no real rules. Ethan is sometimes thankful he was allowed to have Koolaid with dinner! I am sometimes thankful that my workday is over. We can be thankful for the awesome weather, for having dinner to eat, for a roof over our heads, for toys to play with, or for each other... the list is endless, and that in itself is pretty awesome.
Sometimes Ethan doesn't want to participate, but our goal is to help him understand just how fortunate we are for even the smallest things. He always participates, and he's even started to remind us if we forget!
Life has its ups and downs, as we all know. But I am so happy that Mike was motivated at his conference to share these suggestions with our family. Making ourselves better individuals and a stronger family can only be a good thing. And for that, I am thankful.
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