Photo courtesy dh_creative on Pixabay
Over the next month, farmer, mom and OYT blogger Heather Lang will share her thoughts on gratitude.. Her posts will be featured each Monday.
By Heather Lang
The definition of gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. My definition of gratitude is realizing and appreciating what you have been given and building from it.
“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” – unknown
Parenting is hard. There is no “Easy 1,2,3 steps of how to parent your child without any headaches,” type of book. But wouldn’t that be awesome?!
There is no such book because there is no one way to parent. We all make mistakes. We are all different. Each of us reacts and responds differently to situations. Each of us has particular things that mean something to us.
How we parent today is also much different than it was when even I was growing up. Parents are told not to swat their children’s behinds when they disrespect others or talk inappropriately.
Instead, we’re encouraged to be like a friend first and a parent second. And is it just me, or does It seem like parents are judging and evaluating what other parents are doing a lot more?
I don’t know about you, but I tend to be pretty hard on myself as a parent already: Did I respond to a certain situation properly? How would my parents have handled that? Do my kids feel comfortable enough coming to me about anything, yet still respect my authority? Have I taught my children that they are not entitled to anything in this world, they need to work for it? Do I practice what I preach?
We all know from numerous studies that actions speak louder than words. Have I given my children the proper tools in life so that they can become the well-respected, well-mannered, hardworking, kind, loyal, honest grownups that this world needs? Do they know that the best things in life are things you can’t buy? That just smiling at someone can completely make and change their day?
Have I driven home the fact that, “It’s not what you say but how you say it”? Or that you never know what someone else is going through, so always be kind? This is just a very short list of things that constantly go through my mind.
I have so many things to be thankful for, and I’m not talking about materialistic things such as trips, toys, clothing, the size of our house or any other objects that my parents may have purchased. I am referring to those things that molded me into the woman I am today; the values I try to pass onto my children along with the memories that will stay with me for my entire life.
I am beyond grateful for the values my parents instilled in me; beyond thankful that I have an amazing supportive family and appreciative that I have so many wonderful memories that will stick with me through everything. THANK YOU, Mom and Dad. Thank you for your guidance, wisdom, support, never ending love, and “tough parenting.” I am forever grateful.
Parenting is hard. Life is rough but beautiful. Let’s just remember to lift each other up instead of trying to find ways to bring others down.