Eye to Wonder

I want to start out by saying what a positive, affirming part of the month this practice was. All the gold stars to Elisabeth for running this and keeping track of everyone’s posts. It’s been so fun to see the bright spots in so many of your lives, and to focus on what’s good. February at times felt like a slog, and having this practice balanced out the very easy tendency to focus on the negative. We were all in much better health last week, which is a huge FIG in and of itself. Here’s a rundown of this final week of FIGs. Monday, February 23 *We played family charades with our friend who comes for regular dinners. So silly! Love how M participated even if she didn’t quite have all the rules down. She’d pick a card and then just do her craziest jumping or dance moves. We all got super into this. Tuesday, February 24 *We finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with A. Joel, A, and I all curled up to finish this together. *I want to remember lying in the backyard on a pic...

To be honest, this wasn’t the easiest week for noticing the good things and the FIGs challenge, but gratitude definitely is essential on hard/annoying weeks as well as good or routine weeks. We had a few anti-figs this week: I had a gnarly cough, lost my voice, and strained my back, and then both of the kids came down with a stomach bug leading to one of them having to leave a trip to the mountains with a group of friends early while feeling terrible. Luckily all of these things are annoyances rather than long-term problems. Still, it was a lot at once, and I was very happy to start a new week today. I definitely needed to feel like we moved on from last week! Monday, February 16 I’m grateful for our good friends who loaned us their sump pump when it rained and we noticed water in the garage. I’m also grateful they had us over to hang at the house while our power was out. They made hot cocoa, which was a nice treat. Tuesday, February 17 I’m grateful for a long snuggle with A watc...

I've continued to be so glad that Elisabeth is hosting the FIGS collective this month. I think since the last week in January someone in her house has been sick consecutively, so it's been a bit of a slog here, and practicing gratitude has definitely helped in this season. In week 2, I’m trying to be more organized and capture each day’s good things chronologically. Monday, February 9th I’m grateful for the parents in my youngest daughter’s preschool class. It was definitely a tough drop off, and having friends who have been there and were so kind when the morning was a struggle definitely made the day better. Also grateful not to cook dinner since we have all the super bowl leftovers. Tuesday, February 10th I’m grateful for the Olympics! It was so fun to sit and watch the men’s short program with Joel. We both got really into it, and it was fun to analyze the costumes, music, and performances together. Wednesday, February 11th I’m grateful for M’s laugh. Today she asked ...

This month, I’m joining Elisabeth and other bloggers in the FIG collective. I’m trying to look for and notice the good things in life. The beginning of the month snuck up on me! But I’ve been adding small (and not so small good things) to a google doc for the past week as I notice the good that’s around me. A list of FIGs this week: *Hanging out with friends while kids play on the front sidewalk. I’m always grateful to live near friends and have those easy unplanned moments of community. *Playing hide and seek with the girls makes me feel like a kid again. I also think it’s hilarious that my youngest always finishes counting and then says, “mom, where are you?” *Right now whenever M tries to say “tag, you’re it!” it sounds like “tag, carrot!” Toddler phrases are the best. *Seeing a Western Bluebird and Red Shouldered Hawk at the park. *Reading Everyone is Lying . It’s kind of a candy read, and I am here for it. If the idea of a trad wife muder mystery sounds intriguing to you, I...