Mum On A Mission - Grateful and Thankful

My Wish For My Children

Today is the first day of 2021.

I have decided to start a new Mum On A Mission Blog with a focus on Grateful and Thankful - I really want my children to learn and be active in being Grateful, being Thankful and not always wanting more - I want them to be happy with what they have right now.

I believe we do so much for our children. For Christmas they received so many presents that they loved. And we spend a lot of time together. And they get treats. And… And… And… AND it still feels that they want more, that it is not enough, that it is never enough - if we read 3 books they want 4, if they stay up late they want to stay up later, if we read 30 pages they want another chapter, if they have a treat they want another chocolate, if we have a great time at the park they want more time to play. Perhaps this is human nature. Perhaps this is children.

I am blessed. My children are beautiful and they do have good manners and yet as a Mum On A Mission, I feel that being Grateful and Thankful are so important. I really want my children to internally feel Grateful, as this is so good for their health and wellbeing and I want them to recognise when family, friends, teachers, neighbours do something for them and for them and to express their thanks. I really want them to be Grateful and Thankful - I want these skills to come natural to them.

I know in helping teenagers and youth that it is always a stand out for me when one of my Clients specifically and genuinely states their thanks to me. I welcome a thank you, this is good manners, yet a specific thank you with a reason as to why they are Thankful and how I have helped them, means to much to me.

My husband and I have been married 10 years next year and something that dramatically changed our relationship about 4-5 years ago was when we started giving specific thanks - we say thank you to each other a few times a day - “thank you for bringing in the washing”, “thank you for taking the children out to the park”, “thank you for working hard” - and the specific words of thanks mean so much - it shows a sign of recognition, of being noticed, of being seen, of being appreciated - it is such a small thing to do, it is free, and it really brings us close together.

Grateful defined as “feeling or showing an appreciation for something done or received”, “living your life with gratitude means choosing to focus your time and attention on what you appreciate”.

Thankful defined as “aware and appreciative of a benefit, grateful”, “expressive of gratitude”.

These are key habits I wish for my children to develop on a daily basis, and I want to be a good role model for them too.

This year I want to focus on less being more, less time being busy and more time together, less chai lattes, milkshakes and takeaway and more planning meals and time at home, more board games and more time at the park, less time being worried and more time being present, less time on the phone and working and more time in the presence of my children, less talking and more listening. As I am working less (which is a blessing) I want my children to be Grateful and Thankful for the gifts they receive and the time we share together.

Over the next one year, across 2021, I want to write 50 posts with tips and ideas on how to encourage my children to be Grateful and Thankful. It is a journey of discovery for me, of what will work and if it will work yet I want it to be fun along the way too.