Tales of a Thankful Mom

          I did not want to go to my counseling appointment this week. I had the opportunity to work, and I was so tempted to reschedule my appointment and to go to work instead. I didn't cancel my appointment though. I owe my children a mother who is working on healing, especially as two of them are on their own healing journeys. I want to encourage them in prioritizing their mental health. I am glad that I kept my counseling appointment this week. I didn't realize how much I needed it until I was in the office with my counselor unpacking my fears and worries that I tend to stuff down rather than deal with them. This isn't the first time that I took steps toward wholeness and life, because my children needed me too. In fact, many of the steps that I have taken into freedom in the past five years has been because it was what was best for my children. I am not perfect at this and have made plenty of mistakes along the way. Yesterday, I made the right decision.  I walked out

 The word chapters reminded me of the journaling exercise that I used to do entitled, "These are the days of . . . " So without further ado here is the list. These are the days of slime made with Elmers glue. My youngest bought slime kits for them to share with their oldest sibling. They both had fun making slime today. These are the days of award ceremonies, graduations (elementary and middle) and end of the school year activities. These are the days of my youngest discovering that she enjoys putting together power point presentations about animals and other topics that interest her. These are the days of my son saying, "Hey Mom come look at this!" requesting that we can watch a science video so that he can discuss it with me. These are the days of watching my children share their creative gifts whether that is watching my youngest prepare a presentation, my eldest sketch, or my son create video game fan art. These are the days that I am trying to slow down and sav

          "So is there anything that we (my eldest and I) need to work on this week?" I asked. "You need to practice more self care. It is important that your children see you taking care of yourself and managing stress better." I promised my eldest's counselor that I will try. It is hard to practice self care though, when I constantly feel like there are other more pressing tasks that I should be doing. It is a deliberate choice to take a break, when there is still so much to do. I told my child's counselor that my youngest especially would like more time with me, and that I would invite them into the self care activities. My youngest loves beauty and at times feels lonely as the only one of my children that will be at elementary school next year. Learning to take time for fun to better manage stress will be good for us both. One of the ideas that we are already doing that I want to increase the frequency of is going for walks. My children love pointing out

          Many times, one of my kids will ask me when we will do a certain activity. I used to answer them, "Soon." Even if I wasn't sure that it would be soon. The problem with that is that sometimes the "soons" get swallowed up by the never ending to do list, and I forget the things that I promised to do sometime soon. I now evaluate whether the activity is important to them, and doable at that present time for me. If the answer to both of those questions is yes, than I ask them, "How about now?" Time passes too quickly. I want to make the most of the opportunities to make memories with my children. So, yes to, "Let's go for a walk," and yes to "Mom, do you want to watch this with me?"  Yes, to "Mom, will you make this with me?". and yes to "Mom come here and listen to my favorite song." I want to remember that time is precious and that one day sooner than I realize my children will be young adults. I want