November, the month when we all reflect on the tender mercies in our lives. So often we take for granted the little things in our lives that we have to be grateful for. As a single parent it is easy to get caught up in our trials and it can be especially difficult as the holidays are approaching to keep focused on the positive things in our lives. This will be the first year that I have been divorced. I’ve never been apart from my son for the holidays before. There are family traditions that he won’t get to be a part of this year. There are times when being a divorced single parent just stinks and it is hard to keep our focus on the little things that we are thankful for every day.
This Thanksgiving remind your children what this holiday is all about. Sit down with them and talk about the things they are thankful for, no matter how small and insignificant they may seem. Talk to them about the things that you are grateful for. Last year Logan and I decided to have a wall dedicated to the things we were grateful for. We traced those little two year old hands and for every hand we wrote down something that he was grateful for. Believe it or not this little two year old boy came up with 50 different things he was thankful for all on his own, and he could have kept going, but we ran out of hands! It was such an incredible experience to watch this little boy come up with all the different things that were important to him. He was thankful for his imaginary friend Greta, his toys, his potty, chicken nuggets, ice cream, his nursery teachers, and so much more.
We loved our “thankful wall.” It was a constant reminder to us about how much we had to be thankful for in our lives. We are truly blessed and it is so great to see the things our kids come up with. They help us remember even the smallest things are something to be grateful for!