Day Thirteen

I'm thankful for the kind (unintended) encouragement from strangers. Twice this week I've conversed with strangers and days later I'm still thinking about their words.

On Tuesday Avery & I went to Hobby Lobby and while discussing the various shades of green paper I needed for an upcoming project on the scrapbook paper aisle, another customer commented that Avery was such a cute girl. And that was sweet, but then she said that she really liked the way I talked to Avery - pointing out colors, including her in conversation, etc. She was a pre-k teacher in the public school system and she said if more parents talked to their kids like me, she'd be out of a job. An exaggeration I'm sure, but I told her thanks and later when I thought about her words it made me feel like I'm doing something right on this journey of being a parent. My Mamaw once told me a story about my Aunt Wanda as a little girl. They were with some friends and my aunt was a toddler asking, "Why this?" "Why that?" for everything and my Mamaw would answer her. The other mom commented that she couldn't believe my grandmother took the time to try to answer all her questions instead of just saying "Enough!" or "Because!" or "Don't worry about it!" My Mamaw told me that it never occurred to her to not answer the best she could because why wouldn't she take the time for her daughter? I hope I always feel that way. All our days aren't perfect and sometimes the TV is left on longer than it should be, but I hope I always take the time to explain things and talk to Avery because why wouldn't I want to make time for my most important girl?

Then on Friday when I was about to walk out of a store, the clerk put her hand on my shoulder and asked if I was okay. After about a minute of polite conversation, she told me to try to enjoy the rest of my day with emphasis on enjoy. So first of all, I thought that I must've been looking pretty sour or something for her to randomly ask me that. But sour face aside, I really thought about enjoying my day. Like, finding joy in my surroundings and remembering what I'm thankful for.

My life is blessed, it really is. It's not perfect, sometimes it's messy, problems arise, and I may get a case of the grumpies. But at the end of the day, I have so much to be thankful for. To really really really just thank God and find joy in the everyday grind of my life.

And just because a post is kind of boring without a picture, and I haven't taken any this week, here's an old one that brings me joy.