Shift and Praise

In Why Me?  Nicki focused on how we deal with things that bother us, that tend to bring us down, that we grumble about, that give a negative focus to our lives.

How can we get ourselves out of the doldrums and into more positive thinking?

Today's Proverbs 31 blog post was about his phrase:

“Because when our circumstances don’t change, we only have two choices: settle and pout, or shift and praise.”

I do like to sleep in my own bed. I do like to shower in my own bathroom.  That holds true no matter where we are, home, at one of the girls' houses, in Wooster, in a hotel, on vacation, on a cruise.  My own bed.  My own bathroom.

We volunteered, actually *I* volunteered to take Cooper to pre-school on Wednesdays.  I enjoy spending time with him, and now Lynnlee, and am glad we can help out when needed. 

But I also like to sleep in my own bed and shower in my own bathroom.

These last two weeks in April are full of days when we have been asked to help out one or both daughters.  Doctor's appointments.  Field trips.  Baseball games.  Away from home times for either academic competitions, baseball games, a trip to Nashville, a meeting in Indianapolis. Developmental pre-school evaluations.  Protrams.  It is easier to spend the night than to drive home late and back again early.

But I like to sleep in my own bed and shower in my own bathroom.

Ok...drifting into the grumbles......and I don't like that.

Why?

Because I love our daughters and sons-in-law and want to help them when we can.

Because I love our five grandchildren and enjoy time with them.

Because we are both retired and have the time to drive back and forth and spend time at their houses and give them peace of mind that their children are well-cared for.

When I think of others who are far away from their grandchildren, such as Todd and Vicki Chrzan or Greg and Pam Werner or the Bombaghettis in Knox...I feel so blessed that Hilary and Blaine live between Delphi and Rossville and Megan and Matt live just a little further outside of Frankfort.

When I think of how my parents never wanted to spend much time with Megan and Hilary and how their relationship suffered because of that, I know that I will do everything I can to  spend as much time as we can with Landon, Tessa, Cooper, Owen, and Lynnlee.

Yesterday and today were especially fun.  When we walked into Hilary's house on Tuesday, there were shouts of "MAMAW!  PAPAW!" and Tessa and Cooper running to throw their arms around us and give big hugs.  Then I heard "MAMAW!  MAMAW!" and arms up from Owen.  Melt my heart!

Last night and today Cooper was such a great Big Brother and so helpful with Lynnlee.  He even picked out his own clothes and dressed himself for pre-school while we were upstairs fixing lunch and dressing Lynnlee for the day. He was very thoughtful and quiet (as opposed to his yelling most of the time) and just fun to be with.

No. No grumbling.  In a few short weeks school will be out.  Next year Cooper will be attending all day pre-school at Clinton Prairie.  Tessa will be in kindergarten.  Landon will be in 3rd grade (YIKES!).  Only Owen and Lynnlee will be needing someone to be with them during the days when everyone is at school or at work.  

And already I am sad that that is happening.

So...Praise God that the kids are close enough for us to see frequently.

Praise God that they trust us to help with the kids when needed.

Praise God that we can spend the night with them on occasion and create even more memories each time we visit.

Praise God for our family!