Gratitude

Of all the things I hope to teach my children, I think gratitude rates numero uno. Sometimes I get so angry when I feel like my kids have no sense of how incredibly blessed they are. Like today, for example. I discovered some BR gift certificates that were probably 2 years old and I figured I had enough to take the kids to get one scoop each. So we piled in the car, went through the car wash and then stopped in at BR for our little treat. Well, of course there was one child who was not happy about only getting one scoop and he proceeded to complain about this "outrage". My heart sank - where's the love? Where's the gratitude? On my angry drive home I was contemplating gratitude and thinking about all the ways I too act like a discontented child. Just this morning as we were doing Saturday cleanup, I made a rather lengthy mental list of all the ways our house comes up short - outdated bathroom, peeling paint, hand-me-down furniture. And I saw myself as a child complaining about only one scoop. I have been so abundantly blessed with a home that is more than sufficient for our crew. It is in a great neighborhood and we have made a lot of improvements over the years. What is it about us humans that makes us feel like it is never enough? I pray that I can learn to accept, savor and be grateful for my scoop and not pine for the other 30 flavors. And maybe, just maybe, my kids will learn to do the same.