Offspring #1 & Offspring #2,
Be grateful for all of it.
I will pause now so that you can roll your eyes.
But seriously, be grateful for all of it. The shiny and the shit, and all the boring stuff in between.
I know this feels like an impossible request, and I am not asking you to be grateful for the shit while you’re in it. And I know sometimes it’s impossible to fully realize the shiny stuff while you're in it too, because, let’s face it, we all fear that if we fully appreciate the good shit, then we will be courting the other shoe to drop. Well, my lovelies, the other shoe is going to drop anyway. There are so many shoes waiting to drop in your future. Sometimes it’s going to rain shoes, and you enjoying shoeless days is not going to make the shoe storm better or worse, but it will make it easier to endure the shoe storm.
So, be grateful for:
Enough milk for your cereal.
A well executed parallel park.
The inevitability of rain on grocery shopping days.
Vacations!
The months when you just scrape by.
Having to walk the dog.
Catching a shiny Pokemon
Shoveling out your car
Not getting the job
Getting the job
Extra full order of fries
A puppy’s head on your shoulder
A perfectly crafted sentence
Sitting next to the loud eater of the family on Thanksgiving
Being annoyed by the one you love the most
Being astonished by the one you love the most
Being astonished by the one you love the least
Bacon
Realizing your dream came true
Not knowing what to say
Making someone laugh
The dentist
Being forced to learn how to change a tire, usually in the rain
Pizza Crust
Being exhausted
Chaos
An unexpected pleasant day that unfolded without a plan
A good couch nap
The ocean
Frustration and maturing to the point where you know it will pass
D’Alessandro’s Cheesesteaks
Payday
Laughing
Feeling anything
Recognizing bravery in yourself and others
The Cornetto Trilogy
Etc., etc., …
to be discovered…
Life is miraculous and hard and often beyond your control. But the privilege of living, the moments of awe afforded by the obvious, the ordinary and the OMG far outweigh the hard. So remember, in the moments of deep shit and blissful shiny, be grateful; do yourself the favor of taking even a second to be grateful for it all.
I love you both more than chocolate chip cookies.
