Finding gratitude on the school run

Most days, it’s a mission to get my son ready for school. The asking, pleading, bargaining, and finally yelling to get him to put his clothes on and brush his teeth. The start of the day would be extremely overwhelming if it weren’t for my morning planner session and a workout. It’s hard to feel morning gratitude at all.

Then comes the walk to school.

Which leads me to today’s gratitude prompt.

Pause for one minute. What do you notice that prompts gratitude?

(Elisabeth from The Optimistic Muse is hosting a month of daily gratitude prompts, and I’ve chosen to blog them.)

This morning, I took note of all the things I was grateful for during our walk.

• My son talks non-stop. And I mean it, he even gets puffed walking up the hill because he’s talking too much to take a proper breath. And every single sentence starts or ends with “Mum”. Once, my husband and I counted how far we could walk until our son said “mum” 100 times, and it was less than a kilometre. But I am so grateful for the fact that he wants to talk to me, that he has stories to tell, and a creative imagination. I hope he never stops talking to me (except for the times when I intentionally say to him that I need some quiet time, then dear god please let him stop talking).
• The sound of the birds. They usually sound so happy, and it’s just a nice reminder that we live in suburbia, with trees and nature around.
• Our safety. Our walk to school is mainly quiet back streets or on a pathway of a main road. We live close enough to the school that it’s a quick walk, and sometimes you can even walk faster than it takes to drive – the traffic can get pretty horrendous. We can easily walk on the edge of the road or the pathway without worrying about who is around us or if the cars will give us space. Generally, it’s a pretty safe place to live.
• The weather. Today was a cool morning, but the sun was out, and the sky was blue. It was a gorgeous winter morning. My hands were still frozen, though.
• Our health. I was grateful for our bodies, which remain mostly injury-free, and are capable of walking to school. And that we are healthy, not ill, or confined to our beds. We can breathe in the fresh air and move. A friend’s partner just recently passed away, far too quickly, and far, far too early. It’s a sobering reminder to appreciate what we have while we still have it.
• Our dog. When it gets close to the time to go to school, he starts waiting by the door and stares at me. You can feel it; the pressure is intense. It’s gotten to the point that if it’s raining, I bring him in the car, because no way am I letting him miss out.

Honestly, once I started paying attention, there’s so much to be grateful for.

And after a morning that feels chaotic and stressful, it’s nice to just take a breath, look around, and realise things aren’t as bad as they seem.

The morning gratitude comes a bit easier once you start trying to find it.

What’s one thing from your morning you could be a bit more grateful for? Have you ever counted something as random as how often your name is called?