One Thousand Gifts-The Gift of Work.
It's Monday. There is always so much work to do on Monday. The house is trashed after a weekend of being away more than at home, and it seems so much harder for the kids to get into the school routine on a Monday. That's on top of all the other stuff that never ends but that I deliberately try not to have to do on weekends so there's time together as a family. I start Monday from far, far behind. The rest hardly seems worth the extra work it brings after. Today seems a terrible day to try and stop to give thanks. Yet isn't that when it's most important to remember? So today I give thanks for the piles of paper; they are evidence of a life full of blessings most of the world only dreams of. I give thanks for all the laundry to wash fold and put away; we are well clothed and warm. I give thanks for the fractious, restless, and cranky children; I would not trade them for anything. I give thanks for the responsibilities I have, large and small; it means that I