Grrr-Attitude Does Not Make for a Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday afternoon Charlie looked up at me with those big blue eyes and his irresistible smile and asked if I would go outside and play soccer with him. He quickly followed his query with a nervous, fake giggle, as if to say that he knew it was a ridiculous request that would never be granted.

Shame on me, I resisted his irresistible ridiculous request.

You see, Thanksgiving arrives in three days, and my father and stepmother are coming for a visit, as well as my brother and my sister and her family. Jim's been painting all week, and the house is a shambles. Every single room is cluttered with books and papers and toys and clothes and who knows what else. I haven't begun to put together a meal plan, and we really can't afford to skip any more lessons. My head is whirling, trying to figure out where to begin. Somehow a soccer game in the backyard doesn't quite fit into my planned list of priorities.

How could a three-and-a-half-year-old mind possibly comprehend this?

And yet, sadly, he does. He showed me that he does with that pitiful little giggle. In fact, all of my kids are showing me that they do in their own silly ways...with their extra doses of unaccountable whining, crying, bickering, and not-so-pleasant attitudes lately.

I'd like to be able to keep my stress to myself. But it always seems to ooze out onto my family, no matter how hard I try to mask it. It's not a pretty picture.

As I raced to the grocery store last night for a forgotten can of tomato sauce to add to the chili that was already cooking on the stove, I was listening to Christian music on the radio. Between songs, the station played a clip describing a contest where children wrote essays about the one thing they would wish for if they could. The winner was a little girl who wished for a clean house. Her mother worked full-time and when she came home, she was always busy cleaning their house. The girl thought that if she wished for a clean house, her mother might have time to play with her.

Ouch. I get the message, loud and clear.

Today, I'll try a new approach to life. After morning prayers and a smidgen of math, we'll read some Thanksgiving stories and poems. We'll make some turkeys and pilgrims' hats together. We'll play fun music, and we'll talk about the things for which we are thankful. Then we'll start cleaning the house as a team, instead of me shooing them away while I try to do it myself. You can be sure that I'll schedule in a backyard soccer game.

Come Thursday, my house will not be perfect. My meals will be lacking. My guests will be exposed to my clutter and my chaos, and they will have a glimpse of the real me.

But, God willing, my children and I will be smiling, and our hearts will be full...of joy and gratitude.