It has been a stressful week at the Claire household. My husband and I had made plans that didn’t come to pass, and the disappointment weighed me down and had me feeling not quite myself. I spent a large portion of my time in a sort of daze, thinking about those plans. Luckily, with three little ones at home, there’s not a ton of time for self-pity. So despite being in a rather lousy mood, this Saturday afternoon, I found myself covered in paint and glitter, watching my children chase each other while the giant Thanksgiving banner that we’d just created together dried. And guess what? That lousy mood washed off much easier than the paint and glitter did.
You’re probably thinking that this post is about gratitude. Not that we all couldn’t use a little bit more of that in our daily lives, but that’s not what my children taught me this week. This post is about turning plans into action. You see, Thanksgiving isn’t this week. We could have waited for next weekend to work on the banner, but my oldest daughter brought this idea home from school, and she was ready to work on it now. Just because we had the time to wait didn’t mean we had to wait.
Her excitement was contagious, and I soon had three young children demanding paint, glitter, glue and butcher paper, and the sooner, the better. So despite the list of chores on my to-do list, I was soon caught up in the project, and enjoying every minute of it. My youngest girl copies every move her big sister makes, and they were busy drawing pictures of what they’re grateful for. Our dog, their toys, and grandma’s kittens take up the most room but I’m happy to say that mommy and daddy have a spot on there as well. Little man’s contribution to the artwork was a little more abstract, but still perfect in its own way.
As I watched my children engrossed in this project, it hit me that if we took that same energy and enthusiasm and applied it to our goals, dreams and plans as adults, even the plans that didn’t quite work out wouldn’t be disappointing; just the act of going after those dreams would be rewarding in itself.
Here’s what my children taught me this week: when you’re motivated to do something, do it right away. Whether it’s paying off debt, tackling a home remodel, or decorating for Thanksgiving, maybe today is the best day to get started. I have some extra paint and glitter you can borrow. I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.