Right now, I have something for every parent. They may drive us crazy sometimes, but Thanksgiving is a time to remember why we are grateful for our kids. Woman’s Day parenting contributor Paula Spencer has put it into perspective for us. Here’s what she says we should be giving thanks for this year.
Thanks for the hard questions, even the embarrassing ones. Children keep your mind working. They make us pros at coming up with clever come-backs to questions like, “Why is that lady’s head so big?” “Ummm, because she has a lot of brains, son.” What parent hasn’t had to summon their high school science lessons to explain why the sky is blue, or whether tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable? We’re always exercising our brains just to keep up.
Thanks for taking 10 minutes to put on shoes - when we should’ve been out the door 10 minutes ago. Watching a child get herself dressed, or slowly and methodically consume a single graham cracker, is a lesson in not just patience - but appreciation. These days, so many of us are constantly in rush-mode that we automatically get huffy when we have to wait, even when the 10 minutes don’t really matter. It’s good to be reminded to stop and smell the roses or taste the graham crackers.
Thanks for the empty bankbook: Diapers, daycare food, hightops, laptops, more food, prom dresses, and college. If you want to see your money grow, just take a look at your kids as they grow. There’s no better investment than children. What they eventually give to society is a reflection of what you’ve given to them. What’s more - Spencer says it’s even better than winning the lottery when they go on to look out for us in our old age.
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