Whoa! That’s a big, scary picture of me! But today was kind of a stinky day! And while sometimes social media only portrays things as perfect, I am here to tell you that not everything is perfect in my life.

Sometimes, we as teachers, will tell our students to stop talking, and (GASP!) they won’t! Sometimes our own children will whine and cry and just drive us crazy! The laundry will pile up. The house will be a disaster. All of these things may or may not have happened to me today!

But then, while going through Henry’s backpack, I stumbled across a book he had written at school – “My Budy Dad is the Biggest Sweetheart”. Henry read the sweet book to me with great pride. And then we started looking at the pictures. On the cover, Henry drew a picture of he and Briton in an outdoor scene. I started looking a little closer at the picture and asked Henry what the black thing was sticking out of his pants. “Mom, that’s my zipper. I tried to draw my picture exactly like what I was wearing that day.” I couldn’t help it, I started to giggle. “It’s a great picture, buddy,” I told him, “but I did NOT think that was a zipper!” At this moment, Henry realized what it looked like sticking out of his pants. We both burst into laughter that brought us to tears!

So here’s the point…..

I was feeling kind of sorry for myself tonight. Woe is me. I had a yucky day. My children were driving me crazy. I am tired. Blah, blah, blah.

But you know what?! As I was laughing out loud with Henry, I was reminded that I truly do have so much to be thankful for. So if life has you down right now, find something, ANYTHING, to be thankful for. We all have something.

Currently, I am sitting in bed and watching West Wing on Netflix (thanks to the recommendation from my roommate from college.) I’ve got my essential oils on full blast. On a side note, can one ever overdose on too much lavender? <–asking for a friend!

Henry’s picture reminded me to step back and find joy even in the days that feel overwhelming. Here’s to hoping you can do the same. Tomorrow is a new day.

Candace