Thankfulness
As the last leaves are falling from the trees outside, we are doing our best to balance the loss by adding leaves to our thankfulness tree inside. Particularly this time of year when kids (and grown-ups!) can focus on what they want to receive for Christmas (or all the items on the to-do list), we want to be intentional about cultivating gratitude.
About pausing. Taking a breath and looking around us with fresh eyes. Noticing the little moments and kind gestures. And helping our kids to do the same. All the books I’ve read and research I’ve perused comes back again and again to the power of gratitude. It centers us, grounds us, gives us perspective. It’s all too easy to develop tunnel vision and focus on the things that are wrong, that need to be fixed, that are lacking. Instead, we want to be a family that notices and appreciates all the blessings we do have. And we have so, so many!
The daily practice
So what does that have to do with a tree?! For the month of November (leading up to Thanksgiving), we will use the very physical presence of a tree branch hanging in our home to remind us to cultivate gratitude. Each morning at breakfast every member of the family adds one thing he or she is thankful for to a leaf that goes up on the gratitude tree.
Sometimes the kids come up with some pretty silly responses. And sometimes their responses are so precious I can’t help but smile and tear up. In the case of our youngest, she keeps naming everyone in the family again and again. In her 2-year-old world, those people truly are the most important things to be thankful for each day.
Want a how-to?
If you’d like to start a gratitude tree in your own home, it can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. I was originally going to print out a simple picture of a tree branch and cut out leaves to glue up. But Steve decided a real tree branch would make the experience that much more real for the kids…and I agree, it turned out pretty cool. And definitely got their attention when they came out for breakfast the first morning! I found a simple leaf image online and printed out several pages of leaves, which we then cut out and hole-punched. Word to the wise, choose a simple leaf shape! 🙂Â
And ta-da! Our gratitude tree was complete.
How do you cultivate thankfulness in your own household? We love gathering new ideas!
