The to do list is never done....

Every week we have tragedies and triumphs, and somehow it just evens out in the end. And at the end of the night, at the end of the week, after terrifyingly falling and flailing then trampolining (which my dictionary tells me is not a word) high and buoyant back up, there is a calmness. A stillness and a breath. You did what you could.  It may not have been everything, and the remaining list and next weeks list may seem insurmountable, but for an hour, an evening, or if you are very lucky, a blissful sleep filled night, you are allowed to feel accomplished.

After a particularly exhaustive day a few weeks I went to whine to my uncle.  I had geared up for a full scale whine, complete bottle accompanied with cheese and crackers.  Though he usually humors me, instead he asked me

"What went right?"

After listing off a handful of things, he commented "Well, there you go." 

What went right...how easy it is to focus on the negative, especially when it is busy smacking you in the face.  I think in a way we are taught, in a backwards manner of teaching humility, that it is not okay to feel good about what we have gotten done, or about our blessings in our life.  What would happen if parents looked at the paper a child brings home after struggling in math, and instead of seeing all the red marks for problems wrong, commented " Hey, look at this problem you got right! You remembered to bring down the negative sign - I know that is sometimes tricky.  Way to go!"

I am not talking about boosting a false sense of confidence, but instead just allowing there to be a moment when you can see that getting three of the ten things on the "to do" list done is still something getting done. 

Feel accomplished.

It's okay to feel that you have completed something 

Remember to see the things that go right.  The car started each day.  The kids made it to the school bus on time. Dinner was served before bed time.  Everyone's teeth got brushed...