{8} Thankful...

I am thankful for a New Day.  Move on.  Move forward.

Yesterday was a rough day.  The to do list was overwhelming but honestly doable.  But I just did not have it in me.  Nope.  I hit the bed last night in tears.  Exhausted.  Huge list of the 'undone' mocking me.  Interesting how nighttime can make the 'incomplete' seem much more ominous than it truly is.

Then I wake up this morning... and guess what, as you may have noticed the world did not end because I failed.  Drama gone.  I think daylight just naturally improves my optimism.  Will I get everything done today including what didn't get done yesterday?  No way.  But the absolute truth about the matter is this:  no one outside of me even saw my 'to do' list yesterday!!  No one would have even known what did not get done, if it weren't for my very theatrical melt down.  I'm feeling a tad silly about myself in this light of a new day.  And if you could see my to do list for today... you would notice some 'arrows' drawn from several items listed yesterday... now pointing those 'to dos' to today.  And you know what?  I think the arrows are cute.  The undone to dos are not forgotten, afterall they really do need to get done.  How silly do I feel about my tears of last night?  Very.   So everything did not get done on Tuesday, but instead, as the cute arrows now indicate, they will get done on Wednesday.  And there was no rioting, tantrums, or earth shattering.  Simple.

When all our kids were little I taught them a precious little tid bit.  And that very tid bit has knocked me upside the head today.  When they made a wrong choice, and they came to me in remorse and regret, I would talk with them about it and when all was said and a new game plan was made to move forward, I would ask them this sweet little question:  "Do you want a 'do over'?"  They would leap into my arms, relieved.  "YES!!!"  The 'do over' was never denied.  I  wanted them to understand that the 'do over' could not always fix the mistake completely, but that the do over was permission to leave that mistake behind (repaired to the best of their ability) and they could try again to do better.  And now that the kids are older, the 'do over' is still alive and well in the Callahan household.  Fact is, I am known to request a needed do over too!  An Eternal Concept to be sure!!  How it must thrill Our Father to offer and then see us gratefully grasp the do over... aka repentance/forgiveness.  Thankful.  New Day.