Blessings

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Now that I'm stuffed full of turkey and pie, I am ready to take a few days off from homeschooling and prepare for the next holiday. I try not to get too caught up in the mad consumerism of a capitalist society, but it's not always easy. This year I am trying to embrace the becoming minimalist ideals. Not always the easiest thing to do with kids in the house, but much easier with homeschoolers who don't watch television than it would be if my kids were constantly bombarded by advertising and peer pressure to have the biggest and the best toys.

I watched a video this week, The Story of Stuff, that really made me think about my relationship to stuff. The boys thought it was a real eye-opener. After watching it, EM told me he only wanted books for Christmas. We'll see if that statement holds true when the shopping starts.

When I try to think of the things I am thankful for, it's too hard to boil it down to a simple list. In fact, I'm trying to work on my attitude of thankfulness. What I really want is to learn to be content in any situation. If I can learn that, and pass that trait on to my sons, even if I teach them nothing else, I feel that I will have been successful in my role as their educator.

With that in mind, my list of things to be thankful for would have only one item on it:

everything.