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Monday, November 30, 2015

The Monday Morning After by Elizabeth Goddard



That’s right. I’m talking the Monday morning after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Have you stashed all your washed china away yet? Polished your silver before putting it back?
I’m spending this Monday morning recovering from Thanksgiving. This holiday is hard on the Mommas and the matriarchs of the family. Sure, plenty of people have changed things around so that everyone contributes, but really, who super cleans the house so others can come over and enjoy it? Who coordinates everything so that all the many parts of the meal come together like a symphony of culinary pleasure? And at the end of it all, who cleans up those dishes and pots and pans? And I'm talking a mile-high pile.

Most of the time it’s Momma.

Two days, sometimes three, ahead of the big day, I start cooking pies and preparing those casseroles so that the big day isn’t so hard. My husband cooks the turkey and ham and that takes a LOT of pressure off me. I think one of the hardest things is to get it all on the table hot and ready when there is only one oven!

But I did it, we did it, and then I spent the rest of the weekend loading and unloading the dishwasher and carefully putting china away. Ha!

But it’s Monday now and I can drink my coffee and relax.


Still it’s worth it to make my family happy and make those memories for my boys—still teenagers now. But one day, I want them to bring their families home to Momma's for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to focus on family and friends and come together to think about all the things we’re thankful for.

And let’s face it. We don’t do that nearly enough! I don’t know what the statistics are, or if anyone has gone to the trouble to find out—but I think we might spend way more time thinking about everything that is wrong in our lives than thinking about everything that is right.

So I have an action item for you.


On this morning after, don’t slip back into that old habit of letting all those little things that go wrong and add up to one bad day, get to you. Be deliberate about finding reasons to smile and have joy on the inside.

Be deliberate about cultivating a grateful heart.



Make THAT your habit and I promise it will change everything about your life. Before you know it more good things will happen.

Life is good. Life is a gift.

Okay, you can start now. What can you be grateful for at this moment in time? 

I'll go first. I'm grateful I get to enjoy coffee with my husband this morning, sitting on the comfy sofa in our living room and watching the news while we watch the snow. It's a beautiful day. 

Blessings!
Beth










4 comments:

  1. I hear you. This momma was grateful for her sil. My daughter, sil and grandson live right next door, so we had two ovens to use. My sil had the turkey in his oven and the ham in my oven. I prepared the desserts this year....on top of hosting Thanksgiving. It all turned out great. I could have used paper plates, but I chose to use real ones. A LOT of dishes, done by hand, but worth it.
    What am I grateful for at this moment? Peace and quiet....even the dogs are sleeping, giving me peace.
    God bless your week.

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  2. Debbie, me too. The peace and quiet after the "storm" of Thanksgiving is welcome. And it's snowing, something we rarely got in Texas but now that we're in Minnesota, I suppose we can expect to see this until spring. Enjoy your day and the rest of your week.

    Beth

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  3. I'm thankful for the friends who gathered around the table Thursday.

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  4. I'm thankful that I know how to cook - and that I got to use my ability to cook all week long. I'm thankful for family that bought all the supplies so that I could enjoy cooking for them. I'm thankful for family - the young, the tweens, the moms & dads, youngsters and oldsters. I'm thankful for my husband and my Savior - Jesus. Life is a gift - there's lots to be grateful for - and heaven is on the horizon!

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