Learning to be positive

This morning as I was picking up the shoes from the mudroom floor I was reminded that yesterday my daughter, Rebecca, had completed an assignment from school. They had read a book (I need to find out the title) about someone who had scooped dog poop in his neighborhood as a service because no one wanted to do it. He saw a need and filled it. So Rebecca's assignment from school was to find a need and fill it, anonymously. (DON'T YOU LOVE THAT?!) She walked into the mudroom and saw shoes spilling out from the shelves and onto the floor, and went to vacuuming and tidying. WOW! It was fabulous!

I keep a little pad of sticky notes in the mudroom to write notes to my children when I see them doing something good and stick the note in their clean laundry basket. I decided to write her a note to say thanks for cleaning up since her work yesterday made today's job so quick and easy. As I was writing, I had one of those moments that you have in motherhood when you feel like "This is what I am supposed to learn from being a mother:" to learn to see and acknowledge the good in others. Learning to thank. In moments like this it is such an obvious picture: you see the good, you tell someone else, the other person feels good, it strengthens his or her desire to be good, and he/she choose to do good again. Those small and simple things! In the moment I could feel that it was more important for me to stop and take 30 seconds to write a note then it was to keep going about my morning work of folding, tidying, wiping, and clothing.

I just had to write it down because I need to remember to take the time to do that!

And isn't it so great to have school teachers who are also spreading around goodness?

I find that coming to our Mothers of America meetings give me a boost to look for the good. You are all teachers to me. Thanks!