Sometimes, life gets a little too comfortable. Sometimes, we begin to take things for granted. Sometimes we forget that every single detail in our life is a GIFT FROM G-D...Recently, I noticed that there were certain aspects of my life that I was taking for granted and not showing enough gratitude, either to G-d or his messengers that provide me with daily, if not hourly, reasons to be grateful. If I really sat and thought about it, I'm sure I could come up with hundreds more reasons to be grateful, but here is a shortened list:
1) I am grateful that I was born in Canada and that I was able to experience falls and winters there growing up. Playing in the beautiful changing/falling leaves, building snowmen and making snow angels as a child were very special and irreplaceable parts of my childhood.
2) I am grateful that I was born to the two parents I was blessed with. Through the years, being their daughter has taught me a lot about myself and the kind of woman I want(ed) to grow to become.
3) I am grateful to my parents for speaking to me in Hebrew and French while I was growing up, as now I am fluent in three languages.
4) I am grateful to my surrogate sisters in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Atlanta and beyond, who have taught me the true value of real friendship.
5) I am grateful to my ex husband for loving me enough to let me go.
6) I am grateful to Rabbi Ross Singer and his wife Emily for helping me to connect with the deepest part of myself and encouraging me to begin my journey into the rich world of Yiddishkeit.
7) I am grateful to Rabbi Fass and Nefesh B'Nefesh (www.nbn.org.il) for helping me realize my dream of making Aliyah and then giving me a job as a Pre Aliyah Counselor for my first year and a half here.
8) I am grateful to Prof. Reuven Feuerstein (www.icelp.org) for giving me a job as a mediator in his holy center of miracles.
9) I am grateful to all the different guys I went on dates with before I met my husband, as every wrong date brought me closer to my soul mate.
10) I am grateful for Facebook as it allows me to stay connected to people I love and it serves as a great tool for educating the rest of the world and trying to change their misconceptions about the amazing place I live in.
11) I am grateful to live in a community full of people who do tremendous chessed (acts of loving kindness). One of the many examples is not allowing me to cook a single meal for my family for a whole month, after each time I gave birth.
12) I am grateful to G-d for bringing me my sweet, caring, loving and devoted Hubby at the perfect time.
13) I am grateful to G-d and to Hubby for making me an Ema (mother) to my two precious jewels.
14) I am grateful for the fantastic medical care I received during my pregnancy, during labour and during my stays in the hospital post deliveries.
15) I am grateful that Hubby's income allows for me to stay home with our kids and to be there for all of their important milestones.
16) I am grateful for Shabbat. To this day, I have no idea how I managed living a life without it.
17) I am grateful each morning I wake up to the sound of Hubby and our special little treasures.
18) I am grateful for cool and sunny days around this time of year.
19) I am grateful for my crockpot, which allows for me to make yummy and healthy meals without having to hang out for hours in the kitchen.
20) I am grateful for the shows "Law and Order" and "Glee", the two shows that Hubby and I enjoy watching together after the kiddies have gone to sleep.
21) I am grateful for SKYPE, as it allows for my kids to develop and maintain relationships with their grandparents who live on the other side of the world.
22) I am grateful for G-d's mitzvot, His Commandments, as they encourage me to live a rich life of striving to become the best Me that I can be.
23) I am grateful for Ben & Jerry's, as their sinfully decadent ice creams are wonderful treats, especially on a hot summer day (or any other day, for that matter).
24) I am grateful for good music and fun times dancing with my kids.
25) I am grateful for being able to see the good that comes from very painful events in my life and encouraging the people I love to do the same.
Dear reader, take a good and honest look at your life. There's no question in my mind, that you too, have many, many things to be grateful for. I truly believe that only good things can come from developing an attitude of gratitude.
With Love,
Cigal
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Don't Cry Over Spilled Smoothies
I've finally figured out a way for my little guy to ingest fruits and really enjoy them. Every day, I get my blender out and throw in a mix of some of the yummiest seasonal fruit, freshly squeezed OJ and vanilla flavored BIO yogurt. He gulps it down and then in his cutest possible voice, lifts the cup to me and says "Ama(aka Ema), Mo(aka More!)".
Yesterday morning we were all dressed and ready to go to preschool when he decided he wanted a little more "O juice" (that's what he calls most juices). The baby was dressed and waiting patiently in the double stroller and my sweet little boy went for the cup that was sitting on the table, saying "finish me!". I guess he must have tripped over something, because the cup went flying out of his hands, and the juice splashed all over him and all over the floor. Right then and there, I stopped in my tracks and thought" This is a perfect teachable moment, Cigal. Don't get annoyed. It was an accident. He didn't do it on purpose and the way you respond to him is SO important"...
"Oh, Oh", I said..."Your yummy juice spilled on the floor...I'm so sorry, honey. You must be disappointed because you really wanted to drink it. Ema is going to clean the floor up so no uninvited guests come over (aka ants). After I clean the floor, I will wash you up, change your clothes and give you more juice if you would like". And that's exactly what I did: I wiped the floor, washed him up, put on dry clothes and gave him more smoothie to drink. Even though he was covered in juice, he was giggling and clapping his sticky little hands as I sang silly songs to him while washing him up and changing his clothes. All the while, his little sister was waiting patiently in their stroller playing with her dolly. After gulping down his drink, we headed to preschool and got there a half hour late.
Fast forward to the late afternoon. The same exact thing happened with his smoothie. Somehow, the cup slipped out of his hands and splashed all over the floor, our couch and him. It felt like G-d was testing me to see how I would respond this time. I was determined to pass the test. Instead of getting annoyed or impatient, I said " My sweet little boy, you're just not having any luck with your drinks today, are you? It's not the end of the world, honey. Ema can always make you more, if you would like". I cleaned him, the couch, and the floor and gave my little guy a big hug and said "I love you, my sweet boy". He then led me to the kitchen by the hand, opened the fridge door, pointed to the blender with the juice in it and said "MO!".
What was the lesson I was to learn from this? What was the lesson I wanted to impart to my boy? That Life often throws us curve balls. Sometimes those curve balls are small annoyances and other times, they're big and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I want to teach my kids how to roll with the punches. How to "go with the flow" and not sweat the small stuff. In this case, there was no use at all to cry over the spilled smoothies.
With Love,
Cigal
Yesterday morning we were all dressed and ready to go to preschool when he decided he wanted a little more "O juice" (that's what he calls most juices). The baby was dressed and waiting patiently in the double stroller and my sweet little boy went for the cup that was sitting on the table, saying "finish me!". I guess he must have tripped over something, because the cup went flying out of his hands, and the juice splashed all over him and all over the floor. Right then and there, I stopped in my tracks and thought" This is a perfect teachable moment, Cigal. Don't get annoyed. It was an accident. He didn't do it on purpose and the way you respond to him is SO important"...
"Oh, Oh", I said..."Your yummy juice spilled on the floor...I'm so sorry, honey. You must be disappointed because you really wanted to drink it. Ema is going to clean the floor up so no uninvited guests come over (aka ants). After I clean the floor, I will wash you up, change your clothes and give you more juice if you would like". And that's exactly what I did: I wiped the floor, washed him up, put on dry clothes and gave him more smoothie to drink. Even though he was covered in juice, he was giggling and clapping his sticky little hands as I sang silly songs to him while washing him up and changing his clothes. All the while, his little sister was waiting patiently in their stroller playing with her dolly. After gulping down his drink, we headed to preschool and got there a half hour late.
Fast forward to the late afternoon. The same exact thing happened with his smoothie. Somehow, the cup slipped out of his hands and splashed all over the floor, our couch and him. It felt like G-d was testing me to see how I would respond this time. I was determined to pass the test. Instead of getting annoyed or impatient, I said " My sweet little boy, you're just not having any luck with your drinks today, are you? It's not the end of the world, honey. Ema can always make you more, if you would like". I cleaned him, the couch, and the floor and gave my little guy a big hug and said "I love you, my sweet boy". He then led me to the kitchen by the hand, opened the fridge door, pointed to the blender with the juice in it and said "MO!".
What was the lesson I was to learn from this? What was the lesson I wanted to impart to my boy? That Life often throws us curve balls. Sometimes those curve balls are small annoyances and other times, they're big and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I want to teach my kids how to roll with the punches. How to "go with the flow" and not sweat the small stuff. In this case, there was no use at all to cry over the spilled smoothies.
With Love,
Cigal
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