Gratitude Sunday

Happy Sunday folks. This weekend my family headed out of town to visit relatives in New England. Unfortunately, our visit was prompted by a phone call from my mother-in-law informing us that my brother-in-law had been in a motorcycle accident and was injured. The good news is that he is alive. Today we saw him for the first time since his accident and he seemed to be in as good spirits as one can be when recovering from a bad accident. And even though the hospital can be a scary place for kids, Annabelle was delighted with her uncle’s balloons, an amazing fountain in the lobby, and a huge elephant constructed out of leggos.

So, in the coming week, I will likely be tending to family matters, caring for my daughter, and being there for my husband, his brother, my niece and nephew and my mother-in-law. What that translates to is a lot of time spent at the hospital, my mother-in-law’s home, and playing with the kiddos in the pool and around the house. I may not be able to post as much, but I will be here in spirit! Keep e-mailing me and commenting . . . I so enjoy participating in discussions over parenting, the environment, education, green vaccinations, etc.

But before I go, I will share a few of my favorite reasons for being alive this week, and they are:

1. My family is healthy right now. Despite health scares in our extended family, another relative’s emergency trip to the hospital (she’s okay), and the loss of two loved ones in the past 6 months, my husband, my daughter, and I are in great health right now. Observing the health conditions of those around us during this time has made me appreciate and not take for granted the fact that my husband can walk up a flight of stairs and ride his bike 6 miles to work a few times a week, that my daughter runs around our neighborhood and our house keeping me on my toes and as active as can be, and that I am able to get up each morning and run before taking on a full day of mothering. We are lucky that we can do these things. So many folks are not physically able to do so.

2. Yogurt and the wondrous lactobacteria. Okay, this is a bit embarrassing, but I have to share with you. A few weeks I go I needed to take antibiotics for a sinus infection that exploded into a nasty ear infection. Weeks later I suffered the uncomfortable side effects of taking antibiotics: it wreaks havoc on one’s digestive system by eliminating all bacteria, including the good bacteria that helps regulate digestion and our health. To remedy my condition, I ate, oh maybe 8 cups of yogurt a day to replace the good bacteria that my stomach needed. To read what Dr. Sears has to say about the benefits of eating yogurt and ingesting lactobacteria, click here.

3. Other Environmentalists. This week my girlfriend Melody forwarded this awesome You Tube video to me about folks living in a self-sustaining way, growing their own food in their front and back yards (yes, this is a true story of green living right inside suburbia). Not only do they collect rain water to maintain their gardens, but they grow artichokes in their front yard! I am so inspired!

4. My “Village.” My immediate family consists of my husband, my daughter, and me. Our parents live out of state, as do our siblings and cousins. After reading Sharon Heller’s The Vital Touch and reflecting on her discussion about a child’s need to be touched and held by his parents and other loved ones, I wondered at how, in this day and age, nuclear families in the U.S. (and much of the world) who live apart from their “clans” are able to give their children the love and affection that they need in order to thrive. My answer (and I am pretty sure that it is Heller’s too) is to create a “village” or clan consisting of friends, neighbors, mothers helpers, elders and one’s greater community to help a family to raise loving and balanced children. Our parents live in New England, so my husband and I befriended an elderly neighbor who lives nearby. She calls me weekly to check in on me and my daughter. I have another older female friend who e-mails me frequently and is always concerned about my daughter and me. My husband’s college and work friends and my own “mommy” friends have become like aunts and uncles to my daughter. I am still working on finding a responsible and loving teenager to act as “big sister” to my daughter, although our neighbors’ 5 year old and 4 year old who follow my husband and daughter to the park each day seem to love Annabelle as they might love their own cousin. Last, I rely upon a great community of parents in my local moms’ groups, La Leche League, and Attachment Parenting group. Perhaps someday, our local schools will be participate in helping our family raise healthy and loving children. Together, if we choose to be loving and compassionate with our own and each others’ children, those of us who live far away from our biological families can reap the benefits of having a family consisting of friends and neighbors–we can be today’s village, that of the modern, industrial world.

5. Parents who blog or web-publish about traveling with their toddlers. I wrote that with a smile but I mean it with all seriousness. To travel from D.C. to New England, our family followed the American road tradition and piled up our car, got in, and drove a far distance to reach our destination. I am truly thankful to other bloggers and web writers out there who shared their secrets to happy, stress-free travel with toddlers My friend Rebecca recommended that I pack snacks and new toys and books to distract Annabelle from sour moods, my husband’s co-worker suggested we bring children’s programs and a portable DVD player, and as mentioned, several great web-sites gave tips on what worked on the road to beat their own kids’ boredom. Thanks to all of the suggestions, our family enjoyed a pleasant drive with lots of fun and only a little crying and frustration. Here are a few of my favorite toddler travel tip sites:

Toddler Travel Tips

“Road Trip Survival Guide” by Baby Center

Mom’s Minivan.com

I will keep folks posted about my brother-in-law’s health, and in the meantime, we appreciate all the positive thoughts, energy, and prayers you might direct towards him and our family. I’ll be around as much as possible and hopefully I’ll learn a bit about environmental efforts at our “home” away from home.