Appreciation

I recently read a study. The study says that the number one attribute of a happy family is APPRECIATION. Simple and uncomplicated appreciation. Remembering to say thank you and please. Noticing the "invisible tasks", like taking out the garbage and laundry, and a myriad of chores and responsibilities that when done are well...hardly noticed, but when not done create different not so pleasant responses. Do you say thank you for washing and folding my socks? I hope so. Because while no one really notices that the room was "un"dusted, they do notice if it is not or even better probably you haven't been thanked for clean underwear today but you will certainly hear about it if there is no clean underwear. And being appreciated for doing the task sure makes it easier to march on and complete those need to, should do, ought to be done little and big necessities of life. So if you decide your family could do with a little more showing of appreciation, start modeling it. Tell them thank you gently and unassumingly for that which you are grateful to have benefited from. Like noticing when they put their dishes in the dishwasher or hang up their coat or help their sister with something. Do it for a month. Watch and see what changes you experience. I love it when a Savage say's "Mom, thanks for dinner it was delicious." or "Mom, thanks for putting those clean clothes in my room." One of my favorite "Thanks for putting gas in the van." I know, doesn't it just warm you all the way through? And I should remind you that working to earn a living is in need of appreciation also, so remember to tell the spouse how much that helps that he is willing to go to work every day. Hey I just remembered, Blind Side the movie...Happy family..appreciation "Everyone tell mom thank you for going to the store and bringing us back this food". Thank You Mom! ~Hugs~

I am grateful for feeling inspired, peaceful, and aware. Those are the feelings I enjoy. I have felt sad and soleful the last few days. As a mother, my life is changing and change, well what is there to say it is change. My oldest Daughter is attending USU. I miss her. I long to have soleful visits with her. Eat her delicious cooking, I miss her helpfulness and just listening to her happiness. My Middle Child left for USU last week. I dropped her off sick and homeless. (Thanks to grandma and grandpa for giving her a place to land.) I miss her much. Her beautiful music, her quiet determination, her inspiring dedication to move and exercise her mind and body. Her regular search for creating beauty. The house is quiet. I neglected to spend the time to learn some of their secrets. Here's to you my beautiful loved daughters.
I have been questioning why such a happy life is so complicated and seems so hard. I am thinking it is in the thinking. As a result I have been listening to some cd's on creating happy homes. My home is happy! I think I would like to have far far away's theme be. We are happy people. We create happy people and this is the happiest place on earth.
Somehow, I know that living the gospel principles is the key to true happiness. I could say more about this, but in the interest of self correcting my hypergraphia I will allow you to think on this on your own. The joy is in the present. And the purpose of the task, whatever it is, it to build the relationship. I am grateful for the time I spent listening to my children. I am grateful for the moments we have spent repeating lines from movies and laughing as they "sing to tattle". I am grateful for the time spent baking and cleaning the kitchen. Gratitude, keeps me grounded, peaceful, inspired and aware of the marvelous blessing of being a mother. ~Hugs~

My sweet sister in law asked if I had a blog. I told her that I did but I never knew whether I would go public or not. I love to put my words on paper. I write out my feelings, thoughts and ideas all the time. Notes to my dear husband are often too long and wordy for his interest. I carefully write in my journal, because I tend to write things that later I don't want published. Paper with notes can be found everywhere, evidence of my illness. "Hypergraphia" a tendency toward compulsive and extensive writing. I recently learned this by reading Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. By Dr. Amen. I also read The Brain That Changes Itself. by Dr. Norman Droidge. I found both fasinating, and a little disturbing at times. I recognize many dysfunctions which have become evident over the years in my own life. Getting caught in mental loops that won't let go. Thinking about some faucets of life "like all the time"..background noise that is exhausting. Now some of this is all just personality...to which I am grateful. However, there are areas of brain function which I vow to reclaim, to retrain, and regain. I choose to seek the joy meant to be learned and felt while in this life. I no longer want to focus on the negative, have the dentist on my mind all the time, or feel not good enough. I desire to create, dream and imagine then live..like that. I am intrigued by the scientific research into learning, processing, mapping and functions of the brain done through nueroscientists and keyed to educating. Keeping my mind sharp requires I learn new things, not just keep up what I already know. A stagnant life leads to a brain that continues to take the same pathways over and over again. If I want to feel alive and excited I must create new pathways. I want to be old and functioning, old and communicating so well that I can not be misunderstood.(more on this later.)
See what I mean...I can just keep writing, and writing. Next, to invest in some of the scientific projects that have come about from the reasearch of years past. Stay tuned, we will help each other. And just in case you needed it today...Here's a ~hug~! Lisa