We took our children to the Columbus Zoo this past weekend. As we prepare for the start of the school year, we wanted to squeeze just a little more fun out of the summer with them. It’s already been an incredibly fun summer, packed with everything the best summers are full of: friends, food, sunshine, beaches, swimming and plenty of new adventures.
This zoo trip fell right in line, as we even sprung for some of the extras, paying to let our kids feed the giraffes and buying them each an overpriced ride wristband so that they could take advantage of the amusement park rides at the park.
So, after about six hours of fun, we told our tired and overheated children that it was time to go. And, if you’re a parent or have been around kids after a big day, you probably know what their reaction was: tears and whining.
“But we didn’t even buy a single toy,” cried my 5-year-old.
“But I didn’t get to do every single thing I wanted to,” whined my 3-year-old.
I know this knee-jerk reaction. We all do, I suppose. It’s the part of us that, even though we have so much, longs for more. It’s the part of us that wanders around the store looking for something to buy, despite all our needs being met. It’s the part of us that snacks to fill the void. It’s the part of us that seeks out the newest and shiniest, the part of us that remains dissatisfied once we get the thing we’ve been longing for.
I kneeled down and sternly looked at each of my children and said, “Girls, it’s been a big day. We’re all hot, we’re all tired. And, we’ve had a lot of fun. We’ve done a lot of extra things today, and we’ve spent a lot of money already. So, instead of leaving feeling greedy for more, we’re going to leave feeling grateful for what we’ve done. Or, we may not be able to do fun things like this anymore because they don’t bring out the best in us when it’s time to be done. So let’s leave well, and think about the things we did that you enjoyed the most, and look forward to the next time we come.”
Colleen Cook works full-time as the Director of Operations at Vinyl Marketing in Ashland, where she resides with her husband Mike and three young daughters. She’s an insatiable extrovert who enjoys finding reasons to gather people.
And, peacefully, we left. As the emotional upheaval settled down, the girls began to talk about their favorite moments of the day and there was no more talk of the things we didn’t do.
Looking through the lens of gratitude brings us back to center, every time. I saw a post on Instagram this morning ruminating on the heaviness of the headlines. There are so many, many things to grieve and feel concerned about in the world as nations fall, disaster strikes, the pandemic swells and we’re increasingly divided. Yet, the story in the post reminded me that while all of those things are true, equally true are the good things happening around each of us every day.
When you begin to look through the lens of gratitude, it’s easy to feel just as overwhelmed by the goodness of the life you’re living. The freedom we’re living in, the blessings we’re given, the peace in our daily lives. So many of us live in such abundance, yet we miss it because we grow bored and accustomed to the indulgence that it is to be alive in our time and place.
We begin to cry out for more, stomping our feet and whining that we didn’t get every single thing that we wanted. Yet, when we stop for a moment to feel grateful for what we have, not only do we begin to feel content, we also begin to see our opportunity to share that goodness with those around us, with those who are hurting and in need.
