Hi friends! I can’t believe we have made it through the first month of 2021, and that February is tomorrow. I feel a little ahead of the curve, I posted my February gratefulness challenge over a week ago, and we’ve got our valentines already made, addressed and ready to go in the mail tomorrow. More on that glittery goodness later. I thought a little reminder might be nice if you are joining me in this challenge!
January recap
In my bullet journal, I like to log some sort of gratefulness each day. For January, I focused on laughter with the quote:
“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”
William Makepeace Thackeray
Isn’t that the truth, though? When there’s a little bit of light-heartedness and laughter in the house, everything feels a little warmer and brighter. I will admit, this is something I need to work on – sometimes I am just a little too serious.
Mon Cœur (MC) has always been verbal, and now she’s really entertaining and astonishing me with her witticisms. This month it was pretty easy to laugh with all that she said. When I felt I was being a little too serious, she was always close by with something to lighten the mood. Here are a few snippets I never want to forget:
In the kitchen, while Chou chou and I are fixing lunch, MC approached me.
“I would like some S-T-H-A-O, please.”
Me: “What does that spell?”
Whispering, “Candy!”
She picks up on us spelling words when we are talking about something S-E-C-R-E-T that we don’t want her to hear. She understands this, and most of the time, unless we spell out the whole darn sentence, she gets it anyway, through the context of the rest of the phrase. Now, she is applying this method of spelling out words, and perhaps wanted me to know she wanted candy, without Chou chou knowing!
While washing her hands, I asked “Do you want to sing the ABCs or Happy Birthday?”
“It’s just an hour! Not a minute!”
Well, now I know! She’s got a concept of time, but it’s still very nebulous to her. When I ask her the last time she washed her hands, she’ll say, “Friday!” and it’s a Monday. She knows her time, days, and holidays, although how they all fit together are still a mystery, and I love when she responds with a totally crazy answer that is still absolutely in the correct context.
After asking me to W-A-T-C-H, while Chou chou and I were having a conversation, I responded, “You may watch one show.”
“I make the deals, not you!”
Oh really?! She’s pretty assertive, and so it was funny when she thought she might get the upper hand on screen time. We all had a good laugh, a good roaring belly laugh, and then Chouchou reminded MC who wears the pants around here. ME.
While she was playing in the kitchen, MC started counting, “One, two…Five, six, eleventeen, thirteen, nine, ten!”
Chouchou told her, “You know how to count – One, two, three…”
MC interrupting: “Don’t organize me, I’m counting!”
Linguistics is a mysterious and amazing field. MC has a vast vocabulary although sometimes I find myself struggling to understand her particular word choice…Like why did she say organizing? And when someone is mad…why does she say they are curious? She’s still figuring it out and I love listening to her as she shares her thoughts on her world.
Just yesterday, we were in her cabin playing and she grabbed the magic 8 ball (Chou chou’s childhood one – remember those?!), and with her serious voice (yes, she has a serious voice), she begins asking, “How do you…?”
And I looked at her in awe, thinking to myself, “Girl, you know how to use this!” But she must have seen confusion in my eyes, because she looked at me, and said, “Mom- you ask this thing questions!” and she went back to asking her question, “Is Olaf here?…(looks at the ball)…nope!”
February’s challenge
I really enjoyed January’s daily notes which I shared above. For February, I am planning on noting daily gratitudes for others based around the quote:
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer
As an introvert, keeping in touch with people and reaching out are not at the top of my priority list. I think it’s super important, though, especially now, to reach out and tell people how much they mean and the impact that they’ve made in my life. It’s a boost for me, thinking positively about the people in my life, and it’s a boost for them, hearing personally (out of the blue) what impact they have made on me.
Tomorrow, I will begin a personal challenge to reach out to at least one person a day to express my gratitude for them. I hope you’ll join me and touch base with those who have touched your life.
Read more about my “bujourney” here:
- February’s challenge
- Six lessons I’ve learned while beginning my bullet journal journey
- On new beginnings and bullet journaling
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