grandparents

THANK YOU. These are two simple words on their own, but collectively they mean so much coming from a hard working, sleep deprived parent to someone who spends time bettering the lives of children and families.

Until recently we were like many young families in Alaska in that our closest relatives were seperated by 6 hours and long, expensive flights. We have some friend support but it’s just not the same as a family’s support, love, and flexibility.

This all changed two short months ago when my parents decided that they would like to support our family by providing care for our two young sons while my partner and I continued to work full-time, volunteer, participate in other community activities, continue to be active at our first son’s daycare and pursue other interests. My parents moved to Juneau for the sole purpose of supporting our family! In a short period of time having Grandma and Grandpa just 13 minutes away from our home has already produced noticeable dividends in the stability and flexibility of our lives. My parents have demonstrated unconditional love and I am very thankful; I try to tell them this often and in many different ways.

I can remember at a young age after a birthday or a holiday my mother sitting me down at the kitchen table to compose thank you notes for the gifts I’d received. No matter how big or small the gift she always had a list of people that needed to be thanked and my project was not over until every name was crossed off that list!

This lesson of being thankful is who I am in that I still write thank you notes and I try to show my gratitude to those people that I encounter in life. I think in the busyness of the first 3 ½ years of our first son’s life I may have overlooked some people that I should be thanking… and thanking often.

I need to thank the “teachers” at daycare, the daycare manager, my boss at work for being so supportive and understanding of family demands, my co-workers for their flexibility, my friend support, members of Dad’s groups that have shown their support, volunteers that host child events, playgroups, and parent classes, our pediatrician that really cares and the list continues.

I am sure that your list would look different than mine but the exercise is to recognize the contributions that others make in your lives and your family life and acknowledge them. I also like to practice thankfulness in our home by thanking my partner for the simple things that could easily go unnoticed - making lunches, folding a load of laundry, cleaning the bathroom, handling the night routine of our oldest son or feeding the animals.

I have noticed that that this lesson is starting to be absorbed when our 3 ½ year-old says thank you for passing him a book or his favorite car. It is my hope that I can be successful in teaching him and his younger brother many more lessons that they will thank me for some day.