“If my experience as a mother has taught me anything, it is to be awake for such moments, to keep life simple enough to allow them to occur, and to appreciate their fleeting beauty … these are the moments that, woven together, constitute the unique fabric of our family life. Herein lies the deep color, the lights and shadows, of our days together.” (Katrina Kenison)

I was introduced to Mitten Strings for God through Dawn’s blog and her book study. I never had time to participate in her online discussion, so I suggested the book to my real-life book club as last month’s selection. I loved this book. I am actually reading a number of different books on this same theme right now (more later), but Mitten Strings was the the one that speaks to the heart instead of the mind.

In a series of short essays, Katrina Kenison shares examples from her family. The themes of the books are slowing down, creating a atmosphere of peace, getting the most out of every day with your family. The subtitle is “Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry” but it could have been “Reflections for Mothers Who Want to Slow Down.” Despite the mention of God in the title, the book is not religious in nature. This is a book that can stay on the night stand for years giving an opportunity to read for inspiration when life seems overwhelming. It is also a book that should not necessarily be followed like a recipe. What works for Kenison’s family may not work for mine. Instead the themes can be ingested and my own ideas can emerge as to what is good for us.

To that end, I didn’t want to read this book, put it down, and then not internalize the parts I felt were important. In my busyness, that would be so easy to do. So instead, I am going to work through a chapter each month and from that chapter devise a new habit for our family — something that will move us towards to goal of the chapter. Since it takes 28 days to form a habit, a month is just about the right speed.

Chapter One is all about Dailiness — or finding joy in the simple and mundane of everyday living. I call this living instead of waiting to live. I feel like I do an OK job at celebrating the dailiness of my life. The scrapbooking industry has been focusing on the everyday for a couple of years now, and therefore so have I. I have learned to recognize and record things like breakfast, the evening routine, what we are reading, my favorite pair of shoes. There is always room for improvement.

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So, my habit for July is this. I am going to keep a gratitude list. On that list I will write down those daily things that I notice and am grateful for. I am not creating a bunch of rules for myself. I don’t HAVE to write everyday, but I am going to try. It can be one word or 100. I may or may not get some or all of them posted on the blog. I am going to keep this a free and easy as I can. The only requirement is that it be something in our everyday lives that I notice and take a moment to savour and give thanks.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

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