Thankful for Anger

  Most holidays it is easy to focus on the good things to be thankful for. As always, I'm thankful for good food, great family, close friends, and moments in time spent soaking up the little joys in life.
  2013 feels a little different. Some of that comes with the fact all three of my kids have grown up so much. I still get heckled about bed time, sweet snacks, and how much TV they should get to watch, but isn't that typical stuff?
  This year I am thankful for anger and sensitivity. I am thankful for late nights of frustration and situations that need immediate action. In short, this year I am thankful for the tuff stuff. There are plenty of difficulties to come, as far a parenting is concerned, but there is also so much to look back on. I don't feel like a newbie any more and that is rather nice.
  There are still days I throw my hands up in impatience, but my kids aren't babies anymore and neither am I. We've hiked a few mountains together (literally) and changed a little in the climb.
  Here's a glass of sparkling cranberry cider to growing up a little as a parent and being thankful for the hard stuff in life.