Celebrate the Simple, Celebrate the Mundane

It was a day of celebration around our home as we enjoyed Gracie's first birthday. The three older kids spent the day serenading her with "Happy Birthday" and calling her the birthday girl. It truly warmed my heart to see them excited for her and honoring her day. Seeing their youthful, innocent celebration makes me reflect on how we celebrate as adults, and where our celebrating lacks.

When we are pleased with ourselves and feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment at achieving or completing some enormous task, we celebrate! Granted, we typically do not have a party, but we may go out to dinner, gives ourselves some other little treat, or even just bask in the feeling. But why don't we do this more often? Aren't there simple, mundane things that we do everyday, day in and day out, that are worthy of celebration? I think so. I think the more open and willing we are to this notion, the easier it will be to not fall victim to pity and to see how much we truly accomplished even when there may be nothing tangible to show.

We celebrate these things daily in our children's lives. Alex and Olivia, who have been potty-trained for 6 months now, still get at least one "Great job! You are so big!" a day. When Isabelle finishes a book in one night, I still tell her "That's awesome!" even though this is a nightly occurrence. When Gracie eats all her dinner I say "What a big girl you are!" Alex and Olivia clap for each other all day long. All these things are celebrations. As parents, this just comes naturally to us. I will admit I do get a little disappointed when one of my celebrations for one of the kids is met with a shoulder shrug or silence. I wonder if God feels the same way when we mope about and complain about how little we got done or how poorly something went on any given day. I'm sure He feels that same parental-pride as we go about the business of just getting the job done. We are wives and mothers. Our job is to embrace those roles, not to get them 100% right all the time. I bet God celebrates all of His childrens' day to day tasks. After all, we are designed for them and He appreciates the effort.

So, in that vein, I've decided I'd like to start celebrating more things in my day. This does not mean I'll celebrate with a piece of chocolate every time I change a diaper ("Look what I did! What a good mama I am!"). But, it does mean that I will acknowledge the simple and mundane things of my life in a positive way.

• I will celebrate the time I spent delayed from my work so that I could laugh with my children.
• I will celebrate that we had three meals to eat today, whether they were all wonderful from-scratch recipes, or if we had cold cereal for breakfast and tried out a new recipe for dinner that was a complete flop.
• I will celebrate that I did not pull all my hair out, bash my head against the wall, or run out of the house (alone) to an unknown destination.
• I will celebrate that I kept my temper in check; that I was not harsh in my words or actions.
• I will celebrate that I held the door open for someone, even though I didn't have any free hands.
• I will celebrate that I got to wake up next to the love of my life.
• I will celebrate that my children need and want me. Someday they might not.
• I will celebrate that I am awfully good at what I do, even if it takes me three days to get one pile of folded laundry completely put away.
• I will celebrate that my husband loves Jesus, loves me, and loves his children above all other things. He shows that in how hard he works every single day.
• I will celebrate that we were not out of coffee this morning.
• I will celebrate that I am a child of Grace and am loved unconditionally by my Creator.

How about you? What are some things you will choose to celebrate more often in your life? I'd love to hear!