Gather your family and cherish your children

Ever have one of those weeks when you spend five hours on Saturday working hard to fix the busted pipe under the house, just to walk in after your done to hear your wife tell you that the washing machine won’t work?  Or, you finally get one of the cars working right and now you hear a funny noise coming from the other? 
Yep.  Me too. 
Combine all this home stress with work, kids, parent-teacher conferences, managing family finances and everything else going on, and life for all family members can be highly stressful. 
Days like these test the limits of our sanity and our ability to manage stress and maintain self control.  It’s days like this when we can lose sight of the better things in life that we are blessed with.
Still on days like this we are responsible for being the best parents we can.  While in the battle of day to day life we can forget that little eyes are still watching and learning from us.  Children and teens may be wondering what we’re doing or why we are so upset or angry.  They are also watching how we are coping with these problems and learning from how we solve these problems.  
During stressful times like these quality family time can be limited if we are not careful to manage each of these responsibilities well. 
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season.  This begins the time of year when we all can be a kid for a while if we try.  What a better time to reconnect with family and friends who mean so much for each of us.  On Thanksgiving, let’s take the time to slow things down and relieve some of the stress of our daily lives. Remember to involve your children in the day’s preparations and give thanks for them. 
Happy Thanksgiving.