You Can Stop Complaining Now

Do you know that cartoon Caillou? If you have a preschooler, I’m guessing you do.

I cannot stand that show. Every time I hear the theme song, it makes me want to jam crayons in my ears and glue my eyes shut. (On a side note, one time I walked in on my 5-year-old watching Caillou, and he actually said, “Ooh, Mom, I’m so sorry I am watching Caillou.” I never told him not to, but apparently I complained enough about it out loud for him to get the hint.)

Do you know what I don’t like about that cartoon? Caillou whines like it’s his job. Never mind his high-pitched voice or the shoddy animation, he just whines incessantly, and it drives me bananas.

Okay, now I sound like I’m complaining, so let me get to my point—despite the last two paragraphs, I can’t stand complaining. It drives me crazy! My son complains when his dad comes home and doesn’t have a gift for him. What is that about? I didn’t think I was spoiling him, because other than Christmas, I can’t remember the last toy I bought him. But, for some reason, he thinks we owe him something.

In order to remedy my son’s whining and the sense of entitlement, I decided that at the end of each day, after I read him his bedtime stories, he is going to tell me at least one thing he is thankful for every single day. And there can be no consecutive days, like he can’t be thankful for macaroni and cheese two days in a row (even if I put my lazy hat on and make macaroni and cheese for dinner two days in a row).

I, too, am going to list one thing I am thankful for every single day for the next 365 days, and I am going to share it with you.  I hope that in this project, Matthew and I learn to appreciate the things we take for granted. Hunt the good stuff, right?