Gratituesday

In keeping with my theme of Upbeat! Cheery! Laid Back! this week, here are the things that I'm grateful for today:

1) That my reliance on PBS as a babysitter has not seem to affected A's mental health or vocabulary development(yet)
2) That my kids are healthy
3) That only two of the five members of my household coat everything with drool (hint: one is the dog)
4) That we currently have two working a/c systems in these hot, horrible, humid Florida months. Even though the electricity bills make me cry.
5) That my children are curious, happy, intelligent and well-mannered, despite the occasional meltdown, hissyfit or screaming match
5) That we can afford to buy food, whether anyone eats it or not. BTW, I will never, ever make casseroles again. M hates them, the kids hate them. I don't care how quikneasy they are. It doesn't save me any time if I have to go make a whole other meal for everyone not eating the damn casserole. My most recent attempt, a chicken spaghetti casserole, featured chicken, pasta and cheese, three usually tolerated -- if not beloved -- ingredients (and this was a Pioneer Woman recipe. Everyone loves PW! What gives?) It was deemed: yucky, crunchy but gooey, too oniony, not good, tenkyoumommyNONONONO, great! and yummy, thanks I'll have seconds. The eaters were: myself, M, sister Debbie, Debbie's Roommate Kari, and the kids. Guess who said what?

Our Parish's sister church is on the little island of La Gonave, Haiti. They are desperately poor, have no electricity and are almost completely dependent on food and supplies brought over from the mainland. Because of the recent string of hurricanes, Haiti itself is being cut off from the world and food is almost non-existent. On La Gonave, they have lost their entire avocado crop and this means almost certain starvation for many. When they can get food, the staple dish on La Gonave is a concoction of rice, beans and oil. At Mass on Sunday, we were encouraged to partake of a similar meal (or fast) on Fridays for the rest of the year and donate the difference in what we would have paid to eat out or have meat or butter or ice cream or whatever to our church's Partners with Haiti ministry. It may be a bit of a hard sell for my family, but I feel led by Gratitude to at least try it this week.