The other day, I wrote a little piece about how it seems to be that some of the best things happen when we least expect them. As a single parent family, we can get used to being braced for trials and troubles and forget that there are plenty of good surprises that come our way too. What about making a family practice to celebrate and notice those wonderful good surprises instead of just bracing for the troublesome ones?
Okay, so maybe we would all love to win the lottery and surely a windfall of that magnitude would be a happy surprise worth celebrating, but there are plenty of other good surprises that happen during the course of a day or week that we can take notice of as well. A good grade on a test or getting a day or two extension on a deadline or project? What a pleasant surprise! How about when you go to the grocery store and find out that milk is on sale 2 gallons for $5.00? What a very good surprise that can be. I also love it when I’m at the grocery store and find there is a sale on ice cream—how can a family pass that one up?
A phone call or e-mail from a friend or family member can be something worth mentioning at the dinner table, as can a surprise visit from someone near and dear to us. Can you see how these seemingly ordinary life events can be classified as good surprises? It can be so easy for a harried single parent family to notice only the headaches and hardships, but we can train ourselves and practice noticing all the fun little good treats that come our way as well. Why not start the dinner conversation tonight by asking: “Were there any good surprises that happened to you today?”