What I did Right Today

So today was the pits.  Seriously bad (minus dinner with friends and our new bed FINALLY getting here).  Bug woke up at 3 am, Bean had trouble listening, both girls had colds and neither girl took a nap, and on and on.  Add to all that the fact that I'm not feeling well and let's just say my patience was thin- and that's being generous.

After getting home from dinner at our friend's house and putting the girls to bed I decided to take a bath- yeah the day was that bad... As I sat there I started to reflect on my day all my regrets started to surface.  The times I snapped, the times I said "not right now" and the more I thought the worse I felt about how I'm doing as a mom.  Then another, different kind of thought came into my head.  It was almost like hearing a voice.  "What did I do RIGHT today?" And it stopped my self loathing dead in its tracks.  

So many times after the girls go to bed I review everything I did "wrong" that day, end up not liking myself very much and go to bed promising myself that I'll do better tomorrow.  But then morning comes and someone screams about, well, anything, someone is sick or something breaks.  I lose my temper and I feel guilty for failing so early in the day despite my promise to be "better".  This thinking taints my day and a lot of times sends it into a downward spiral.  Isn't there a better way?

I think so.  Tonight after I stopped thinking about the things I did wrong and focused on the things I did right I started to forget those things I did "wrong" and started to feel uplifted.  They weren't huge things- remember how I said today went? But they were good nonetheless.  Things like  "I fed the girls lunch- which even included fruits and veggies", or "I hugged and kissed both my girls more than once today" and when we went for dinner our girls were well behaved (at least I think so ;-) ).  How many kids don't get good meals regularly, or don't get any hugs or kisses, or  how many times do we think what we're trying to instill in our kids is falling on deaf ears? 

Sometimes trying to find the good things in your day is hard.  With the devil whispering in your ear, reminding you of all the times you've failed and the guilt consuming you, its hard.  But I challenge you to think of the good things you did today.  Even if its just one. Even if its simple. I think it will change the course of your thinking and give you a better outlook on tomorrow.  It worked for me tonight and the crazy thing is I can't wait until tomorrow night to look back on my day and search for the things I did right.  It encourages me to work hard to make that list long and gives me hope that no matter what comes tomorrow I will choose to find the good in the day rather than wallow in the guilt over what I've done wrong.  So I ask you, what did you do right today?