I’ve struggled at times with feeling a little over-worked as a mom. I think that’s pretty common (OK, well, I know it is and we’ve heard from Psychologists about this).

So we tried one simple change and not only did it work… it left us with a (surprising) special addition to our routine.

A few months ago, my husband and I mapped out our weekly schedules, to plan times the whole family could hang out… and at least a few times a week for Josh to hang out one-on-one with our daughter, Savannah, to give me a break. One thing that came out of our planning was that two nights each week, Josh would put Savannah to bed.

As much as I love hanging out with Savannah, I’ve LOVED having two nights a week off of bedtime duty and would highly recommend trying it for anyone else feeling a little over-worked as a mom! (wink)

This one tweak has helped me to better appreciate what a great father Josh is. It’s helped me to enjoy my days and to enjoy our family–whom I love to pieces–even more.

Josh taking on some bedtimes has helped Savannah too. She used to scream and cry whenever I left the room—even if I was leaving her with Josh. After a couple of weeks of him tucking her in, her separation anxiety was way better, even with other people.

And, Josh surprised me by adding one step to their pre-sleep routine that I love and I think others may also want to incorporate. Before tucking in Savannah, he takes a minute to talk about what he’s thankful for.

He tells Savannah that he’s grateful for her, for his job, and for me and our life together. He also talks about some things she’s probably thankful for too, like her parents (us—whoohoo!), getting to go to preschool, and her friends.

I love this simple step of pausing to appreciate the good stuff.

You’ve probably heard the Charles Swindle quote, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it”. Maybe we can help shape our kids’ attitudes, so that every day is a little better for them.

There are so many heartbreaks and struggles in life, but there are so many happy, beautiful and wonderful parts of life too—I pray Savannah finds a way to spend her time focused on those.

I published an article a couple weeks ago about a mother who’s had five miscarriages. She became so obsessed with trying to have a baby to help compensate for her losses, that she ended up regretting not spending more time with the beautiful son that she has. One of her messages to others was that it’s still OK to love your family and live your life, even if you’re facing losses. Sometimes it’s really tough, but it’s still so important to try to remember to enjoy and appreciate what we have.

So, my wish for my daughter—and for you—is that through whatever heartaches and struggles you’re facing, or you will face, I hope you’ll find a way to be thankful for what you have. To teach your kids to be thankful for what they have. And to spend your energy focused on what makes you happy.

And, find a way to take a short break, once in a while– you deserve it!

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