Grateful Grapes and Gripes

Mommy has decided to add a new "thing" to the blog called Grateful Grapes and Gripes. Why grapes? Because that is my absolute favorite food and Mommy is very grateful for that. We have horrible eating struggles and the fact that I like grapes in the first place is truly amazing.

Mommy has been struggling for a while (who hasn't?). She tries different things to be focused and happy but recently decided that the best thing would be....to be grateful for what she has. Not what she wants. This is certainly not a new concept but Mommy is just putting it into practice. But there might be an occassional vent release...so her new Monday post will be called Grateful Grapes and Gripes. Hopefully, more grapes..

To start off this new grateful feature of our blog, Mommy pays homage to her treadmill. Nope. It's not how fantastic we kiddos are (which is OBVIOUS). It's how grateful she is to her treadmill. Or as she calls it, her Anger Management Therapy. AMT for short. Mommy has always been a runner. She ran track in school, has always ran recreationally, and loves it. Yep. What most people call physical torture, Mommy calls a physical outlet. It's just convenient that running also helps give her more energy and stay in shape.

This therapuetic treadmill has seen lots of sweat and many a tear. Her silent frustrations of the day are met at lunchtime when us kiddos go down for a nap. She stretches and pops out some miles all the while meditating on her frustrations, goals, and ambitions. Many brainiac ideas have come from the treadmill. Some not-so-brainiac ones too.

One idea is to see how she can use running to benefit Down syndrome Outreach. The executive director of Whatcom Symphony, Mary Kay Robinson, had a pretty spectular fundraising idea that Mommy thinks is pretty creative. She trained for the Bellingham marathon this last fall and raised pledges per mile to benefits Whatcom Symphony's Music Outreach Program for school children. Mommy has thought about doing something similar for Down syndrome Outreach and is in fact training for a half-marathon (*not as ambitious as Mary Kay at this point). But you get the point, many thoughts come and go during Mommys 'therapy' time.

But Mommy is grateful for her treadmill. AMT for short. And that is your first grateful grape.