10 Things I’m Thankful For as a Parent

You’re supposed to say Jesus.

Let’s just come right out of the gate and say that upfront.

You’re supposed to say you’re thankful for Jesus and your favorite book of all time is the Bible.

But let’s be real for a second. As parents, let’s push aside the Sunday School answers for a minute and be honest about what we’re really thankful for this year. I’ll go first.

10 things I am thankful for as a parent:

1. The magical “please stop screaming in this department store device” that is the iPhone.
2. The lock on our bedroom door.
3. Family size bags of chicken nuggets or “strips” if you’re feeling fancy. Every kid goes through a “nugget phase.” A lot of the doctors won’t tell you that, but I will.
4. Restaurants that don’t shame you if your kid destroys them and licks all the tops of the salt containers.
5. Grandparents who live close enough to babysit.
6. The politician who will one day abolish the concept of “Daylight Savings Time.” I hate you so much Daylight Savings Time.
7. That glorious moment when your kids can finally put on their own shoes.
8. The Penguins of Madagascar. I would go to that movie even if I didn’t have kids but taking my kids with me makes the whole thing a lot less awkward.
9. Babysitters who unexpectedly do the dishes. I could write poetry about people like that.
10. Breakfast supper! That wonderful moment when you realize you don’t want to make dinner and trick your kids into believing having a scrambled egg at night is a special thing.

Those are my top 10 but certainly, as a parent, you’ve experienced your own thankful moment this year.

What would you add to this list?