© 2023 Rachel L. Shumate | All rights reserved.
When you’re a mom, you sometimes find the strangest sentences coming out of your mouth. Okay, it actually happens a lot, and if you notice them, it’s pretty hilarious. (If you know; you know…) Well, one strange question that I ask every night is, “Whatcha got to jingle about today?”
You see, my kiddo hates school. She was always in a terrible mood during the week and never had a positive thing to say about pretty much anything. (Sweet mercy…) And try as I might, I couldn’t get her out of her grumpy mindset. I attempted several different tactics to lift her spirits – pep talks, imparting parental wisdom (because that always works, ha!), various activities, etc. And then I came up with something that worked – or at least seems to help.
It’s very much like using a gratitude rock (which is a practice I do every day), only I knew that to entice my 10-year-old, it had to be more exciting… So, I decided to use a cute bell. Now, every evening before bedtime, I hand her the cute bell and ask her, “Whatcha got to jingle about today?” She then goes through her day and mentions all the things that she enjoyed, was grateful for, or is glad about, and jingles the bell for each. Then it’s my turn, and I do the same. It might sound a bit silly, but it’s been a huge success. I also know that she enjoys this little evening ritual because every once in a while, I forget about the bell, and Olivia always reminds me (without fail)! This simple practice also encourages us to look for all the positive things (big and small!) throughout our day, instead of focusing on the negative stuff. If you only concentrate on negative experiences, you will only have negative experiences. Plain and simple…
Since this has been such a huge help for us, I decided to share. I even made fun bells and cute cards which can be found on my Etsy boutique, and the gratitude rocks are also currently in stock if you feel bells are a tad too childish. Of course, you can use any bell or rock you like! Truly, this is an awesome activity to adopt regardless of what age you are, or what you decide to use as a fun reminder to practice gratitude. I hope you give it a try.
🙂
