Every night I put my sons to bed I make sure to take time for them to ask questions, share details of their day, and generally decompress. Last night my eldest asked “Daddy, how was work today?” He doesn’t usually ask about my work but today for whatever reason he did. 

I said that the day had its ups and downs, as they occasionally do, but the most wonderful part of the day was getting to work with, think with, and talk with great people who really care about what they are doing. He asked what made them care so much and I replied that each one has his own personal reasons but underneath it all each one of them loves to be valued and valuable. 

He told me in reply that his day was weird because they did CRCT testing all day and that they weren’t even allowed to be loud in break.  A rough day in the life of a fourth grader I suppose! Then he added that his teachers and sone if the kids were just like the people I work with…caring. 

No matter what your day brings, find something in it to be thankful for. Even if the only thing you can come up with is being thankful for the opportunity to be thankful, you’ve gone a long way to ending the day with grace and dignity.