There’s absolutely, positively no fooling them–they know.

I was a frazzled mama of three, my oldest still four when the youngest was born.

It was all I could do to manage house, home and a part-time ministry position, feeding one from my body and two from the table…or, the car seat.  Happy Meals aren’t just about the children; sometimes they’re sanity’s tether.

Mamas are master jugglers.  If we aren’t interested in selling our young ones to the circus on their wildest of days, we might be tempted to join it ourselves.  I’m certain the skill set transfers, and center ring at the circus is darn near a Calgon bath.

Children sense when we’re distracted.  They know when we aren’t really listening. 

Tiny hands grasping your cheeks and turning your face toward theirs is demand for full attention.

“Listen, Mama,“  they say without a spoken word.  Chubby toddler fingers have very loud voices.

Sometimes I wish I had the freedom of a child–

The inhibition to demand full attention…

The liberty to let you know it hurts me when you’re half engaged in our conversation and more interested in what’s streaming on your phone.

The tenderness to ask you to enjoy our time together without a camera chronicling every moment.

You see, I’m not pointing fingers at you right now.  I’m looking in the mirror…

PLEASE click to continue reading Thanksgifting, whose alternative title could have been “Pot Meet Kettle.” ~ smile ~

And at We Are That Family, I’ve offered 5 Ideas to Make This Year’s Thanksgiving the Best of All Time:

1.  Require a ticket to the table.  (And I’ll be doing it again this year since I’m hosting.)

2.  Establish Your Signature Dish.  (Can you guess what mine is?)

3.  Do Something Different.

4.  Give Surcies.

5.  Remember Others.

I hope you’ll click over for the rest of the story.

(Don’t forget to click over and comment to my intro post; DaySpring is letting me “sell” 50 Lisa Leonard necklaces for $0.00!!!)

Q.  What is your signature dish that everyone is begging for (if you have a link to the recipe, DO share in comments!).  And are you Black Friday shopping?  What in the world would motivate you to wade through the insanity of the day?