A Good Quitter

Hannah Barrett is a good quitter.  I have just learned this about her.  She is my only thumb-sucker, and quite honestly, she has been "hitting it pretty hard" lately.  She turns four this coming April, and I had decided that would be the time to insist she stops.  I had mentally prepared myself for a few conversations this spring about the importance of not thumb-sucking.  Interesting... in that I have convinced Hannah to do very few things in her short life.  She, herself, climbed out of her crib to let me know it was time for a change, and when she was two she decided over the period of a weekend to stop using diapers after watching her cousin Dory's potty independence.
Last week, we went to the library.  In our usual fury of keeping small children safe and obtaining books for five people at the same time, there were many items in my bag that I did not pick out knowingly.  One of them was called "Thumb-love".  It is the story of a young girl who decides to quit sucking her thumb and the methods she uses to stop.  It is clever and creative and cute.  I read it to Hannah; she had Daddy read it to her.  And then she stopped.  That was it.  A decision.  She told us she was not going to suck her thumb any more and she didn't.  That was about 10 days ago.  No moments of weakness, no crazy tears or long discussions.  WOW.  If only I was that decisive!

Help from a Toddler

Some of my favorite things are small and consumable:  a good cup of coffee, cut flowers in a vase, a good smelling soap or lotion, a candle.  My husband has always been glad that I am easily delighted by things in the less than ten dollar price range (he would prefer an iPad to make him happy).  But I often won't actually use the small good thing I've been given.  I'll just smell that soap in its wrapper, or hold on to the lotion for a special day.  I don't want it to be gone....so I am afraid to use it.
Today I jumped in the shower after Brandon had left early for work.  My toddler busted in through the closed door.  After several minutes of instructing him how to shut the door, (since the neighbors all had a great view through the window and open door), he went and found the new bar of soap my aunt had given me for Christmas.  Now, I had sniffed this soap several times.  It is great.  And the paper is pretty.  Left to myself, I would have saved it and smelled it for quite a while.  William had seen me holding it and had asked me about it.  He knew it was soap and he knew Mommy was excited about it.  So when he realized I was in the shower, he went and found it in the cabinet and unwrapped it before my eyes.  "Here Mommy,"he said with great pride.  No saving this soap for another time.  No more holding and sniffing it without actually using it.
There are so many good things in my life that I actually end up holding at a distance;  I don't want to miss them if they are gone.  My family, God's many blessings...they are good things to enjoy.  I don't need to worry about leaving the wrapper on.  God's good things are to be enjoyed.  So glad for a toddler to help me enjoy the small things.