Today I am thankful for laundry.

Thursday, December 13, 2012, there was a mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. It was at an elementary school.

20 children. Ages 6 and 7. Dead.
7 adults. Dead.

I have so many personal connections to this situation.

First, I am a teacher. I am with precious children every day. I teach them. I love them. I would protect them.

Second, I have taught many students with Aspergers Syndrome and the news has reported that the shooter may have Aspergers Syndrome. I pray that my daily interactions with all of my students will be positive and make a difference in their lives.

Third, and most dear to my heart is that I am a parent. Next year, I will send my precious first child to public school. I will send her with the hope that she will be safe and come home to me at the end of the day. I am reminded today that we are not promised tomorrow. We are not even promised our next breath. We are, however, promised hope in Jesus. That He died on the cross for our sins that we may be saved and have ever-lasting life. I will one day meet these children, whose sweet little lives ended too soon, and I take comfort in knowing that this week they got to hug Jesus.

Tonight, as I began to think about my day tomorrow, I realized that I will be doing laundry. Lots of laundry because I am not even through with the laundry from last weekend. And as I began to think about the piles of laundry, I wanted to huff and feel sorry for myself and maybe even do a little eye roll (you know you've done it)! But then, as I thought about this senseless tragedy in Connecticut, I suddenly realized how thankful I am for dirty laundry. Crazy thankful. So thankful that my heart hurts. You see, piles of dirty laundry means that the people that I love are here. They are here to wear clothes. They are here to change outfits fifteen times a day. They are here to spill yogurt on their shirts. They are here to pull the freshly folded laundry off the bed onto the floor. You see...that is just it...THEY...ARE...HERE. And I am so thankful.

So I decided tonight to think about the things that I am thankful for in our messy little house...

1. I am thankful for dirty laundry.
2. I am thankful to clean milk off of the floor.
3. I am thankful to clean out that sticky, yucky highchair.
4. I am thankful to cook green beans just to have them thrown on the floor.
5. I am thankful to be whacked in the face by a cute 20 month old.
6. I am thankful to have a sore neck because I have been used as a jungle gym.
7. I am thankful that the house is never quiet.
8. I am thankful to buy diapers.
9. I am thankful to answer 1,000 questions a minute.
10. I am thankful to say, "Did you hear me?" and to have to count, "1, 2, 3" in order to get anyone to listen to me.

You see...these things that seem like little daily annoyances are really just reminders that our loved ones are HERE to love. And for that I am thankful.

What are you thankful for today?