Are You There, Contentment?

I stood in the kitchen this morning, stirring cream in my coffee and mumbling to my husband that I was not looking forward to my Tuesday. As our three precious boys ate their breakfast and enjoyed watching the Disney Channel, I instantly felt guilty. A little voice reminded me that I have much to be thankful for.  I knew at that moment I could expect heartache ahead if I didn't change my attitude.
Let's be honest, I chose not to change my attitude and spent a majority of my day wishing I was somewhere else, doing anything but schlepping children to the YMCA, folding laundry and breaking up squabbles. I simply wanted to fast forward through the remainder of the week, skipping straight to the beginning of our vacation. A change of scenery, some variety in our routine, extra hands to lighten the load...
Discontent breeds more discontent and by early afternoon we were all in tears. After another tiresome round of sibling rivalry and the offending party was sitting in isolation, I picked up my MOPS magazine. How appropriate that I flipped to an article called "Savor the Moment" about enjoying the small moments of motherhood. Before I slammed the magazine shut, a little tiny quote down in the corner caught my eye:

"True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare." -GK Chesterton


I have turned these words over in my mind this afternoon. As I sat down to play the Wii with one of my kids, he sighed happily, leaned back in his chair and said, "I finally have everything I need." I smiled proudly and then he added, "Wait. There's one more thing..." He began to list a few cars from the Pixar Cars 2 movie that he still doesn't possess.
Lack of contentment and dissatisfaction is contagious. The attitude seems to come from the top down and clearly I set the tone in our home. I hope today is a lesson learned and I can model a grateful heart going forward.