Gratitude Practice Day#17: Grateful for small town community dance productions of the Nutcracker ballet held at the local high school on a Friday night.

Grateful for crowded high school auditoriums full of mom's and dad's and grandparents and neighbors who show up to support their little dancers.

Grateful for dancing cousins who are playmates and buddies.

Grateful that Sarah Kate only broke free once during the ballet and while she did completed one full lap running around of the packed auditorium (yes, with her mama running close behind her ...this is my life….) she thankfully DID NOT climb the very inviting stairs that led directly to the stage full of colorful dancers…SK NOT charging the stage was my only real goal for the evening ...whew!

Grateful that during intermission as she took off running again and entered a packed high school gym she DID NOT run onto the court of busy basketball players but chose to race up the stairs of the bleachers instead and make friends with a lovely middle aged couple.

Grateful that my ziplock bag of bait…oh, I mean candy... lasted the entire evening.

Grateful for the patience of those sitting around us and for their understanding that toddlers are noisy and climb and jump and always prefer laying on the floor anyway.

Grateful for THREE successful trips to the potty...even if one was to the men's room that was thankfully only being used by a handful of little boys at the time who looked only a tiny bit surprised at our use of the facility.

Grateful for her hilarious reaction to the automatic self flushing toilets ...”mama, that is dangerous!”

Grateful that in small towns all over this country, packed high schools are full of family loving people who understand what it's like to love and raise a toddler.

Grateful the the holidays are beginning and that our first real event was a success.