For some reason, I started receiving a free subscription to Hallmark Magazine. It's actually a really enjoyable magazine to read, and I've been looking forward to each new issue. Today I started reading the September/October issue and came across this really neat quote about saying yes from the editor-in-chief, Lisa Benenson:

"It's kind of amazing what can happen when we just say yes, and yet it's so seldom the thing we do. Yes is tough, after all - at least it has been for me. It generally means I have to step outside the carefully established routines that get me through my day; it means I have to share time I don't think I have. But when I stop to remind myself of the things I've said yes to, I realize that responding that way has always made my life better. Saying yes has brought me new adventures, new friends and closer relationships with my husband and kids. Every time."

What a great quote! So true, too. I've been guilty of saying no to the kids just because, and that's really a sad thing when you think about it. Just because I'm the adult and can prevent them from doing something - whether it's using up the last of the flour to make a creation or take 15 minutes from my sometimes productive computer time to hang out in the yard - that must be such a disempowering feeling to be told no when it's something perfectly within everyone's reach.

When I talk about saying yes, I don't mean to requests like, "Mommy, can I have the scissors so I can cut Ella's hair as short as Cole's?" I mean those requests that often feel like just another "to do" that gets added to the list throughout the day and can seem overwhelming on those days when you're feeling overwhelmed. Saying yes almost always makes the moment, the day so much more and so much better.

It's another stormy, rainy, dreary day, and I'm loving it! And yes, Mel, Yankton has been getting some particularly interesting weather lately. Neener neener! Granted, it's not a good day at all to hang out clothes and diapers, so we'll have a bunch of stuff hanging around the house.