You Get What You Get

 

"Ahh, man!!! I wanted goldfish!"

"Not the animal crackers, open the Ritz!  Please!!!" 

Third grade snack time is a small but necessary time of the day when school starts at 7:30 and the last lunch shift isn't until 12:10. 

They get a light snack, just a few crackers to help tide them over until lunch.  

Only as a guest teach, I wasn't aware of class protocols and these kids were going to try and coax all the extras out of me they could.  

But then the Special Ed Para spoke up.  "They only get a few and they don't get to pick."

"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." It was said in a whiny mocking voice.  

"Hmm, I said.  I would expect third graders wouldn't need to throw a fit but what do you suppose we could say instead?"

A quiet little girl spoke up from the back.  "I know!  You get what you get and you're thankful for it." 

Enthusiasm for her idea spread like wild fire and as I made my rounds doling out the last of the gold fish crackers in a pile of crumbs to the lucky three, and offering 6 golden Ritz crackers to everyone else each student thanked me and smiled.

I commended them all and told them this was a great motto to have.  One that would serve them well in life.  

And the para told the kids she was going to sew it on a pillow for her couch. 

I smiled and said a quick prayer of gratitude myself.  I had to teach the class one way or another.  But being thankful for the opportunities sure did make it more enjoyable! 

President Bonnie D Parkin taught, "Gratitude requires awareness and effort, not only to feel it but to express it. Frequently we are oblivious to the Lord’s hand. We murmur, complain, resist, criticize; so often we are not grateful. In the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who murmur do not know “the dealings of that God who … created them.” The Lord counsels us not to murmur, because it is then difficult for the Spirit to work with us.  Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. 

I've caught myself complaining too much lately.  So it's a good thing I was sent back to third grade to be reminded of this lesson today.

You get what you get, and you're thankful for it!