In Response to a Blog Comment

Last night, I received a very bizarre comment to my Tree of Gratitude post. I deleted the comment due to the sheer lack of knowledge the person had of our family's life an attitude. The person objected to the phrasing I used when I mentioned that the kids might list their toys and our dog first among the things they are grateful for. In this person's mind, I was saying that our dog was no more than a toy to our children. They went onto chastise me for not teaching the kids that dogs are sentient beings and should be treated with much love.......

I am dismayed that out of the entire post, the only thing that stood out was the comment about what the kids may first express gratitude for. Our children are taught to treat our family dog with respect and love. He plays with them and is very loving. Of course a 5 year old child would express gratitude for their dog! Being kids, they also are grateful for other things important to them - their toys. By mentioning the two in the same sentence I was in no way inferring that the dog is a toy to the kids. Young children have a different outlook than adults. Let's face facts. Most adults even have varied answers on what is a blessing in their life. When I gave the example of toys and dog likely to be mentioned by the kids, it was just that - an example!

For those who have not read the blog for very long and don't realize it, our family has a wide spread in ages. I have 3 children who are now adults from my 1st marriage, and my husband and I have 2 young children (ages 3 & 5) from our marriage. When I speak of the kids, please consider their ages before passing judgement on what the may be doing or saying.

This blog is a window into our life but it is not reflective of everything. Do not assume that we are not teaching our children to have respect for ALL life. You do not know us personally, therefore have not the knowledge of us needed to make that kind of judgement.

The Tree of Gratitude post was all about teaching our children to have an awareness of the blessings in their life and to express gratitude for them. I am sorry that some readers missed that fact.