A couple of summers ago, I enrolled in a book study under the guidance of Beverly Ross.  We read The Power of a Positive Mom, by Karol Ladd.  It was a great study focusing on the simplicity of a positive attitude.  But the study wasn’t the best part; the best part was meeting with a roomful of other moms and admitting that sometimes we all dropped the ball.  But, despite that, we all wanted to be better moms.  Everyday we wanted to be better than the day before.

One tidbit I took away from that study came directly from Beverly, and not the book.  During a discussion on family traditions, she explained a ritual her family cherished called “Rose, Thorn, Bud.”   At the end of the day, each family member shared one Rose (the happiest part of the day), one Thorn (the yuckiest part of the day), and one Bud (something to look forward to the next day).  She said that little tradition exponentially increased communication with her kids, and even in the face of a bad day, they were all forced to think of something good.

It seemed like a good idea to me, so we tried it.  Even with my little kids (at the time 1, 4 and 6), they got it.  Now, it’s our nightly ritual during dinner.  Sometimes we don’t have any Thorns, and that’s ok with me.  But, we always have a Rose-even on those terrible, no good, very bad days. 

They can surprise me with their little moments of happy or sad, too.  Tonight, my youngest’s Rose was going to his “Bigger, Stronger School.”  My heart did a little happy dance, blooming all over the place, because for me, today, I couldn’t have had a better Rose either.