There is a kind of game going on at our house. Every shopping trip reaps a handful of goodies, like chips, and ice cream, and chocolate. The idea is to spread them out over a week and six people, but that is not always how it works. Hence the need for clandestine activities. The twins are especially clever about hiding snacks in underused cupboards, or tote bags hanging in the entryway. But Benjamin is motivated to find them, and often we will come home to find him surrounded by the remains of a a few thousand calories. You could never tell by looking at him. He is slender with no sign of chub. I know. Annoying.

This week I discovered something. When the temperature reached a hundred I put the peanut butter cups in the refrigerator to keep them from melting. They ended up near the vegetables. Not behind them, mind you. Not slipped into an empty jar labeled "artichoke hearts". Just side by side with a cauliflower, and a bunch of kale. It turns out, that Benjamin never goes hunting for leafy greens, so his eyes didn't land on the chocolate. The rest of us were able to enjoy a few at a time without them disappearing all at once. 

I led a moms' group this week, and invited them to name some of the things they were grateful for. You know, small blessings in plain sight. 

"I went for an early morning run, and there was a fox in the underbrush."

"My daughter snuggled up to me while we skyped with her dad who is out of town."

As is often the case, the sweet stories were not already on the tips of their tongues. These women had to go rummaging for them, behind the surplus of complaints that were waiting for a platform. 

Maybe if we all get in the habit of telling the dear ones, they will nudge their way to the front of the shelf. They are after all much more nourishing.