What I’m thankful for

Since today is Thanksgiving Day here in the USA, I thought I’d jot down some things that I’m thankful for.  Needless to say, I’m thankful for my two beautiful boys, my wonderful DH, my health and the health of those that I love, my friends, a roof over our head, DH’s paycheck in the bank and no foreclosure sign on our front lawn.  I realize that there are a lot of people all over the world that aren’t as fortunate as we are right now.  But I don’t need a certain day on the calendar to remind me to be thankful.  I try very hard to be grateful and appreciative of our blessings every single day of the year.  Life isn’t perfect but we shouldn’t be looking for perfection, right?  And always remember, when life hands you lemons – break out the salt and tequila!  LOL!  

But this is carseatblog afterall, so I also made a little list of things that I’m grateful for as a CPS Technician-Instructor and as a parent who has used CRs almost every single day since 1997!   Here’s what I came up with: 

• Belt paths that don’t cut my wrists
• Push-on lower anchor (LATCH) connectors
• Designated LATCH storage areas on the CR
• Designated center LATCH seating positions
• Infant seats with lock-offs on the base so I don’t have to worry about tilting issues when the seat is installed with a seatbelt.
• Seats with smooth bottoms that don’t cut into leather seats
• Seats that don’t push my kid’s head forward (I hate seeing head slump!)
• Rear-facing seats with anti-rebound features or options
• Buckle tongues/tongs that don’t slide all the way down when the harness is undone (so I don’t have to dig for them every time).  
• Soft covers that wash up nicely
• Seats that are relatively easy to take apart and clean when your child has a massive puking episode in the vehicle.
• Harness straps that are independently anchored  (not one long strap) so the harness is never too tight on one side and too loose on the other.
• CR manufacturers that go the extra mile even though they’re not required to do so.
• Smart, passionate CR engineers who work hard to build better, safer, harder to screw-up child restraints and who don’t care if the buyer at Walmart will love it or not.   FYI – here’s a tip for wooing those clueless Walmart buyers:    Just slap a cheap Winnie the Pooh cover on your new CR and they’ll be all over it.  😉  

So, what are you thankful for?