Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘simplicity’

Simplicity leading to serenity

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , , , on June 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been lucky enough to hear a wonderful tale a couple of times in church about what peace is.  My apologies if I miss a few details…but this is what I took from it.  My pastor told the tale (you may have heard it before) of someone creating an image of a peaceful moment and a man trying to create a picture of a calm and serene place.  Yet the picture he created (maybe painted…can’t recall details) that showed peace was a storm.  The peaceful part was a bird just being a bird in the storm, calm and ready to go with the flow.  Here is a depiction of the image titled “Peace in the Midst of the Storm”  by Jack E. Dawson:

As I continue my journey with simplicity, I find new moments of serenity within my day.  I imagine these moments are similar to that bird sitting calmly in the storm.  As we love to say, these are some crazy days.  They really are no more crazy than what generations before me dealt with, perhaps just a different crazy.  We keep our own peace marching forward in our family, trying not to overwhelm ourselves.  It’s been a big time of transition, taking things off of our plates.  We’ve done an okay job of it, I think, yet we still have kept the things that matter to us the most.

My sons, with all the boyhood activities, bring me peace each day.  Today the moment of serenity came in the form of two very sincere hugs and some quiet moments of conversation when I got home from class.  We only had a few moments since it was a night class, but it didn’t matter.  The moments were full of grace, simplicity, serenity, love.  I’ve had a warm fuzzy feeling all evening basking in the afterglow of those hugs.

Yes, once they were tucked into bed at 10:00pm, I ran errands to a store, came home and exercised while somewhat de-wrinkling the new curtains (what, the curtains?), and then took care of some laundry.  But here I sit, freshly showered after getting stinky exercising, with warm hugs still wrapped around me.

Calm in the storm.  Peace in the storm.  Simplicity and serenity swirling around my home.

Read Full Post »

Bucket Lists of Many Kinds

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , , on June 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I was planning on auditioning for a show in the next week or two, but I am having serious second thoughts.  First, while it would be a fun show, it’s not one that was on my “list” of shows I’d like to do before I die.  I guess one could call it an actor’s bucket list.  I really enjoyed working with the group, so that’s not the issue.  I’ve been looking at the time I would need to spend on the role (presuming I were cast) and as I added it up, I began to think…hmmmm, do I want to do that?  Now?

I would actually have more conflicts than I had thought before thinking to myself that I could easily do a show.  I had remembered the conflict with a wedding I’ll be attending but hadn’t thought of eight or nine or ten other commitments that are not moveable.  That’s almost a dozen conflicts which is about a quarter to a third of the rehearsals.  (Don’t ask me to be more specific, I’m not a math person and I’m really not a fraction person, unless I’m baking and then fractions make sense.)  The other commitments are too important to try to shift or move, but I also do not like being the type who gets a part and then lists a slew of rehearsals I’ll miss.  It happens, I get it, but I don’t like to do it.

Would the person directing the show work around it?  Possibly, probably, maybe.  I don’t really know and that’s not what’s important.  I wouldn’t feel right.  Knowing I had intentionally double-booked myself and forced one or the other to work around my inability to be there would lessen my enjoyment of whichever one I did attend.

Putting all of that aside however, I realize that the main deterrent is the time I wouldn’t get to spend with my family.  Yes I like to indulge my interests and keep myself fresh and excited by doing things I like to do.  But this is the first summer in a decade when we’re not on too many boards (I’m only on one and it doesn’t meet during the summer).  The classes I’m teaching will be over by the end of June, right around the time the boys finish school.

I could feasibly take advantage of the summer hours at work and spend some lazy summer evenings with my family.  I could work on my yard. I could do scrapbooking or beading or sewing or reading or nothing.  Imagine working on my sons’ scrapbooks.  Imagine sitting and having deep conversations about the exoskeleton of cicada with my sons.  Imagine reading a book in one sitting.  Imagine not feeling the pressure of extra, self-inflicted deadlines.  This is the first summer when I don’t have any externally imposed deadlines on my plate.

Do I want to put one on my plate?  Or would that be like putting a big helping of beets on the plate?  I would imagine it could begin to leave a bitter taste in my mouth and I don’t want to do that.  I also feel like hubby should do the next show.  He probably won’t do a show because he always comes up with a reason not to do a show.  But I don’t think I want to do a show.  I think I want to not do stuff that doesn’t have a direct positive impact on my whole family and not just me.  This summer I think I want to be selfish and spend all my spare time with my family.

The boys and I started making the presents for their teachers tonight.  We came up with the idea of giving their teachers a small, hand-painted wooden box personalized with either an initial or a picture of something each teacher likes.  We had a blast working on the boxes tonight.  I want more of that.  I looked at my sons this evening, painting and smiling, and they looked so much older than I expected them to look.  Oldest son doesn’t like me to hug or kiss him in front of people.  Youngest son can’t be too far behind.  At this moment, they still like spending time with me and I’m still relatively cool.  That won’t last and I know it.  It’ll come back another day, but it’s going to change soon and last for quite some time.  While I pray daily for the blessing of a long life, spending time with my sons is always on my bucket list.  Spending time with hubby is always on my bucket list.  I don’t want to take that for granted.  Ever.

At the beginning of this post I had not yet decided the fate of the audition nor did I think I would figure it out today or tomorrow.  And yet I’ve clearly made my decision.  I didn’t go through my normal long and drawn-out process.  Well, there’s one to take off the bucket list.

Read Full Post »

A breath of fresh simplicity

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , , , on May 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The schedule will become even tighter than usual over the next couple of weeks and will stay that way for about six weeks.  I’ll be working my regular job during the day and then teaching at night four nights a week.  With this upcoming restriction to my time with my family, the time with them this week has been all the sweeter.  It has forced simplicity to the foreground.  The five minutes alone with each son after work matters.  The ten minutes with my husband is sweet.  The quiet time once the boys are asleep is valuable.  I am multi-tasking quite wisely.  I’m not trying to over multi-task, but throwing in a load of laundry before dinner and then after dinner throwing it into the dryer.  I can fold it tomorrow.

Dinner was not rushed and the conversation with the family was fun and free-flowing.  The boys took their showers with minimal resistance because of the promise of Lego building once they were all squeaky clean.  They got to hear two pages of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (only two pages because they had to brush their teeth).  More pages tomorrow.

I watched Murder by Death this evening but also wrote three case studies for one of my classes.  I cleaned up the dining room table.

The odd thing is that even though the schedule is getting tighter, I’ve been accomplishing a lot in little bits and pieces.  Some folks say they work better under pressure.  I don’t always, but right now I am and that’s a lovely surprise.

And each day I’ve spent some time with God.  Praying about the boys and their days at school.  Praying for patience at work in each task I need to complete so I accomplish it as well as I can.  Praying for grace and patience with my sons before work in the brief time we share each morning.  And again at night in the hours we spend together before bedtime.  I want to let them stay up late each night but that’s not fair for them.  They truly need their rest since they are growing boys!  I need quiet time at night to take care of house work and my own thoughts.  I need to go to sleep by a reasonable hour as well.

Little changes in schedule and habits can release such energy.  I feel like I am accomplishing more in each day.  It’s powered by time with God and my family.  Try a little change in the schedule.  See what you can do when you shake things up a bit and add a dash of simplicity and grace.

Read Full Post »

Simplicity, why do you run from me?

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , on May 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I am speaking of a very specific type of simplicity today.  Decluttering.  Why can I never finish this process?  I dread to think that I am simply that lazy.  I feel like every weekend I work on clearing a pile here or there or everywhere, but the next weekend, there always seemed to be a new pile in it’s place.

The piles create themselves as each day there are things I plan to sort through-they seem so important-so I set them in a pile.  By the time I actually get to it, they have become obsolete.  I am working on making it a habit to simply deal with whatever it is the first time it enters the house.  I am working on making it a habit to purge a pile a day until they are gone.

I look back over the week and I wonder why the piles are still here.  Part of it is laziness.  It seems overwhelming to try to add in decluttering at the end of the day.

But most days there just isn’t time for it at all.  One thing I made progress with is not berating myself over the clutter when I balance the existence of the clutter with what I did that day.  Today was a fun day.  I went solo to church and had a really fun, connection-filled Sunday school class.  (At least it seemed like the children made connections!)  Stopped by Dunkin’ Donuts on the way home to surprise the boys.  Mowed the lawn and then headed to swimming.  The boys had their last swim lesson and older son is swimming.  At yesterday’s penultimate lesson, the kickboard floated away from him and he swam over to get it.  I explained to him that if he can swim to get the kickboard, he doesn’t need the kickboard.  He made the connection.  🙂  Younger son can swim when he isn’t goofing off.  Once I pointed out to him that there were only a few minutes left, he focused and had a great lap.

Then we surprised my mom at work to wish her an early happy mother’s day.  It was Kite Day at her workplace but we got there after the bulk of the festivities were done so it wasn’t too crowded.  She was happy to see her grandsons and her daughter.  We met the two lab puppies and one really looked like Brigs when he was a pup.  And I didn’t even cry.  I actually smiled.  That’s a good thing.

When we got home, the boys tried out the kites their Nana gave them as I made crescent roll pizza  and mozzarella sticks.  We then settled in to watch a movie.  By the time they were in bed, snug as bugs in rugs, it was 10:00.

And the piles sit, staring at me.  Welp, they can watch me sleep.

As I reflect on the childhood we have been building for our sons, I smile.  I cry.  I laugh.  I pray each day that when they are all grown up, they look back and think of their childhoods with a big smile on their faces.  I hope they notice we tried to surround it with simplicity so they could nurture their imaginations.  Right now they just think we’re mean for not giving them a game system and unlimited time with the television.  They don’t think we’re mean when we tell them to read or play with their Legos or trains or dinosaurs, so I know it’s working on some levels.

Simplicity can be a clutter filled house.  The piles of boxes are not actually boxes.  Two of them are a music studio, some of them are part of an IFO (Identified Flying Object to the boys, a UFO to everybody else since they don’t know what it is).  Stacks of books sit in front of the book shelves because we have too many books.  Okay, I don’t think we have too many, but anyone who ever helped us move will say otherwise.  We just need more shelves.  There are booby traps on the bedroom closet doors and science experiments in the bathroom.  Baskets are filled with school work that is still too precious (according to me) or too important (according to the boys) to recycle.

Examining a quest with a different perspective can bring peace to it.  My quest for simplicity has been there all along.  Just because my simplicity is different doesn’t mean it isn’t simplicity.  As I have been coming to realize this glaringly obvious truth, I have found more time to work on the piles.  While those piles used to always get replaced with a new one, that’s not always happening now.

Simplicity has been running from me, alluding me for some time.  Either it’s getting tired and slowing down or I’m catching up to it.

Read Full Post »

Salieri, if only you had known

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

What a difference a day makes.  Also walking away from the problem offers such wonderful perspective.  That and a few friends commenting on fb that they know exactly how I feel.  And chocolate.  I can’t forget the chocolate.

But you know what the best thing I reflected on today was?  I ate supper with my family yet again this week.  We’ve been rocking the dinner time lately.  Doesn’t matter what the dinner is, it’s the time together.  My sons have finally gotten the swing of sharing something fun about their days.  And I’m going to admit it…write on virtual paper…we use the convenience stuff to make dinner.  Yes, there are fresh veggies (asparagus at the moment since it’s in season-though I don’t eat it).  But the main entrée was one of those skillet dinners.  If I didn’t have to work, I’d be cooking home-made stuff.  Ah, well…do the best you can with what you have where you are.  Teddy Roosevelt, not me.  I wish I could write something as pithy as that.

Perspective comes in many ways.  You just have to be open to it coming in and opening your eyes.  Be open to the other side of things and examining the issue with other eyes.  Turn it over and over.  Challenge it, question it.  Pray on it.  Focus on simplicity and grace to rise above the feeling of mediocrity.

So what am I going to be when I grow up?  I have no idea and realized today that part of the reason I feel like I’m floating and looking for my thing is that I refuse to grow up.  I still love learning and have a thirst for new experiences.  If a particular experience, idea, or goal doesn’t materialize, no biggie.  There will be another.

And until another shows itself, I have buckled down and examined what is on my plate and what I can do with it.  How I can do each project.  Why I am doing each project.  I asked myself if I still feel each one is fun.  Theater had become not fun, but when I gave it a whirl this past fall, it was a blast.  Why?  Because I was just an actor.  So I now know I’ll never be on a theater board again.  Takes the fun right out of it.

A very fun project coming up in the summer are the dino digs we’ll be going on for fossil hunting.  I think I may be more excited than the boys.  Older son still wants to find more substantial fossils than what we should find on these digs, but we’ve been talking about the fact that you need to start where you’re at and grow from each experience.  We talked about how he needs to learn how to dig and these three trips will help him do that.

I’m sewing again.  Other than Halloween costumes, I haven’t done that for a while.  It’s a costume for a friend who is going to a film-fan convention.  So far it seems to be going well.  I enjoyed making the patterns and they are working nicely.  We’re having a fitting this Saturday.

Of course, I’m in VBS prep mode.  We’re going to Babylon this year.  Oh yes, there will be a hanging garden.  I’ve been working on that for the past month.

Prayer, meditation, studying my Shakespeare and Grimm, reading some Uncle Stevie, it’s all good.  Just need to get off my arse and work out the issues in my legs.  This week’s been a less than stellar week, but it is still so much better than it had been for the past few years.

And it’s almost summer.  Now I do not do the beach thing.  There is sand at a beach and I don’t do sand.  We will go to the lake, and yes, there is sand there, but it’s not overly crowded.  There are pools we’ll go to and the boys will do a lot of swimming.  Maybe they’ll teach their mom.

I do attempt the garden thing, but have been horrible with it the past few years.  However, sons and I have already weeded and cleaned out two of them and are working on a third.  But I really need to trim the bloody holly trees.  They are a mess again.

What most of these have in common are my family.  Which reminded me that I’m not doing that bad if we’re doing all these somethings and even some days of nothings together.

Salieri, if only you had known to step away.  To reflect and take inventory.  To count your blessings.  And to not take it all so seriously.

Read Full Post »

Simplicity again…simplicity

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , on April 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Today I slept in till 9:30 and it was lovely.  The boys had grabbed breakfast and were watching cartoons.  I took a leisurely morning and then gave the boys Jurassic Park chores.  You may recall, Gentle Reader, that we let the boys but a large lot of JP toys on credit with the bank of Mom & Dad.  They have chores to work off the balance.  Younger son did an outstanding job cleaning the lower kitchen cabinets (he even earned a “cash” bonus).  The boy loves to clean!  He got that from me, that’s for darn sure.  Oldest son was told to clean the bathroom sink and bathtub.  He got his cleaning genes from his daddy, that’s for darn sure.  But he tried.  He just doesn’t love cleaning like me and younger son.  We’re both a little bit Monk and Monica Geller.  Younger son’s face had pure joy as he saw the food stains coming off the wood.  He asked for fresh water.  He used different “scrubbing” techniques (he explained them to me…so cute).  He was so intently focused, it made me smile to watch him.

I worked on the dinosaur room.  You can see oldest son’s desk.  It’s amazing.  You can see most of the floor.  We agreed (otherwise known as I decided and convinced them it was their idea) that we would narrow down the toys.  I can’t get them to do it.  They try, but being the little pack-rats that they are, they can’t let go of things.  They got that from both mommy and daddy.  So I’m doing it.  They’ll be keeping Jurassic Park toys, Legos, K’Nex (they just received three sets of those from friends and they’re loving them!), trains, and Pokemon cards.  The other piles are being sorted through and will be donated appropriately.  Junk will simply be tossed as it should be.

I put two large objects that were littering the backyard out to the curb last night.  No one took them which tells you the state they were in!  The yard looks nicer already.  I need to put out my shade garden but it desperately needs more mulch.  I had hoped to work in the yard, but it has been so bloody windy that it hasn’t worked out.  Supposedly this weekend will be nice and warm, so I’ll clean the yard Saturday.

A friend came over this afternoon.  We hadn’t seen each other for quite a bit and it was a lovely visit.  I’m going to make her costume for Comic-Con.  I cannot wait to pull my dressmaker’s form down from the attic.  I haven’t used it for several years but you don’t get rid of something like that.  I miss sewing.  But it’s not as if I couldn’t be doing it.  I simply don’t make the time so this is a wonderful way to get back into it.

I am slowly coming to realize how much time I can fill on my own because all of a sudden my boys don’t need me the way they used to need me.  Obviously they still need me, but they both have their own things they are doing.  This staycation has shown me how much they have grown up.  I guess I’ve grown up a bit too because it’s not making me sad.  I’m not cursing myself for “missing it” but starting to realize that whatever time we have together is good time.  I’m able to be there for the BIG things but also for the little moments that truly make up life.  I’m in a nice place.

The vitamin D seems to be working.  I can make it till around 8pm without severe pain if I take short breaks in the day.  I’m not just sitting in the chair at 6pm and asking the boys to bring the stuff to me.  I still hurt but the amount of pain killers I’ve been taking has dropped dramatically.  I’m able to be on my feet longer, although the legs still don’t work like they used to work.  Maybe one day…

It was a lovely day of simplicity.  Another day off tomorrow…what will the day hold?  I know one thing for certain…simplicity.

Read Full Post »

Life is happening

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , on April 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

and it’s lovely.  I am really enjoying not having a lot of specific plans.  We did do stuff over the weekend, but we were relaxed about the timing of arrivals.  Just having fun.

Speaking of fun, who else had an adorable 8-year-old wake you up at 4:00 am to look for Easter baskets? Yep, he beat his Christmas time by 15 minutes.  I made him cuddle with me for a couple of hours and then let him wake up his brother to look for baskets.  They liked the “grown-up” watches the Easter Bunny brought them.  Water-resistant with a glowy light when you push the button.  Too big for their skinny wrists, but I’ll adjust the straps.

Church was lovely.  The boys ate a lot of food at the breakfast.  Younger son was cuddly and quiet during church and older son enjoyed the music.  I loved the song based on Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, which is one of my favorites.

Younger son is not liking the ten minutes in the bedroom when he acts like a baby with ten additional minutes for each poor reaction to the initial ten minutes.  But it is having a slight impact.  He has still acted like a baby but it doesn’t last as long and it is less frequent.

Now oldest son has been initiating conversations (why is it always at bedtime?) about peer pressure, popularity, and self-confidence.  It breaks my heart to hear his worries and struggles and that no one hangs with him at recess.  He says he wanders around and talks to himself.  I suggested the obvious (don’t talk to yourself in an obvious way so other children may feel more comfortable approaching you) and he giggled a bit.  I wish I could build a big wall around him with a moat around the wall to protect him, but I can’t.  If I do that, he won’t learn on his own and some things you have to learn through experience.  The best I can do is hug him when he needs it, have tissues handy, and make sure he giggles by the end of our conversation.

Back to life happening while not busy making other plans.

Happy Easter!

Read Full Post »

Wwwwhhhhhaaaattttttt???????

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , on April 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“Is he going on a crazy psycho rampage creating a raging tornado of destruction?”  That’s what younger son said today on the way to Little League.  Where do they get this stuff from?

A goal while I am on this little stayation (that’s right…I’m on vacation.  I don’t go back to work till next Thursday!  Whoo!) is to work on younger son’s conditioned responses.  Not the brilliant one he came out with earlier today, but the “I’m the baby and I’m gonna play you” responses.  He still likes to hit his head if he doesn’t get his way, he lives to change his mind 30 times in 5 minutes (I want to go with you, I want to stay home, I want to go with you, I want to stay home), and he whips up tears amazingly fast.  This boy does not like the word “no” and he’s gotta get over that.

I get to spend so much time with them for the next six days.  It will recharge me and hopefully recharge them as we slow time down and do one thing at a time and do it as well as we can.  Including having fun.  No big plans but rather living by the words of John Lennon-“life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.  No plans being made…just enjoying life.

And most definitely sleeping in tomorrow.  The first day since December when I can truly sleep in and not be late to something.  I am giddy with antici…(wait for it) …pation.  And sleepy.

Read Full Post »

Mediocrity’s not that bad.

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , on April 1, 2012| 1 Comment »

I had a thought today.  I know, there’s an accomplishment right there.  I reflected about mediocrity once again.  It’s not always a bad thing.  If one is mediocre in a particular area, you don’t have to achieve anything all that amazing within that area.  The bar is most definitely lowered and the pressure is off of you.  So as I reflect about my strengths and weaknesses, pressures are falling off in all directions.

I’m not saying I’m mediocre at everything.  I can’t think of anything at the moment that I excel at, but that’s besides the point.  The point is that the extreme pressures I put on myself all the time are not necessary.  People have been telling me this for years (my hubby in particular) but this is the type of moment that one has to come to in her own time.  I suspect it will take several weeks for it to really sink in, but at the moment it’s a nice realization.

One thing I’m good at that improves my lot in life in no way is pulling obscure quotes from movies.  I can’t actually do anything with this ability, but it does give me a good chuckle when I need it.  I’m also not bad at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  Years of video retail does this to one’s brain.  Years of watching movies does it.  I adore movies.  I stopped relaxing when I watch them over the past few years.  Don’t know why, I suppose I’ll ponder that soon enough.

Another thing I’m good at is reading.  Is that the dorkiest sentence you’ve ever read, or what?  But I recall the stuff I’ve read, like I do with quotes from a movie.  I can recall the story, details, and characters in almost a flashback by simply looking at the book.  It’s like a quick catch-up with an old friend.

I visited some old friends today at Tookey’s Bar.  I reread “One for the Road” and actually relaxed while reading the story.  It was nice.  I love Uncle Stevie’s vernacular in this story.  The one character uses “I says” a lot.  There’s a “since Hector was a pup” in the story too.  Plus the vampires don’t hurt.

Today I reflected on mediocrity, did laundry, drove Mom’s taxi, read a little.  I embraced the simplicity of mediocrity.  Today was a mediocre day and that’s not bad.

Read Full Post »

Don Quixote wasn’t so crazy

Posted in Musings and Epiphanies, tagged , , , , , on March 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Searching for windmills is quite possibly the normal state of existence for humans.  Each day brings a new quest.  It may be a simple quest-locating the misplaced remote control monster truck or completing a simple task at work.  Some days it may be a tougher quest-battling demons from your past that continue to haunt you.  Still, the concept is the same.  A quest for a satisfactory conclusion to a life event.  Humans, or at least this human, finds that true each day.

This repeating cycle of quests seems to have its roots in childhood.  I have vague memories of wanting to find answers to different questions over the course of my childhood and through my adolescence.  I see my sons on quests each day.  How we handle the journey defines our beings.  If we stomp our feet and pitch a fit we’ll find ourselves walking on our journey alone more often than with support.  If we aspire to a goal without doing the work we need to do to reach it, we’ll stumble, possible even fall.  The hardest quest for me is simply being in the moment and doing my best each day, in each moment.

Every day has certain menial tasks to be completed.  I can do these tasks with grace or I can do them quickly and without care.  If I do them with grace, there is joy to be found even in the simplest of tasks.  This could be changing the trash bag, doing laundry, or proofreading at work.  Filling these tasks with grace makes them more fun and reminds me that though they are redundant parts of my life, they are critical.  I need to empty the trash or my kitchen will be stinky.  I need to do laundry since none of us can walk around naked (we don’t live at a nudist colony so it’s not our norm).  I need to proofread, daily because of where I work.

These are simple quests, conquered every day.  The quests that are more fun fall into two general categories-challenges and my family.  Challenges could be a large project at work or actually getting my whole house clean at the same time (that’s my windmill!).  I have vacation time in April…could get closer to that clean house!  Other challenges include working through those issues in life that throw you for a loop.  Death.  Disease.  Major life changes that you weren’t expecting.  Things like that.

Challenges can be blended with my family too.  My sons are a wee bit older than they were last year.  They can help out with the yard this spring.  They started helping with the big clean-up last fall and with planting bulbs.  When they see they flowers this spring, I hope it offers motivation for the spring cleaning of the yard.  They’ll start to see the pay-off of hard work.  They’ll start to learn that though it may not have an immediate payoff, it’s worth the work and effort.  They need to learn that immediate gratification is not all it’s cracked up to be.  It’s a hard lesson but so important since they are growing up in this world- on-demand, high-speed internet, plentiful food, and stores that carry almost anything they could think of to buy.  Plus a mother who is often a sucker with a really big soft spot for them and falls victim to their big blue eyes, with dark lashes batting with innocence and hope.  They need to realize that anticipation, dreams, and patience are all good things to have.

Quests to lighten my loads-both emotional and physical-are wonderful.  I only hope that I conquer these quests sooner rather than later as I’d like to stop having them gnaw at my being every day of my life.  My hubby tells me not to sweat them, and I’d love to do that except it’s not in my nature at all.  I want to conquer these quests of mine.  I want to show my sons that it is important and fulfilling to complete goals that you set for yourself.

Quests are a good thing.  The more interesting the quest, the more interesting your life.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »