A friend gave my husband & I a night out tonight.
What a much appreciated act of kindness. She just had major surgery 1 month ago & while the kids & I visited her a few weeks ago she offered to babysit sometime. She really adores children & hers are now teens and she sincerely enjoys mine. So we hesitantly said "ok"; no hesitation about leaving the kids with her but rather concern that she wasn't feeling up to it yet. But she insisted & my husband and I HAVE only been out on a date once so far in 2010....for our anniversary in March.
I was glad to see her bring her daughter with her tonight....just an added measure in case she did over do it, which she did not. She just radiates around children; no, she is radiant ALL the time. I am honored to have her as a friend and to receive her kindness and goodness and time.
Kindness is highly underrated in life. People talk about lots of "important" things in life but an act of true kindness is often not appreciated enough. We all need to remember that a tiny effort on our part, something that may not even seem that significant to us can mean the world to someone else. I know I'm just talking about babysitting tonight & not someone giving me an organ; but again, you don't know what that babysitting might mean to me. It might not be an issue to you. You may think nothing of calling up your parents to babysit or your niece or the teen next door and pay them $10/hour. None of those scenarios are option for me. No "woe is me" but just a point; be kind to others, it doesn't have to cost you anything but it can be worth a million to someone else.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall....
Do you remember that song?
We used to sing it on car trips as kids. I wonder, now as an adult, why it was okay for us to sing about all that beer? I guess back then we had alcohol & tobacco commercials on t.v. anyway, so our parents didn't think anything of it. I think if my kids starting singing about lots of beer tomorrow, I'd freak out a bit.
Well, anyway, the point was I feel like I've been living that song...without the beer part. I am going back to work, begrudgingly, in exactly 6 days. And every day since the end of June I have heard some version of that or similar mantra in my head. 99 days until I go back to work, 99 days left.......take this day, do what you can, 98 days left until I go back to work. Other days I envision I'm on death row, counting down the days until my execution or in my case, until I start working.
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not being overly dramatic. These are just the mixed feelings running through me. I'm certainly not being "forced" to return to work - my dear husband would just as soon me stay home & "be patient", things will work out. You see, we are a product of the economic troubles our nation is facing. We are both college educated, responsible adults with that all American entrepreneurial spirit who became self-employed 7 years ago. That was great until 3 years ago when the economy begin its decline. My husband's business is dependent upon people needing things & when the economy declines people are much less prone to part with their money for services. So we waited.......and waited.....we had faith......and then the economy got worse & worse. We've gone through our savings......most of our retirement...........all the while my husband unsuccessfully tried to find a job or get new customers for his own business. Well by this time my oldest was in 1st grade & my youngest began preschool & I felt it my duty to contribute in some way. Oh I started couponing, had garage sales, did whatever I could to earn a few dollars here & there. But eventually that wasn't enough. We needed some kind of regular income, even if just a little. So after thoughtful prayer & telling everyone I knew about my job search, I was very blessed to have a small part-time job offered to me through my children's school. After my husband & I discussed it (he was opposed but I think out of pride at first)....and discussed it...........and eventually I accepted the job with dear husband's blessing.
Now that we got over that hurdle the reality hit me. I was going back to work. It has been over 8 years since I worked outside our home. At first it seemed so far off....after summer & when school begins again. But then I started the "countdown"....the dreaded "countdown". And here we are....6 days away from the beginning. I have to admit, part of me wants to burst into tears & run away; part of me is excited for the possibilities it brings. But mostly I am just dazed & confused. I don't know what to feel or what to do; I find myself running in circles, not accomplishing much, being short with my children & irritable with my husband. I want to do it all - not because I want to be seen as "Super Woman" by any means...but because I am so afraid of dropping the ball & being THAT Mom. The one others know they can never count on because she forgets all the commitments, shows up 45 minutes late to a party & forgets the cupcakes, always turns in orders late, doesn't remember it's spirit day at school so her children don't have the right clothes on, always runs in huffing & puffing because it was "one of THOSE mornings". And it's not even that I care what others think; it's that I feel like I will not like who I am if I get there.
Well, check back before I start next week and see how I'm doing. Hopefully I haven't completely fallen off the deep end by then!
We used to sing it on car trips as kids. I wonder, now as an adult, why it was okay for us to sing about all that beer? I guess back then we had alcohol & tobacco commercials on t.v. anyway, so our parents didn't think anything of it. I think if my kids starting singing about lots of beer tomorrow, I'd freak out a bit.
Well, anyway, the point was I feel like I've been living that song...without the beer part. I am going back to work, begrudgingly, in exactly 6 days. And every day since the end of June I have heard some version of that or similar mantra in my head. 99 days until I go back to work, 99 days left.......take this day, do what you can, 98 days left until I go back to work. Other days I envision I'm on death row, counting down the days until my execution or in my case, until I start working.
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not being overly dramatic. These are just the mixed feelings running through me. I'm certainly not being "forced" to return to work - my dear husband would just as soon me stay home & "be patient", things will work out. You see, we are a product of the economic troubles our nation is facing. We are both college educated, responsible adults with that all American entrepreneurial spirit who became self-employed 7 years ago. That was great until 3 years ago when the economy begin its decline. My husband's business is dependent upon people needing things & when the economy declines people are much less prone to part with their money for services. So we waited.......and waited.....we had faith......and then the economy got worse & worse. We've gone through our savings......most of our retirement...........all the while my husband unsuccessfully tried to find a job or get new customers for his own business. Well by this time my oldest was in 1st grade & my youngest began preschool & I felt it my duty to contribute in some way. Oh I started couponing, had garage sales, did whatever I could to earn a few dollars here & there. But eventually that wasn't enough. We needed some kind of regular income, even if just a little. So after thoughtful prayer & telling everyone I knew about my job search, I was very blessed to have a small part-time job offered to me through my children's school. After my husband & I discussed it (he was opposed but I think out of pride at first)....and discussed it...........and eventually I accepted the job with dear husband's blessing.
Now that we got over that hurdle the reality hit me. I was going back to work. It has been over 8 years since I worked outside our home. At first it seemed so far off....after summer & when school begins again. But then I started the "countdown"....the dreaded "countdown". And here we are....6 days away from the beginning. I have to admit, part of me wants to burst into tears & run away; part of me is excited for the possibilities it brings. But mostly I am just dazed & confused. I don't know what to feel or what to do; I find myself running in circles, not accomplishing much, being short with my children & irritable with my husband. I want to do it all - not because I want to be seen as "Super Woman" by any means...but because I am so afraid of dropping the ball & being THAT Mom. The one others know they can never count on because she forgets all the commitments, shows up 45 minutes late to a party & forgets the cupcakes, always turns in orders late, doesn't remember it's spirit day at school so her children don't have the right clothes on, always runs in huffing & puffing because it was "one of THOSE mornings". And it's not even that I care what others think; it's that I feel like I will not like who I am if I get there.
Well, check back before I start next week and see how I'm doing. Hopefully I haven't completely fallen off the deep end by then!
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