Grandparents

Today, I am feeling very fortunate that I am able to watch my kids build relationships with my parents. I grew up seeing my own grandparents frequently (except for my maternal grandfather, who died before I was born). I am so glad that my kids get the same opportunities. Today, my parents had us over for dinner. The kids got to go out into my father's fabulous yard and pick blueberries and carrots. The boys got to share their vast knowledge of SpongeBob with my parents who have never watched an episode of the show. Keira asked for music so she could sing and dance for them. In the car, on the way home, all three kids talked about the fun they had. I hope my parents had as much fun as the kids. (I suspect that they did.) After all, as I asked them in the car, who does Granddad play with when we aren't there? Who does Grandmom get out the games and Play-Doh for? The kids had smiles as they thought about Granddad and Grandmom doing those things without any kids there.

I love you, Mom and Dad, and so do Ryan, Luke and Keira.

P.S. Dad, don't take Ryan's question about who gets the house when you die personally. He's merely curious. :)

If You Pee on the Bathroom Rug

Here is my version of Laura Joffe Numeroff's famous children's book, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Dedicated to Keira

(Keep in mind that it is Mother's Day, and it would be nice to do a little less work today.)

If you pee on the bathroom rug, I have to wash it.
If I have to wash one bathroom rug, I might as well wash them all.
If I'm going to wash the bathroom rugs, I might as well clean the floors.
If I'm going to clean the bathroom floors, I might as well clean the bathrooms: toilets, tub, showers, sinks, counters, etc.
If I'm going to clean the bathrooms, I might as well clean the kitchen, too.
If I'm going to clean the kitchen, I might as well clean the tile floors.
If I'm going to clean the tile floors, I might as well clean the hardwood floors.
If I'm going to clean the hardwood floors, I might as well dust every room in the house.
As soon as that's done, I'm sure you will be able to do something that will involve the need to clean something, somewhere...


What just happened here?

Happy Mother's Day!

Mrs. Perfect

OK, that's not me. That's the name of the book by Jane Porter that I just finished reading. For a work of fiction, it had a significant personal effect on me. The main character, after facing many struggles in her quest to be the perfect mother and wife, came to some very important realizations about herself, and why she had acted the way that she did.

I could draw many similarities between the main character and myself. Taylor is a stay-at-home mom who is eager to volunteer at her children's school. Staying fit is important to her. And she has a history of eating disordered behavior. Near the end of the book, an adversary becomes an unlikely friend. This friend points out the nasty and mean voices that Taylor ALLOWS to play over and over in her head. She even admits to having those voices, too, but she got sick of them making her feel bad. She urges Taylor to celebrate what she does right, instead of beating herself up for what she does wrong. Taylor goes on to think about the continuing dialogue that goes on in her head, telling her that she can't do anything right, she is incompetent, she is lazy, she is selfish, she is bad.

I have had those voices in my head for such a long time, at least since high school. There have been periods in my life when the voices have been louder, and some where they were more forgiving and less harsh. Still, I wonder if I will ever be able to completely silence them. I can't be perfect; no one can be perfect. Each person, I guess, needs to find a way to accept their flaws and embrace their reality. No one should have to say they are sorry for not being perfect, and everyone has a right to be happy with who they are, and like who they are. No apologies, no excuses. And, I bet that if we can silence those mean voices, we won't have that empty feeling inside that seems to never be filled. I have a hard time imagining a life where I don't verbally beat myself up, but I'd sure like to find it!

Trying to Blog

I have a topic I want to write about, but it just seems like there are so many distractions. It's impossible to blog when the kids are around; someone is always calling, "Mommy!" Relaxing in front of the TV with Don in the evening is not the right time. My latest editing job is lurking on the desktop of my laptop, "Edit me! Edit me! Edit me!" Sometime this week I will get to the task of discussing the thoughts that I've had because of a book I recently read. Even though it was a work of fiction, I related to the main character and was touched by the author's portrayal of her. Soon...