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Month: February 2016
Quote of the Day
The Art of Being Sick
A most gosh awful sickness rolled through our home the past two weeks, and now I am playing catch up with all aspects of life. Forgive me for neglecting you. I will pick up with regularly scheduled program as soon as I get somewhat caught up with things. Until then, I thought this poem appropriate. . .
To the world you put on a brave face
Then stay as far away from the actual people as you can
You wash your hands as often as possible
And are mindful of what you touch
While you are alone in your office
You close your eyes and just breathe
As you try to navigate the thick fog
That was once your mind.
You tell your aching body to get it together
And hope that the antibodies on the inside are winning the battle
Then you head to the breakroom for a cup of warmth
So you can push through the next few hours
Until the clock strikes time
And you can head home to be miserable by yourself…
© -LRFB
If you like poetry, check out some of my other creations here.
Quote of the Day
Don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow, there is only today. Be fearless. Listen to your heart. Envision your perfect day and go out there and live it. You have many smiles to share with those around you–and they with you. Radiate your love and feel that loving energy return to you. ~ Creig Crippen
Quote of the Day
Lessons Learned from a Ladder
When you have a handy husband, you have ladders. Sometimes those ladders get used and left out and your toddler becomes fascinated with them.
When we arrived home the other day I noticed my husband had left a ladder out underneath the pergola. The babe and I emerged from the car and headed to the yard for some outdoor play. I scanned the yard looking for signs of foul play and oddities. I couldn’t figure out why the ladder was in that spot underneath the pergola and it took me a moment to deduce what was different. “Oh,” I thought relieved to have found my answer. My husband had moved a metal cow skull from the pergola to his workshop.
When my gaze turned back to the pergola and the ladder I realized my child had decided to take advantage of my 30-second distraction and was making his way to the top of the climbing apparatus. My adrenaline kicked up a notch and my first maternal instinct was to rip him off the ladder and knock the equipment to the ground so he couldn’t climb to the top and fall off. I pushed those thoughts aside and opted for method number two. I took a picture to show my husband what mischief the child was making and followed him up the ladder to provide him a buffer between himself, the ground and the possibility of a fall. When we parent our primal protective instincts can overwhelm us to try to shield our children from any and all dangerous situations they may encounter. While this is a good inclination to possess, I think more often than not we go overboard listening to our instincts and forget that our tiny humans were created to learn and explore. I knew straight away that my determined child would not stop until he had climbed the ladder, so instead of fighting him on the issue I let him climb while remaining a short distance away in case he needed help at some point during his new adventure. After he reached the peak of the ladder and had his fill of playing with the tiny lights that were now in his reach he decided he wanted to come down. He more or less turned around and practically jumped on top of me.
When we parent our primal protective instincts can overwhelm us to try to shield our children from any and all dangerous situations they may encounter. While this is a good inclination to possess, I think more often than not we go overboard listening to our instincts and forget that our tiny humans were created to learn and explore. I knew straight away that my determined child would not stop until he had climbed the ladder, so instead of fighting him on the issue I let him climb while remaining a short distance away in case he needed help at some point during his new adventure. After he reached the peak of the ladder and had his fill of playing with the tiny lights that were now in his reach he decided he wanted to come down. He more or less turned around and practically jumped on top of me so I’m glad I had taken up position a few rungs behind him. I turned him back around and taught him the proper way to come down the ladder, one rung at a time, slowly and carefully.
We need to remember in parenting that letting our children make mistakes and fall down and get up are all integral parts of their learning process. We have to let them try things so they might fail things so we may teach them how to cope when they fail at things. Or we have to let them try things to succeed at things so that we can share in their triumph and foster their independence that, yes, they can do things on their own.
Your challenge for this week is to allow your child do something that you find somewhat terrifying. Stay close in case they need you but let them complete whatever task or adventure on their own. If you aren’t one to just stand around feel free to join in the fun, but remember you are playing beside them, not interrupting their independence.
Quote of the Day
Risk is not a dirty word.
When you think of risk, what comes to mind? The stock market? Gambling? A start-up business? All of these things involve taking risks. What about trying a new restaurant, speaking to a stranger or trying a new class? Don’t all these things also involve taking risks?
There are some words that we think of as negative words. They carry with them negative undertones, when in fact they are really just words. Words themselves are not negative or positive, we, as humans give them these connotations by the feelings they provoke when they come up in conversation. The word risk usually carries with it negative associations. When we think about taking risks the adrenal starts pumping a little and our mind races. It can physically make us uncomfortable to think about “taking a risk”.
The topic of taking risks came up in a group I am in, and it amazed me the emotions that were evoked when the subject of taking risks came up. The majority of the group looked at taking risks as scary, hard and uncomfortable. (Also words that tend to have negative associations). While I agree that taking large risks such as changing a job or starting a new business can be scary and uncomfortable as they push us out of our comfort zone, I also want to point out that there are small risks we take every day that we don’t think twice about.
When we try new restaurants and read new books we don’t think of these tasks as being scary. But aren’t we taking risks when we do these things? We are taking a chance that the food and atmosphere in this new eating establishment will be enjoyable and that we won’t mind paying the bill at the end of the meal. We are taking a chance that this book we purchased will fill us with new knowledge or open our imagination or let us escape from our own reality into a fantasy world for a bit.
So, I challenge you. Make it at point to take a risk today. Try something new, a new restaurant, a new show, a new book. . . talk to a stranger, buy a new item at the grocery store. Stop seeing taking risks as something negative and scary and start thinking about it an awaiting opportunity.
Quote of the Day
Finding Time to Fit it all In.
I recently signed up for a 30 day blog challenge. I must be out of my mind. How am I going to accomplish this and work full time and fulfill mommy duties and spend time with the husband and keep the house in some semblance of order?
The answer in all truth is “I don’t know.” And “I might fail.” But you never know unless you try so this is me, challenging myself.
Trying to keep up with a schedule can be tricky. Making sure posts get written and posted isn’t always easy. These are a few tips and tricks I do use to help keep the inspiration flowing and the words writing.
The Draft Folder
I write lots of drafts. One of the cool features of most blog publishers is that you have a drafts folder. This folder is essential to my writing. When I’m on the omputer this is where I go to dump ideas. I may write a whole piece, part of a piece or just a few sentences to get me started. Within these drafts where most of the creating flows from my mind through my fingers into tangible and readable pieces.
Notes
I have a confession to make. I am not in love with my computer. I don’t much like trying to pull it out when I am out the house unless I am working or writing. The babe has an insatiable curiosity about the computer which makes getting anything accomplished on it while he is awake darn near impossible. This is where my phone notes take over. I am constantly typing little tidbits to myself in my notes and then emailing them to myself to be cut and paste into my drafts folder. It is an essential part of the way I write because since I almost always have my phone nearby it’s easy to whip out and type a few words, sentences or even a whole piece to be used for blog inspiration.
Pen and Paper
Even in this day and age of technology I still like to scribble down ideas with pen and paper. I love the sounds of a pen scratching words on paper. I keep a little notepad in my purse to scribble down ideas on the run and when at home or at my desk at work there are plenty of sticky noted laying around with a few words and phrase or sometimes whole poems written in teeny tiny letters to be transformed into working pieces when the time suits me.
The Calendar
The one other feature I love about most blog publishers is they have a calendar to allow scheduling. I do not always have a chance to write every day and some days ideas flow more freely than others. On those days I may write to or three pieces ready to roll, but I will hold onto them and use them when it suits me. The calendar allows me to schedule when I want these pieces to be published so I don’t necessarily have to check into my blog every single day. Life happens, work gets super busy, house projects take over your life and kiddos get sick. The calendar helps ensure that I can still get posts posted without having to drive myself crazy checking into it every single day.
I love writing and I am challenging myself to do something I love every day for a month to see where it takes me. When is the last time you challenged yourself? Is it time to take a challenge? I think it is. Make 2016 your year and challenge yourself to push your limits by doing something you’ve always wanted to do. . . I dare you!