Do The Next Right Thing & Keep Walking

I have had a reconciliation with my pedometer. In fact, we are the best of friends. I am sorry that I let it fall . . . under my foot . . . three times. The surface is a little scratched up, but other than that, it is behaving like a trusted friend. I have set the stride to the correct number (30 inches) and I now wear it on my waist in the right spot. I found if I wear it too far to the left it only registers 1/2 my steps. If I wear it in the middle of my waist it counts only random steps. So, I wear it just where it counts all my steps. I have given myself a challenge to see if I can walk 10,000 steps a day. That's about 5 miles. Did you know that I have over a mile of carpet in my house? I did not know that until I wore my pedometer while I vacuumed. For three days I walked over 10,000 steps - well, sort of. Every time I bend over to pick a strawberry I get credit for a step. In reality, it's not really a step, but who am I to argue with my new best friend? I know there are some really good analogies in all of this, but I am so emotionally drained that I can't think of any. At some later time I will share why this has been an emotional time, but until then please pray for God to watch over His children. If you see any analogies in this, please share them with me. I could use a good analogy right about now.

Allowances

So, I was with a very nice group of ladies, having a very nice time . . . until, that is, they started talking about giving children allowances. I always shy away from those conversations because I am usually at odds with the majority. I understand the whole idea of teaching kids finance and responsibility with money. I understand the idea of teaching kids to make choices (Do I want a basketball or a baseball?). I even appreciate the idea of teaching kids to tithe. Some parents give allowances only after chores have been done (*cough* child labor). But I simply don't give my kids money each and every month just because they exist. My kids want for nothing. I'm not saying they're spoiled, but they're spoiled. I was sitting there minding my own business when someone said, "Well, you're very quiet. Do you give your children allowances?" "Yes," I said, "I give my children allowances." One of the moms chimed in, "No you don't! You told me you don't!" I said, "Oh, yes I do. I allow my children to live in my house rent free, I allow them to eat at my table for no charge, I allow them to store their possessions in my bedrooms for no fee and I even allow them to be driven in my car where ever they need to go without a fare. I think I give them a lot of allowances. Humph!" And that was the end of that.

Positively Prolific Plants

My seriously selfless strawberry patch from last year that produced only one berry at a time has changed to positively prolific plants this year. There are hundreds of berries and I'm afraid that they will all become ripe at the same time. Feast or famine. That is the story of my life. So much for balance and boundaries. And just because I like to, I will end with this.

Alliterations are always abounding around my abode.Sweet succulent strawberries satisfy and sustain the soul.

War On Stink Bugs

You all know I am fighting the battle to make my home stink bug free. I have been flushing each and every one down the toilet. A friend of mine told me that Windex kills sting bugs. She said if you fill a cup with Windex and drop the sting bugs in the cup they die instantly. She keeps a cup of Windex on her counter, collects the sting bugs all day long and then flushes them at night. She says they don't smell when they die in the Windex. So, I put Windex (the WalMart version of Windex anyway) in a cup on my counter. When I saw my first sting bug of the day I was a little squeamish about dropping him in the cup, but I am in a war here and squeamish folks don't win wars. I dropped him in the blue liquid and returned to my daily tasks. Later, I saw my second stink bug of the day. I snatched him up, being careful not to crush him and went to the glass on my counter. Well, the first stink bug had crawled up the side of glass, very much not dead, and he looked ticked off! Those beady little eyes glaring at me, his body wet and blue from the fake Windex. That didn't kill him, in fact, I think it gave him some sort of super powers. He jumped off the glass to fly at me but his wings were wet so he fell on the counter. I grabbed him and flushed him and his little cohort down the toilet. Phew! That was a close one. The moral of the story. When fighting a battle, get tough and for Pete's sake, buy the real Windex.

On Towels and Feet

Some weeks I feel old. This is one of them. Yesterday, after my shower, I grabbed a towel that is almost as old as I am. The towel is frayed at the ends (I smell an analogy). I had my left foot in the tub and my right foot stepping over the tub. My right foot got caught in the frayed end of the towel. Lucky for me I am still spry for my age. I dropped the towel and caught myself. I dried off and wrapped my hair in the towel. I stood in front of the mirror and saw two white threads sticking out of the frayed ends of the towel. I grabbed each thread to pull off the culprits. OUCH!! It turns out that without my glasses on I didn't realize that those two long white threads were actually two errant grey hairs on my head that refused to behave like the rest of my hair that was neatly tucked into the towel. Today, I went to my son's baseball game with two very pretty earrings on. Unfortunately, they didn't match each other. I thought I would garden after the game, barefoot, because that always makes me feel young. Walking backwards, I dragged a 40 pound bag of mulch to the backyard, but not before tripping over the Quoits board, falling back and damaging my foot and ankle. I used to have pretty feet. Not so much anymore. My husband says he wants to throw those old towels away. I say, "Nuh-uh, I may be frayed at the ends, but you're not getting rid of me." He says, "I wouldn't dream of it dear." I'm starting to feel younger. . .

Motherhood

Motherhood is a constant battle between the past and the future while trying to keep your eyes on the present. Not an easy task by any means. The moment your child is born you want to remember every happy second and in remembering you sometimes miss the present. You also want to secure their futures by thinking ahead and in doing so you sometimes miss the present. Remembering the past is an important aspect of motherhood. My kids love hearing stories about themselves and their siblings. Personally, I remember stories for the sake of keeping the facts straight. Ask my middle daughter what she remembers about family vacations and she'll tell you about the time we went to the laundry mat or how we didn't take her to the aquarium with us. Sheesh! And, for obvious reasons, planning ahead is also a very important aspect of motherhood. So, how do you keep your eyes on the present? How do you focus on the "to" in today? Simple, just be. Open your eyes and your ears and your heart. No matter what age your children are, they love when you are present to them. They want to be seen and heard and loved. And who better to see, hear and love them than you? Motherhood isn't about who has the best children or highest achievers (though I do), it's about being in the moment. It's about living in the present while juggling the past and the future in the right proportions. It's about time well spent. It's about balance. And most importantly, it's about love. Happy Mother's Day.

Rattling Heaven's Gates

I have this funky friend who's always saying funny things about me. She's always kind and usually insightful. Seeing myself through her eyes is always a hoot. We met under a stressful situation that required a great deal of patience and perseverance, neither of which I possessed, so I was in prayer a lot. My friend saw the best of me and the worst of me. Her memory of that time is thankfully different than mine. She seems to have forgotten my impatience but does remember me as "a bull dog, no a pit bull" that fought for some one's life. She remembers that I leaned heavily on God, referring often to this verse: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6. Just recently she had asked me for advice regarding someone very special to her. I put in my 2 cents and committed it prayer. Today my friend called and I asked her about the situation. She happily reported great progress. I said, "I am so pleased, I had been praying hard." She said, (and I love this) "I just knew that you, my dear friend, was praying because I saw results very quickly. You don't give up, you just rattle the gates of Heaven until God hears you." That image of me rattling Heaven's gate, shouting prayers at God, is now stuck in my head. The only thing is, that I picture myself as a dog. . .

Good News vs. Bad News

The good news is that I lost 4 pounds on Weight Watchers.
The bad news is that it took 4 weeks to lose 4 pounds.
The good news is that my bathing suit fit better for my trip to California with my husband.
The bad news is that I never had the opportunity to wear my bathing suit.
The good news is that we ate great food, saw great sights and fellowshiped with great folks.
The bad news is that I gained 4 pounds in 1 week.
The good news is that I am just back to zero pounds lost and zero pounds gained.
The bad news is that my daughter just made chocolate chip cookies.
The good news is that I only ate 3 of them.
The bad news is that I also ate cookie dough.
The good news is that I am home and instead of eating more cookies, I can blog.
The bad news is that they smell soooo good.
The good news is that my son just got home and the cookies won't last.
The bad news is that tomorrow I start again to count my points.
The good news is that tomorrow I start again to count my points.
It all evens out in the end, doesn't it?