Staying Foccussed

I have such a hard time staying focused. There are always things that I seem to be able to do without being distracted. I simply hunker down and 'get her done'. However, there are other things that just seem to be beyond my abilities. As a child I would often skimp on things and just get by. Without boasting I think I was a petty smart kid so for the most part I was able to get away with this. For example, I just thought it would take too much time to really remember which Way was right or left. I knew my heart was on the left so I just planned to always check for my heart if needed o figure out directions. Now obviously this did not pose serious problems for me but I Can certainly remember times when I had to covertly feel for my heart to know right from left and I was conscious of not letting other people know. I used to also sing in a choir. Instead of concentrating to be able to detect and sing the right note I would just listen to my neighbor and sing what they were singing. Now, even though I have a pretty good singing voice I often have great difficulty figuring out the right note and can sound one deaf.





I didn;t worry too much about this b/c for he most part it didin't bother me. There has been one major issue that I hve not been able to muster the wherewithal to accomplish and I wonder if this is due to my well hidden slackerness. Also, as I get older I find it harder and harder to ot worry about issues and just 'get her done' when I need to. More and more things tend to not get done. Like this blog. This is my seond post for the month although I want to blog everyday for the sheer joy of putting words on papaer on a dialy basis.



Oh well hope springs eternal(how's that for blowing things off). HELP!!!!!!

When I Get Back some butt will be kicked!!!!!

I overheard this little interesting tidbit spewed from the mouth of my six y/o. She and her five y/o brother were engaged in their inexhaustable game of school in which they have assigned roles and voices to all of their stuffed animals. It's hilarious listening to them and also a little scary. Often my husband and I ask ourselves, :Where do they get this stuff from?'. If they have said anything even remotely disturbing I quickly attribute it to my husband. It is obvious that even when your kids are sheltered and you think you have protected them from most negative influences they will often time display behavior or make statements that are completely foreign to you. I know this is obvious but they are their own persons who will eventually develop into a unique individual. That does not mean we don't have an influence. In fact we often have the biggest influence. But they will be influenced by things, people, and experiences that you have little control over.

In a way I am very pleased that my middle child is exhibiting an ability to assert herself and to kick butt if the need arrives. She can be very compliant and is very dependent on pleasing people like me and her teachers. She does not however seem like she will be a follower when it comes to her peers. She will often try to emulate her older sister but if it comes down to it she has no problem marching to the beat of her own drum even if she has to march alone.

I do wonder about how this assertiveness will ever be limited. I know for myself, I am very assertive but I can and do encounter those moments when I feel like I have lost my voice. I wonder who and in what situations will she limit her voice. I hope it is not about things that really matter.

Can I go to the Laundromat

Mom, "Can I go to the laundromat w/ .....".

This question was posed to me by my oldest on Friday evening. She was pleading with me and my husband to allow her to go to the laundromat w/ her friend. She thought it would be so cool. As I was looking at her I had to just chuckle at the irony of life. Growing up my family frequently experienced long stretches of time when we did not have a working washer/dryer. This required Saturday trips to the laundromat. Now although I often found this enjoyable b/c my mom would let me wander around the shopping center where the laundromat was located while she washed. I only had to show up to help fold. It was extremely inconvenient. I used to wander what it would be like to be in a family who were financially stable enough to always have a functioning washer/dryer. I was also a little embarassed about having to go to the laundromat when the majority of my friends didn't have this issue. So here I am comfortably enjoying the convenience of always having a functioning washer and happy that my kids don;t know the stress of having to drag tons of clothes to the laundromat every Saturday and my daughter is begging for the opportunity to go the the laundromat!!!.

This once again highlights the fact that the things we focus on as being indicative of being comfortable. Or the things that we promise ourselves we will do differently for our children in our quest to give them a better life than we had often times turn out to be pretty insignificant.

My husband and I looked at each other and had to share a chuckle b/c he too was familiar w the 'horor' of treking through the neighborhood to go washing while your friends were hanging out. I am far from perfect but I do try to periodically check my neurotic need to give my kids everything I never had. I try to remember that my experiences made me into the person I am today and if I had not gone through a couple of difficult periods I would not have learned how to both cope w/ life and to be grateful for the things God has blessed me with.

We didn't let her go but only b/c we weren't sure of how she would be supervised. We also had already planned to watch the Olympics opening ceremony w/ the family. Was that awesome or what. I was totally impressed w/ the ceremony. I tried real hard not to think of all the negative aspects of life in China. I could not stop myself from thinking that if any of the performers made a mistake would they be punished in some horrible fashion. Oh well, until next time.