Inspiration

Two bits today......

From Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout:

But he wanted a whole bushel of them - grandchildren spilling everywhere. After all the years of broken collarbones, pimples, hockey sticks, and baseball bats, and ice skates getting lost, the bickering, schoolbooks everywhere, worrying about beer on their breath, waiting to hear the car pulling up in the middle of the night, the girlfriends, the two who'd had no girlfriends. All that had kept Bonnie and him in a state of continual confusion, as though there was always, always, some leak in the house that needed fixing, and there were plenty of times when he'd thought, God, let them just be grown.

And then they were.

I love this.

It spoke to me as a reminder that all of the craziness that we endure on a daily basis in our house will eventually not be so crazy. I feel like I'm a positive person most of the time.....but I often get stressed with the little ones. Always happy to find a little reminder like this to put things in perspective.

Another example:

In 2008, I took all 3 kids to The North Pole in Cascade, Colorado. We visited Santa's Workshop, rode the rides and walked the park. It was stressful. 2 kids were in diapers. I struggled to push my double stroller up the steep hills and if I wasn't struggling up one of those hills, I was chasing a toddler down another. Obviously, my frustration was showing. While stopped at one of the darling exhibits, a lady and I chatted about insignificant things......I mentioned how stressed I was.....and she said, "There are worse places you could be. Relax. Enjoy your kids."

It was a pretty brave statement, but after 3 seconds of reflecting on it, I thanked her. I needed to hear that. I embraced the rest of our day, slowed down and let the kids be kids.

Sometimes, out of no where, we get these little bits of inspiration. Often, when we least expect it. Even more often, when we need it most.

*****note: Don't think I'm going soft, ladies. I'll be back tomorrow with my usual dose of snarkiness. Promise.

Lecture

I hesitate to really endorse too much that Oprah provides to us...not because she isn't good, but because I like to find my own inspiration. But, after seeing her show today, I found myself running to the computer to share this with you all. This lecture is similar to one played on her show today by a man named Randy Pausch who is dying of pancreatic cancer. His message is simple and clear and one that I hope you'll take the time to view.

You can do so at the video below or you can learn more from his site, www.thelastlecture.com.

I particularly loved his suggestion that we allow our kids to paint their rooms. As a kid we would never have been allowed to do such and my mom went as far as placing items per her design on our bulletin boards. My instincts drove me to do the same and for several years, Carter's room was picture perfect and always in certain order.

I let go of Carter's room about a year ago and not only has he been thrilled to take over the walls and decorating, I have learned even more about him through seeing his tastes and preferences. There are a dozen sets of lego instructions thumb tacked to his wall and although it's not my favorite decor, he cherishes it. As do I now.