Midterms

Well things have been busy here lately, as usual, some of you had break already and some are about to have it, rooms are being updated (beautiful painting job, my artist) and a lot of books are being read. 
 
Speaking of books and reading, I have been thinking a lot about learning lately - learning as an adult, when there is no school to force you into it.  I was thinking - "Wow, it is hard to believe I am old enough to have a kid taking midterms" -that is a big thing for me - I remember taking them myself not so long ago.  Amazing how life goes so fast and before you know it you are big and your kids are big!  And you are out of school and not learning anything in text books and only learning from living.  And then suddenly you miss learning.  I know that may be hard to believe, but it is true.  Recently I've been reading this book about cells (it is a story about a woman's cells that scientists used without her knowing and they created a cell revolution and tons of medical breakthroughs) and I've learned so much about science (a subject I hated in school) and I've enjoyed it.  I have been reading things about medical students and their process and learning about that.  It is fun to stimulate your mind.  As kids you are probably reading this and saying "mom's nuts" but the great thing in life is - you'll see when you get to this point.  When it isn't a given and you aren't forced to do it you may see you like it very much (I hope you do).  So for now, try your best to enjoy some of what you learn and know that it gets better as you get older.

Community Service

Ok guys - some real meat and potatoes here - we have to talk about community service.  I'm not talking about doing a good deed here and there - I'm talking about really getting involved.  I grew up in a house where there was real community service - my parents did for the community in so many ways.  They were young people in a fairly young and new community and every need that arose, it seems, they got involved and helped out.  Sometimes it is easy to sit back in a more established community and think that you don't need to do much because it is so big and so many people are involved and what difference can you make - but that's not true.  There is so much to do and as a community grows larger, the needs are greater.  Not only that, more people are sitting back saying the community is running itself and the same people are often doing the majority of the work needed.  That is not how it should be.  Every person should find their niche and help with the best of their strengths and their abilities.  Sometimes there is little glory in it - actually a lot of the time it is mostly about hearing people's complaints about what you do and not the positives - but you can't let that deter you.  You can make a difference and you should. 

That being said, balance is key.  If you do too much and neglect your own house and your own family and your own needs that isn't ok.  Your family comes first but they need to learn how to give you space to do both.  I have seen families where communal needs are #1 and familial are #2, that is not ok in my opinion.  You need to pick your communal work selectively, don't say yes to everything if you want to really give your things your all and be there for your family.  Once you pick your things, run with them - do great things - make sure your kids/husband/self understands that these things will take time - but don't let it be so much time that you are taking away from the things you should be focusing on.

Ok, that's heavy enough for a post!

Good Response

Well it is always nice for a mom when they get a good response. So after hearing from my daughter that she likes when I blog for them, here I go again. In truth, moms (and probably lots of other people as well) love positive feedback. In fact, I think positive feedback is one of the best gifts we can give to people - and it is absolutely free. Imagine how good it feels when you work hard on something and someone actually takes notice. Sure, we have that feeling of self-satisfaction when we do something and it comes out well - but it feels so much better when it is noticed. I know I love when someone comes in after I have cleaned up and tells me how clean it looks (cleaning is one of my pet peeves) - it makes it so much more worth the effort. I think everyone should make an effort to give positive feedback once or twice a day and see how it changes them - I think it may make them more positive without them realizing it. Life can get draggy at times, when we are in a routine and going about day to day without thinking or feeling or paying much attention to anything - and then boom - something comes out of the blue and shakes us up - not necessarily something big and bold - but just something that hits us in the right way and we wake up a bit, get out of the old habits and the "routineness" of life and start putting more thought into things. Maybe it is just me, the housewife, speaking and other people don't think this - but I sometimes get to feel like things are routine, over and over doing the same things - clean up, cook, shop and then I forget that there are things that are not routine and there are things that take thought and effort! And along comes a nice comment and that was my boom - wake up - someone noticed - and I'm glad they did :-)

Hi Again

As usual guys life got in the way of me doing any extra things but I figured I'd write and see how often I can get back to this. So what should we discuss today? I think maybe bedtime is a good one - I'm learning how different bedtime can be at different stages in a child's life- when they are small, you have to be firm and set a time and stick to it - routine is really good. Then comes the in-between age - not big yet but not really small anymore - at that time, you have to have a basic schedule but not be completely tied to it - make exceptions. Then comes the tween age - once you are teenagers I don't think there is any way to make you get the sleep you need - but tweens have to have a very flexible time - it has to depend on your mood, your day, your exhaustion level, and things like that. And the time between little kids bedtime and big kids bedtime has to be the greatest time of day - where there can be big kid things going on - games, reading, studying (not always the most fun but useful) and things like that. Ok, that's a thought for the day.