Days 55, 56

What I did:

As everyone knows, yesterday was Mother's Day. I got some nice, homemade things from the little one and Shelli took us out for Chinese food. We had a great time and after I got home, my 20 year old son, Danny, offered to come home to cook me dinner! I was pretty stuffed, so I told him I would pass, but loved the fact that he wanted to do something special.

My little one was especially cuddly yesterday and even wanted to schedule some time for us to sit together on the couch. In case you haven't deducted from my posts, she's an incredibly mature and eccentric five year old, with soulful deep brown eyes and an vocabulary I can only credit to growing up with "adult" brothers and sisters. She makes me laugh, but more importantly, she makes me think. I understand when she tells me we need to make an appointment to get together to cuddle, she's really letting me know that she wants that one on one attention. Because she seems to be always talking, I tend to tune out sometimes and listen on auto-pilot. I remembered yesterday that I need to listen with my my heart and I will hear what she's really telling me. Needless to say, she was on my lap yesterday afternoon and both of us were content.

I decided to eat as much of whatever I wanted yesterday, but didn't really feel liberated by my choices. I'm not sure I shouldn't take special days to have that freedom to wander away from my healthy eating choices. I'm just saying it didn't have the "feel good" effect I thought it would. All I could think about was having to punish myself the next day to make up for it. I don't think my actions are the issue - it's my train of thought.

All in all, an ok weekend, although I did wake up this morning wondering why the house always seems to get cluttered whenever Shelli and Landon sleep over. I'm not saying it's them, because it's not - it's just that I tend to ignore all the things I usually do, and then have to dig out from under them later.

What I learned:

I'm in the process of learning that I have to look at my problems with the intent of coming up with a solution. Prior to this blog, I looked at my problems and felt pretty helpless and frustrated. The problems seemed like they were in control of my life. Now when I see something that's just not right, I ask myself what I can do to change it. Sometimes there's nothing I can do, but I think most of the time there is. Even when I don't "feel" like I can be a part of the solution, I still need to think creatively and do what I can to fix it. It all goes back to the saying, "God grant me the ability to accept the things I can not change, change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference".

I remember hearing a speaker named Crawford Lorritz tell us four words he would say to his kids every day before they got out of the car to go to school. He said, "Do the hard thing". What good advice!

Until Tomorrow~~~Elizabeth