Proof that I’m raising my kids right
The other day, L.(5) was musing about a recent kids’ movie. We haven’t seen the movie, but he has seen the merchandise, the themed fruit snacks, etc. and is well aware of it. I overheard the following conversation between L. and my teen, C.(13).
And let me tell you, it just warmed my heart.
**
L.: I think we should go see that movie.
C.: Well, I’m not sure that movie would be appropriate for a 5-year-old.
L.: Why not? Are there some really scary parts in it?
C.: No, I don’t think so.
L.: Then, what? Is there bad grammar?
**
Score one for grammar geeks! (That’d be me.)
Okay, so it’s possible that when L. said “bad grammar,” he was actually thinking more, um, globally, and meant something akin to “bad words” instead of just “bad grammar.”
But still, the mere fact that those words would come out of his mouth, and that he would sound somewhat horrified at the prospect of bad grammar has to count for something.
Right?
The tale of a lost gift card
On New Year’s Eve, after returning home from an out-of-town trip, I made a quick run to the grocery store. I needed to pick up something for dinner and enough snacks to get us through a night of many boardgames and and attempt to stay up til midnight to greet the new year.
In case you have never been to the grocery store at 4:00 on New Year’s Eve, allow me to give you some advice: don’t. Because everyone and their uncle will be there. You will park far, far away from the door. And you will sigh deeply as you find aisle after aisle difficult to maneuver. And you will wait in long — very, very long — lines when you finally get to the checkout area.
Or maybe that was just me.
Anyway, let’s just say that things were rather crazy at the grocery store.
And they were so crazy that somewhere between paying for my groceries and getting out the door, I dropped or misplaced or otherwise lost a gift card for the aforementioned grocery store.
(Small bit of background, not that you asked for it: We purchase grocery store gift cards through C.’s private school and do most of our shopping with those cards. It serves as a bit of a fundraiser for the school, and gives us a percentage off tution. Win-win.)
The gift card I lost was partially drained, but there was definitely still some money on it. And by the time I realized it was missing, two days later, I didn’t even know where I might have lost it and figured it was gone for good.
First, because there was no identifying information on it.
And second, because I was pretty sure that anyone who found a gift card lying around would rejoice in their discovery and tuck it away in their wallet.
While I was bummed about the loss, I just hoped that it was found by someone who really needed it.
Imagine my shock, when, 2 days after that (4 days from the original loss), I got a call from the grocery store, asking if, perchance, I had dropped something in their store within the last four days.
Incredulous, I asked if it was a gift card. And it was.
Someone had found it lying in the store, and rather than tucking it in their wallet, had turned it in to the store’s office.
And then the manager went out of her way to track down where and when the card had last been used, and whose store discount card had been used with it… and then located my information and called me.
I was surprised, thankful, and amazed to be reunited with the gift card. And to be honest, I was a bit humbled as well. Humbled that the extra kindness — out-of-the-way, above-and-beyond kindness — of two nice people had saved me from my own flusteredness or disorganization or whatever it was that led to losing the card in the first place.
I truly appreciate their kindness, and I am officially on the lookout to pass that same kindness on to someone else.
Hobby Focus
I didn’t really make any New Year’s Resolutions this year. In part, because we were traveling on December 30th & 31st, and I just didn’t have the time to get alone, sit quietly, and articulate my hopes and goals for the coming year before January 1st struck. And in part because I’m not convinced that I do a very good job with New Years Resolutions.
Don’t get me wrong — I can’t help but approach a new year with that “fresh slate” feeling, full of dreams and ideas of how things might look if I would make some key changes and commitments. But sometimes, when I write out grand-sounding “Resolutions,” I become rather all-or-nothing about them. And then, somewhere around January 20th or February 17th or April 5th…when it becomes apparent that I have not attained the goals I was shooting for, I tend to give up completely.
So this year, rather than a list of resolutions, my approach is simply to implement a few small changes in a couple areas.
One of those areas is my lifelong tendency to dabble.
The truth: I am a dabbler.
I love to research and I genuinely enjoy attempting new things that intrigue me. But it seems that I often jump from one thing to another, especially in the realm of hobbies. I learn just enough to feel like I’ve made progress and then it’s on to the next thing. I end up feeling a bit like a “jack of all trades, master of none” when it comes to hobbies.
Some things I’ve dabbled in:
- knitting (I believe I’ve completed about 3 items — all baby hats)
- sewing (one pair of pajama pants and one backpack completed)
- photography (took a photography class and played around)
- baking bread (one fall season of learning, er…attempting, to bake bread)
- computer programming (barely stuck my toe in the water there)
- writing (wrote magazine articles ages ago…then let it go)
- learning Adobe Illustrator (lots of playing around, but little lasting knowledge)
- gardening (one summer wherein I was mostly defeated by the local bunnies)
While each of these little hobbies have been enjoyable in their own ways, I regret that I haven’t stuck with any of them long-term. I don’t regret the time I’ve spent with them — they are all good skills to have.
But I decided that this year, I want to spend some time going a little deeper in a few of them. I want to bring a bit more focus to my hobbying.
What am I hoping to gain?
First, I’m hoping to become a bit more proficient in a few hobbies. I don’t need to be a professional, but it would be nice to feel some level competency in the things I really enjoy.
Second, I want to discover which of those hobbies I would truly enjoy long-term. I believe that along the way, I might realize that some of them were nice to learn, but I don’t want to invest hours and hours into them over the long haul.
And third, I might come to the conclusion that for me, hobby dabbling is just more fun. And that’s okay too.
But for now, I’ve decided that each month, I’ll focus more deeply than usual on one of my hobbies. I’ve given myself permission to continue with a hobby for multiple months if I end up having tons of fun with it. But the bottom line is that I want to dedicate a good chunk of time to one hobby each month.
January’s hobby?
Knitting.
My husband, Chad, had asked for a knitted scarf for Christmas. Since he made the request in December, you might well imagine that…well…it didn’t exactly happen in time for Christmas. But we still have a few cold months left, so I dove into knitting last week:
I finished the scarf last night, but don’t have a picture of the final product to show you. However, Chad is very pleased with it. And I’m pleased that I have another project, and some more knitting experience under my belt. Now on to the next knitting project!
How do you approach hobbies? Are you a dabbler like me, or do you have a few that you remain committed to?
Christmas recap and recovery
How was your Christmas? I hope it was delightful, filled with love and family and joy and time with your favorite people.
Ours was all that, but it was also exhausting. It felt like we were on-the-go for about five days straight. It probably wasn’t quite that bad, but that’s what it felt like. Time with my family and my husband’s family, guests, parties, board games, gifts, baking, errands, church, friends, food… whew! It was all good, but I think I am now officially ready for the slower days of January.
(I don’t particularly like the grayness of those January days, but the slowness? Yes please.)
As we celebrated the gift of Jesus, we also had the joy of giving and receiving some fun and enjoyable (though more temporal) gifts with each other.
C.(13) is now the owner of his very own Kindle. He loves to read almost as much as my husband and I do, and this way, he can collect even more books without overloading his already-bursting bookshelf. He’s already completed his first Kindle book and is on to more.
L.(5) received a variety of Angry Birds paraphernalia. I tell you, this kid is obsessed with Angry Birds. And each time he opened a gift that involved one more Angry Birds item, he giggled spontaneously and then couldn’t stop smiling. He can now spend a good portion of each day creating and destroying his own game levels.
Chad received some things to make his favorite hobby, cycling, a little more fun.
And we now have an elliptical machine residing in our basement. Which means I cannot use the gray days of January as an excuse for not exercising (as in, “Well I would go for a walk, but it’s too cold/dreary/snowy/hilly/insert-your-favorite-excuse-here.”). The elliptical will always be waiting for me. And after yesterday’s session, I am even more aware that my cardiovascular system could use some major improvement.
I have to admit that as much as I enjoy tearing open wrapping paper to see what surprise awaits me, I really love when I pick that “just right” gift for someone — when I manage to surprise them with something they didn’t even know they wanted, but instantly love. It doesn’t happen all the time, but I managed to get one or two of those instances this year. Total fun!
I’m also happy to announce that we were not struck with a Stomach Plague this year. I probably shouldn’t even type that out because as soon as I hit “Publish” on this post, one of my family members will likely bolt for the bathroom. But seriously, after last year, when one kid was sick right before Christmas, I got sick on Christmas, and the other kid got sick right after Christmas, I was so thankful to not be spending this holiday with Clorox wipes and a bucket. There were some minor, upper respiratory illnesses this year, but nothing a humidifier and some Vicks couldn’t solve.
And now, I find myself looking at the end of the year already. Just a couple days left in 2011. This year seemed to fly by.
I haven’t decided yet if I’ll make a list of New Year’s Resolutions. Some years I do and some years I don’t. But I do hope to be able to set aside some time to think about the upcoming year, to pray for God’s guidance, and to regroup a bit before heading into 2012.
Mind over matter
Confession: I almost named this post “Mind over mucus.” Because really, that’s what it’s about. But at the last minute, I decided that title might be too gross, and I wasn’t sure I wanted it sitting at the top of my blog, so I chickened out and went with the cliched-but-still-appropriate-in-this-case “Mind over matter.”
So.
I’ve been sick for two solid weeks. And I’ve tried not to complain about it much. Well, except to my husband. And to anyone who made the unfortunate choice to ask me, “How are you feeling?” at any point in the last two weeks. (But honestly, if you’re going to ask, then I think you’re fair game for some minor complaining.)
But in the grand scheme of things — or at least, here on the blog and on Twitter and on Facebook — I’ve only made teeny tiny references to the miserable virus that has invaded my body.
And now, because you’re here and because I’m sure you want a play-by-play, I’ll tell you about it. Briefly.
It started with a sore throat and swollen glands, moved into losing my voice, and then transitioned into a multi-pronged Sinus and Throat Extravaganza that has been plaguing me for way too long.
The Illness hasn’t rendered me completely useless. Which is unfortunate, in some ways. I mean sometimes, when I’m sick, I’d like nothing more than to hide under my covers all day, reading or watching Harry Potter movies or playing Angry Birds until my eyes glaze over.
But with this particular Disease, I’ve felt “okay” enough to feel guilty when doing nothing. So I start doing things. Which turns out to be too much. And then I end up with a day like Saturday, which went something like this:
1. Breakfast
2. Nap
3. Watch family eat lunch
4. Nap
5. Brief Awakening
6. Nap
7. Eat a quesadilla with the family
8. Drive around to look at Christmas lights while fighting off a nap
9. Early bedtime
I think I slept more on Saturday than I do in most weeks.
So here I am, two weeks after the onset of the Germs, and I’ve decided that I’ve had enough.
I’m done being sick.
It’s not even enough to warrant a trip to the local clinic to try to score some antibiotics. Just a nagging sinus headache, a sporadically sore throat, and random coughing fits. In other words, it’s simply The Cold that Won’t Go Away.
Except that as of right now, I’m going to ignore it. I’m choosing to be No Longer Sick.
After all, there are presents to wrap, a house to clean, a dinner party to prepare for, cookies to bake, and more holiday preparations that are eluding my foggy brain at the moment.
Do you hear me, Infection? It’s over. You can nag and linger all you want. But I’m not going to pay any attention.
You are dead to me.
So feel free to move on. Leave. Exit the premises.
In other words: Go Away. Because I hereby refuse to be sick any longer.