Stuck in the Middle

Hi friends. I wasn’t planning on writing today but life happened and I feel the need to share. I haven’t blogged or written lately. I’m on summer break and very busy with 2 kids. Everyday is an adventure. The hubby is busy working away in our basement. He is trying to finish the bathroom so that we can have extra space once everyone goes back to school, work in September. Great right? Not so much when it comes to my family. They are mad at me for not pushing my hubby to show up to family BBQ’s this summer.  In his mind he’d rather spend 2-4 hours working on the house than “waste” it at a BBQ. How can I argue with that. He is doing this for his family right?

So I’m stuck in the middle having to explain to my family when hubby is not there and then deal with the “looks” of disappointment and annoyance of his absence.

After a long conversation with my sister in law, I broke down and cried and cried and cried. The pressure to please is too much. I know hubby isn’t perfect and yes he could have pushed himself to finish this project earlier but he is not wired like that. I wish my dad and brother would get it and stop judging.

Yes friends, that’s my slice of life for today. Hope yours is better.

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Was is worth it?

I tend to reflect on a lot of things that I have done and do in my life. That’s just who I am.

I think. I do. I think again.

As I get older I find myself thinking again and again about events that happened long ago that changed my life completely. I ask myself “Was it worth it?” Was the decision to… worth the outcome, consequences.  I ‘m not talking about small everyday decisions. I’m talking about life changing events.

I still cannot answer that question. The answer is not simply yes or no. Yes would mean that things are as perfect as they can get (there is always room for improvement and that the good days out weigh the bad but sometimes it’s the other way around) and no would mean that the consequences and the hurt was for nothing.

I don’t know why these thoughts and questions circle my mind. Does it mean that there is more out there for me or is this life and these accomplishments it?

I hope your “WAS IT WORTH IT?” really was worth it and you have found happiness and what you want out of life.

A funny thing about birthdays

A friend of mine recently celebrated a birthday and I decided to get her a small gift. I don’t normally do this with my friends. Not because I don’t want to but it also gets very costly to buy a gift for all friends. I call, maybe send a card, and sometimes even do lunch with them. It’s funny how our birthday celebrations have changed over the years. As kids we had these big parties with lots of family, friends (school, neighborhood, etc), a cake, games and of course lots of presents. Then at some point the parties stopped, the celebrations stopped and now we find ourselves celebrating only the big milestone birthdays.  Funny huh?  Well the reason I started to write this week’s blog was because of my friend.  We are not BFF’s, we work together and spend much of our day supporting and helping each other. We don’t talk on the weekend, our families don’t really know each other, they know of each other, but have yet to meet. Not that, that is a big deal but…So back to my story. It was her birthday and I noticed that she had a rough year (emotionally, physically, etc) You get the picture. I decided to get her a small gift, just to show her that I was thinking of her and I wanted her to smile! Well when I tell you how surprised and excited she was,that is an understatement. She squealed from her excitement. Yes squealed!!!!

Because of this, I decided that from now on, I am going to pick some friends at random every year and surprise them on their birthday. The happiness that my friend felt was enough for me to make this decision. I encourage you to join me on this year-long paying it forward campaign. Pick a person in your life at random and do something special.  I am even thinking of doing it anonymously. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to get me a gift because I got them a gift (you know how that dance goes). Just something to let your friend know that they were thought of.

I will check in again in 1 year with you my readers and see how this went. I hope you can find it in your heart to do this. Let’s make someone’s slice of life a happy one!

Drill and Kill the Fun!

I never really knew the what the phrase “Drill and Kill” did to kids. Now as a mom of 2 I feel it first hand.
Yes, I am guilty of it. I taught 3-5 graders for many years and we drilled and killed before our state tests. Kids whined, they looked bored and they were not interested. I knew it was wrong, but I was responsible for these young children. They needed to “pass the test”.
Well all that changed when I enrolled my daughters in dance school this year. As with other dance schools,there is a dance recital coming up. Yes, very exciting. Costumes, make-up, hair, etc. The problem? My daughters dread going to dance class now. They H-A-T-E it. Yup! They have that same look that my students had before the test. I know they are going to perform to show all that they have learned. But what exactly did they learn?

Makes you think twice right?

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is bittersweet for most of us. I lost my mom to cancer 6 years ago, a week before my first Mother’s Day. The sadness of her death, the happiness of having a new born masked the feelings of that day 6 years ago. Now I have 2 beautiful happy, healthy girls that drive me crazy everyday. But I would not change that for the world. My husband, like most men is limited in his capacity to think ahead and plan for special occasions. With that said, a little effort and planning would have been nice. Instead it made the day even more sad. I find peace and happiness through the other 364 days of the year and make special memories with everyday moments.  I hope that your Mother’s Day was wonderful and sweet and just the way you wanted it to be. For the rest of us, we will bury the memory of a saddened Mother’s Day and hope that next year will be better.