On a cold and rainy night...

Unbelievable, February 8 and it is pouring rain outside with a bonus of several inches of snow expected to follow. I think it's actually thundering or maybe that's just the sound of our shingles blowing off... On a cold and rainy night, there's nothing better than sitting in front of the fire with a good book, or better yet, a good blog (hee hee).

Sundays are our family's day to try to get ready for the coming week. You know, compare schedules, make sure everyone knows where they are suppsed to be on what day and at what time. Did you see the word "try". Lately, Sunday has been the day to catch up on a nap and eat until I'm miserable. According to my last entry, those two things might not be considered living life to its fullest. Hmm, I may argue the nap though.

So, the goal for this week - get up at 6 a.m. to exercise then get ready for work, ready the backpacks, pack afterschool snacks, put the dog out and kiss the kids before putting them on the bus. After work, make supper, play with kids, throw some laundry in, plan the menu for the week, bathe kids, read to kids, put kids to bed, wash the dishes, end world hunger, balance the national budget and last but not least, meditate for at least an hour for bed. Yup, sounds like a reasonable plan. I challenge all you other mothers out there to do the same. What's that you say, that's already your daily routine...

On a cold and rainy night...I ate a big bowl of ice cream with M&Ms and went to bed.

"My reality is not meeting my expectations."

This quote haunts me. I read it or heard it not too long ago, I can't remember...memory loss, that's a blog all of its own.

Reality, an undefinable string of moments. What is to me, my reality, is to someone else, something completely different. For example, tonight Jackson, my almost-seven-year-old twin son was being very loud. That's his new thing, being loud. He has found his voice, his inner spirit and wants to share it with anyone he can. God bless him. Well, to my almost-eighteen-year-old senior daughter in high school, Lexie, this inner spirit is more like the sound of semi crashing through the house. So, after supper tonight, Jackson was coming down the stairs, being some type of animal, loudly, and I lost my temper and loudly told him to be quiet, so effective, let me tell ya! Can you see the dominos falling - Lexie gets upset, "why can't we just all get along" and in less than 30 seconds both are stomping off and I'm left doing the dishes by myself. My reality was definitely not meeting my expectations at that moment. Jackson's reality was that he was just expressing himself; Lexie's reality was that it was way too noisy. Not quite meeting in the middle. That's just 5 minutes of our life.

Infinite realities blending together. No wonder there is conflict in our world. But in the midst of the blending is the real challenge, perhaps even the opportunity. We hear so often that we need to live as if each day may be our last. A mother shared with me today that her son joined the National Guard. I told her that although I consider myself very patriotic, I hope that my sons don't choose that path. She responded very solidly, "He could get hit by a car crossing the street. It's God's plan, not mine." Just like that, no pause, no hesitation; so sure of her faith. That is her reality.

So if a person can choose to have that type of reality...that type of life, than a person can also choose to change their reality if it is not meeting their expectations. Just like that, no hesitation; do I have the courage to change?

First Time Bloggers, Please, Apply

To all you experienced bloggers, be kind. A good friend introduced me to the world of blogging and I think that I will be grateful to her for a very long time! Even if no one other than me ever reads my entries, I will have had the experience of remembering, processing, enjoying and sharing the joys, tears, trials and laughs that make us, Five Smiths and a Dog.