Food for Thought...

An Interesting, and sad Obituary

An Obituary printed in the London Times........ Interesting and
sadly rather true

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since
his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had fa iled to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform
parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his
wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Just maybe his passing has something to do with our stress levels...

Here's something to make you chuckle...

Hope that helped relieve the stress of the day!

Muddy Dandelions

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for mom and blowing white stuff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kid feel the beat and move to it. The sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel the wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say Thee and Thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi, God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle, I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children!
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

I wish you BIG MUD PUDDLES and SUNNY YELLOW DANDELIONS!

Have a terrific Thursday!!

Whose job is it?

So, you call the cable company cause there's a problem with your cable service. After days of going back and forth, they tell you the problem is fixed. But, it's not. More phone calls and more frustration and finally, perhaps, the problem is solved. Keep your fingers crossed. :)
Same thing with teachers upon whom you call to help solve a problem. From not getting any answer to getting a quick answer to get you off their back, it can all get pretty frustrating.
And, don't even get me started on attornies who are "earning" the big bucks to do nothing on your behalf. We'll save that frustration for another day! lol
Some days it feels as if you have to do everybody's job for them. Isn't it enough that you're doing your own job? Wouldn't it be nice if everybody did their own job? I think the days would be much less stressful if that were to happen...

Good Morning!

If you're like me, there are plenty of things in your daily life that can cause stress. I'm hoping this space can alleviate some of that for all of us. Whether it's your job, your kids or other things that stress you out, check in here for something that will, hopefully, cause you to at least chuckle during your otherwise stressful day.

Hope your weekend is stress free!

Lisa

The Invisible Mother

Invisible Mother......? It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this??? Can you open this? Can you get me something to eat??
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'?? I'm a car to order, 'Pick me up at 5:30, please.' I¢m a cook to request, ¡Please make me lunch.¢ And this is one of my favorites; I¢m a tracking and tracing device, ¡Where¢s my blue t-shirt with the green swirl on it?¢ I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated with honors - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from Europe . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about what she did.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book.

I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, no one will ever see it.?¢ And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no hole you patched, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.'? That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!
Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.