Welcome to My Addiction

I was told that blogging would become an addiction, and I can already see that. All day long I've been thinking of things that I want to include here. I'm going to have to keep a running list. And I'm going to have to find time to do this and still keep up with the housework. (Well, ok, let's be truthful here - just not get any further behind than I already am!)

This is going to be my forum for my random thoughts and musings, as well as my rants and raves. As you can already tell, I pretty much have an opinion on everything - hence the title. I've posted my first two rants - believe me there will be more to come! But I also want to share wisdom. I'm finding this to be a time in my life of LOTS of change and soul-searching. (That's why it's called a mid-life crisis, you know!) I'm having the opportunity to look at life in a whole new way. Perhaps age does bring wisdom?? Maybe I'm on my way to that.

So here's something I heard recently. A wise older woman gave my dear friend the following pieces of advice:

Raise your children to leave you.
She said this upon the birth of my friend's first child and I believe her point was to let my friend know just how short our time with our children is, and that it's our job to prepare them to be adults. So raise those babies with an eye toward the future. We need to ask ourselves, "What's going to be the best thing for them in the long run?" Not just what will make the child happy now, but what should I do that, over the long-term, will help make him or her a happy, well-adjusted adult?

This can be a tough one. Sometimes we just don't want to fight those battles - and sometimes it's fine not to. But other times our kids just need to know that the world *gasp* does NOT revolve around them. Yes, it's easier to pick up after them/do things for them than nag them to get them to do it themselves, but in the long run are we doing them any favors?

I'm a classic example. I went off to college and lived in a dorm with two bedrooms, a living room and a bathroom. (We got our meals in the dining commons.) Here we were, four very spoiled girls who, clearly, had not been required to do much housework. Long about November we looked into the toilet bowl and wondered, "What's that greenish stuff growing inside the bowl?" Not ONE of us had thought to BUY a toilet brush, much less use it!!! (Needless to say, we learned!)

Take care of yourself. No one else is going to do it for you.
This one, while seemingly obvious, is deep in its subtlety. As mothers, it is particularly easy to get lost in everyone else's needs and neglect our own. We spend so much time nurturing and caretaking, that we forget that we, too, need nurturing. And we need to be the ones to do it. That means scheduling time to do things that recharge our batteries, so we have energy to give to those we love. It's the old oxygen mask story - on airplanes, the flight attendants tell you to put your OWN mask on first, THEN the child's. Why? Because if you pass out, there's no one there to put it on your child! So we need to refuel ourselves in order to have something to give to others.

Going to bunco, taking a dance class, meeting a friend for coffee, getting a pedicure, and reading, are some of my battery rechargers. What I need to work on is refueling myself with SLEEP! That's my big area to work on. How about you? What are you doing for yourself? What are you working on? I'd love to hear...