4 Words and a Touch

Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless. ~Mother Teresa

One morning last week, Smiley and I went to the store to do our grocery shopping.  Smiley is not a fan of the cart.  She is one heck of an independent little girl. However, on this morning, I had a list.  Not a super long list,  but one long enough that she needed to be in the cart.  We hit the produce section.  Success.  Next stop, meat and seafood.  Success.  On to the deli/bakery.  FREE COOKIES for the kids! SUCCESS. (I know it was morning, but this is the little something that keeps her calmly in the cart for a few more aisles ~ yep, I'm a sucker)  Dairy... Check, and on we went.  All was fabulous until were halfway through the rest of the aisles.  I only needed 10 more minutes.  Ugh..  She began to grab random things off of the shelves and toss them into the cart.  By the time I put it back something new would be in.  Once I had the cart positioned in the center of the aisle and all extra items removed from it, the yelling began.  And then the arching of the back and the attempts to climb out of the cart.

I sang.
I asked her questions about the grocery store.
I did my best to entertain her.
To redirect her thoughts.

We made it.
We made it to the check out lane.

We waited in line.
We placed our items on the belt.

She began grabbing everything in sight.  Candy, chips, batteries, magazines.  Testing me.  Testing my will and my patience.  I continued my wait in line all while replacing items, unloading items and watching my yelling daughter as she looked at me with her turned in eyes (I'm not ready to go into that now, so more on that another day).  I was frustrated and sad and trying to keep my patience and my smile.

We checked out.
I paid.
I was bagging my groceries up when it happened.

It was the man behind me.
He began bagging his groceries as the cashier continued sending his items down the belt to him.
And he looked at me and said so sincerely, "Your daughter is BEAUTIFUL."

And HE made me smile.  He turned my morning around with those 4 simple words.  Because, my daughter is beautiful.  Even if her eyes are not perfect.  Even if she hates to be confined to a grocery cart and will let everyone around her know.

Do you realize, all it takes is a word, or a gesture to make a difference.

In church yesterday, Smiley was back to her "I don't want to be confined", independent, noisy self.  She wanted me to put her down.  Here's the low down, when we are standing in church and she is not being held, she crawls around on the floor, climbs on the seats and is basically "all over the place"  So we choose to hold her unless we are sitting down (she will sit if we are).  She wanted to be down.  I told her, "No."  So as we sat in our usual spot in the front row she threw herself a knock down, classic, two year old temper tantrum ~ yelling, arched back, flailing arms and legs, red faced temper tantrum.  I calmly walked with her (screaming and yelling the entire way) to the back of the church, where we have a little corner we have designated as her "time out" spot (I know, time outs at church, really?  Yep. Time outs at church).  She had her time out, she calmed down, we went back to "our spot".  During communion (only a few minutes later) an acquaintance  walked past and grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.  A comfort, a gesture from one mom to another.  An "I've been there"  gesture.

Simple.
So very simple.
No words spoken.


Words from a stranger and a gesture from an acquaintance.  Both unexpected, both deeply appreciated, because, I am not a perfect mother.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. 

~Leo Buscaglia

69. Laughter

70. A mess house after a day with friends

71. The peace of a rosary

72. The confidence of my daughter

73. A simple note of thanks

74. A discussion of contentment

75. Fresh Air

When the dog bites....

When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad...

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel soooooo bad....... (wow, I kind of got into the song a little bit)

Or maybe it's just when winter seems to drag on, the high temperature for the day is suppose to be 7 degrees. I woke up to this:

 and the wind might just blow you down the street ~ that's when I remember some of my favorite things. And I thought I would share them with you.

Mmmm, a nice hot cup of coffee

My warm and cozy slippers

Running shoes ~ nothing like getting out (to go into the health club) and getting some natural endorphins going

Aquaphor ~ perfect for my nails and lips on these

cold, dry days

Nail Polish ~ I never paint my fingernails, but I love to have my toes beach ready. You know, just in case we win the lottery (that we don't play) and are forced to go on a trip to a tropical island.

This rug ~ no really, it is perfect for the kid's wet boots and prevents me from accidentally stepping in wet, snow spots.

and yes, this mud room is in desperate need of a change and my head is full of ideas, but one of our favorite things is the"art wall" where we hang all of the kids pictures ~ we see them every time we come in and out of the house ~ it makes us all smile :)

These lounge pants from NY and Company ~ so comfy, they have long sizes, and they were only $13.00 ~ so I also have a pair in charcoal gray and brown.

Candles

Reading materials ~ pleasure and inspiration

Music ~ lots of variety

Oh, and lets not forget this brilliant ball

Ok, so my items are a little random. I would also like to point out that these are just a few of the simple daily things I am thankful for and enjoy (lets not forget remote car starters on days like today either). However, nothing could make me smile more than my family! I mean really who could resist a face like this (breakfast and all)?

What are your simple, everyday favorite things?

Follow up to Monday

Well, I was going to write a follow up to Monday's measuring post yesterday, but I got side tracked with life.

You know:
breakfast
getting the kids off to school
loads and loads of laundry (I try to only do laundry on Monday's)
lunch
a few games of operation
some catch
a little vollyball
some reading
a little coloring
a sick baby that needed some extra cuddles
dinner
a grocery store run
12 dozen cookies baked

I hope you understand.

Anyway, enough of my excuses.

First of all, I want to thank you all for your lovely comments. 
.
I would like to follow up with this.  I do feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to stay home. 
It is a blessing.
I know many women who do stay home, a few that would love to be able to and others who have no desire to.  Regardless of our jobs (in and outide of the home)  we will always have things in our lives that:
~ cause us stress
~ keep us second guessing ourselves
~ make us  wonder if what we are doing is enough

And as with all jobs some days will be better than others.

There will be failures and frustrations, but there will also be celebrations and appreciation.

Regardless of whether or not we are able to stay home with our children the most important thing that we can give them is ourselves.

“Make a memory with your children, spend some time to show you care; toys and trinkets can't replace those precious moments that you share.”

-Elaine Hardt

Something to Think About Sunday

I have been blessed with many special people in my life. Most of them influence me in one way or another. Sometimes positively, sometimes negatively.

There is one person who I have had the pleasure of meeting within the last year, who has influenced me tremendously.

I will admit, when I first met him, I did not care for him much. Honestly, some of the things he did drove me crazy. And now that he has moved away and I no longer see him, I miss his presence, his words, and our conversations. I am left to think of the impact he had on my life and in such a short period of time.

Being in his presence made me think about and question my life and my religion. He made me want to be a better person, wife, mother and christian.

I doubt he even knows the impact he has made.

I only pray I can take what he gave me during these few months and give it to others.

You don't have to be a 'person of influence' to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me.

~Scott Adams

Grateful

Well if you read yesterday's post, I had a bit of denial going on ~ ha!


So for today, here are a few of the things I was grateful for last week:

I was thrilled to have an evening out with friends. We had dinner and just hung out. Fabulous and hillarious stories were told, memories were talked about, and feelings were shared. I am grateful I have such amazing women in my life.

My Darling Husband took a day off of work last week so we could play together as a family. We enjoyed a mostly cloud free (of course not in this picture), relaxing, fun, playful, hot day on the lake.

We purchased a new accessory for our deck and spent time enjoying it.

Oooh, and while we are on the subject of things we are grateful for, I would like to mention that I am extremely grateful for the person who came up with this recipe:


Ingredients:
graham crackers
chocolate bar
marshmallows


Directions:
Come on....
You know what to do!

Mmmmmm. Sassy is grateful too!