Makes Me Wonder…

A new family has moved into our neighborhood.  They live one street below our street and have nine children.  One of the boys is Yawlin’s age.  Yay!   Another boy his age to play with!  There are also two blond-haired sisters close in age to Yawlin.

Yawlin has been spending a lot of time playing in the cul-de-sac where this new family lives.  A couple of times the two sisters from the family have asked Yawlin to come play.  They’ve played volleyball and “night games” and soccer.  Yesterday I was coming home from running errands and spotted Yawlin riding his scooter towards the cul-de-sac.  I pulled my car over, rolled the window down, and asked Yawlin where he was going.  He casually said, “Just to the circle to play.”

“Okay,” I said.  “Be home for dinner in one hour.”  Yawlin scooted off happily.

The thing I noticed, though, about this encounter with my son?  He had wet hair.  Wet hair that had been carefully combed.  Yawlin NEVER wants to comb his hair after school.  He does it once before school and then he considers it done for the day.  He has never cared before what his hair looks like when he is out playing with friends. 

Until now.

It makes me wonder…

Is it possible that my son is experiencing his first crush????

And if it is?

I’m not ready!

Why do they have to grow up?

 

Cathedrals, a t-shirt, and a Book Meme

Still scrubbing carpets, but the end is in sight!  I post a quickie here before I get back to making my living room beautiful for the holidays.

1.  For a post about the work mothers do, visit writeathome here.  I loved this post!

2.  Joy received her t-shirt last week.  (She was the winner of the contest I held for my 102nd post).  She posted about her new t-shirt here.

3.  I got tagged with a book meme by the wonderful blogger at A Table For Four.  Here are the instructions:

     *Grab the nearest book

     *Open to pg. 56

     *Find the fifth sentence

     *Post the text of the sentence on your blog with these instructions

     *Don’t dig for your favorite book, or the most intellectual one.  It has to be the closest one.

Hub took my laptop with him to visit one of his clients today.  So, instead of posting in my bedroom where I usually write, I am sitting at Hub’s desk in his home office.  The closest book to me here is “1001 Ways to Reward Employees” by Bob Nelson.  I know, I know, it probably doesn’t sound that exciting unless you are a business owner.  But, the rules state that it has to be the closest book.  Had I been in my bedroom writing I would have been able to grab a much different book.

The fifth sentence on page 56 says, “In many cases, production rates doubled.”

A gripping sentence if you are seeking to motivate your employees.  I’m not going to reveal just what caused the production rates to increase.  You’ll just have to get the book yourself and turn to page 56.

I am now supposed to tag three more bloggers to do the meme on their blog, but I am never sure who has the time or desire to participate in such things, so I am going to leave it open to anyone who wants to do this.  It was easy, and actually quite fun.  If you decide to do the meme on your own blog, let me know so that I can read the fifth sentence in your book.  I think it will be interesting to see what books are used for this meme.  If you want me to officially tag you at your site, let me know.  I will be more than happy to do so.

Enjoy your day!  The carpets are calling!

 

An Idea Worth Sharing

There has been much to keep me busy lately, which has cut into my blogging time.  I won’t have much time for blogging today either, but I heard an idea from a neighbor a little while ago that I thought I would share quickly before I get started on the day. 

My neighbor is the mother of three very active little boys all under the age of six.  Like all moms, she can feel very worn out at the end of the day and has her days of frustration and boredom.  Apparently she has had a few days in which her thoughts about being a mom to her three boys were quite negative, and then she felt guilty for even having such thoughts, but didn’t know how to overcome the overwhelming feelings she was having. 

One day she had an idea pop into her head and decided to try it.  She got a spiral notebook and drew a big heart on the front of it.  She found a place on the kitchen counter to store the journal that is out of the way but easy to reach.  Whenever one of her boys says anything cute or funny or profound she immediately grabs the notebook and writes it down.  She records the cute things the boys do together, some of the things she and the boys accomplish during the day, and the times the boys show their love for her.  She even writes down inspiration about how to raise her boys as the ideas come.  She makes sure to record the date of each entry.

My neighbor reports that now, whenever she starts to have negative thoughts about being a mother to her three little ones, she goes to the notebook and starts to read.  It reminds her of why she has chosen to be a mom and how precious her boys are to her.  She has been able to see the individuality of each boy and more fully appreciate each boy’s quirks and personality.  She reports that the feelings of negativity have lessened and that she is more positive as she goes about her day.  She purposely chose to draw a heart on the front to symbolize her love for her boys and the notebook has helped in reminding her of that love.

I journal for my kids in a slightly different manner, but thought my neighbor’s idea was a good one.  Having the notebook in the kitchen where the family congregates most of the time has made it easy for my neighbor to record happenings quickly, as they happen.  So many times I have thought to myself, I need to write that in so and so’s journal, only to forget about it because I got too busy to write it down.   

My neighbor’s notebook has morphed into a sort of gratitude journal and she says that she now feels more gratitude about the blessings of being a mother.  It has worked so well for her that she now shares her idea with others. 

I agree with her.  It is an idea worth sharing.