Enough

It's a rainy day today. It's making me feel kind of lazy and kind of thoughtful. All I want to do is hang out and scrapbook. My son has the day off school and we are pretty much taking it easy. We have a hectic day tomorrow and the housework is always waiting for me, so I decided a lazy day is just what we need today. I enjoy an occassional rainy, lazy day, don't you???

My "thoughtfulness" was triggered by an Oprah show I saw this week. It was on Wednesday, but I taped it and watched it in bits and pieces. It was a follow up on homes she and others have paid to have built and furnished for Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors who lost everything. It's always so nice to see things that showcase goodness and kindness of heart. We see so much of the opposite. Anyway, it was heartwarming to say the least.

I don't like to think I'm a material person. Would I like newer clothes? Sure. Would I like a nicer house? Sometimes. Do I wish we had more money? It would be nice. But at the same time, I know how blessed we are and that truly, we have enough. We get by. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table. My children are healthy and happy. We have a loving family and some amazing friends. Who needs more than that? Is it hard to live on one income? Sure. But do we NEED to have more? I don't think so. I feel so blessed that we can make ends meet (even though it's a challenge!) and I get to stay home with my children who continue to grow up before my very eyes.

It saddens me when people feel like they deserve more -- need more -- expect and demand more -- when what they have, could be enough if they would focus on what they have instead of what they don't. I'm not saying we shouldn't all strive to better our lives -- I'm just talking about the focus on material -vs- what's truly important. I think when you become too focused on the "getting", you miss out on enjoying what you have.

I believe it was just my last post when I spoke about the phone call I was dreading. It came either that very day or the day after. My cousin lost her battle with cancer just two weeks ago. Her passing still seems so unreal to me, but it has been a true reality check in my daily life. I still get impatient or overreact to things and get in bad moods. But I feel like I've been trying harder to keep things in perspective. Even little things.

My husband likes to tease me a lot about my age. (He's two years younger.) It always reminds me of my cousin because we were just six weeks apart in age. When we were little, she used to like to hold it over my head that she was older than me. As we got older, I got to tease her about being younger. We had some fun with that. I've never been one to freak out about my birthday, but sometimes I do find it hard to believe I'm in my mid-to-late thirties. Now when I think about my next birthday, I feel like it would be almost disrespectful to my cousin if I freaked out about being another year older. I know how much she wished for another 40 or 50 birthdays so she could watch her kids grow and see their kids.

I'm sure this post seems so disjointed. My underlying message here is -- let's be thankful. Let's realize how blessed we are. Let's realize that it's quite possible, we each have enough to be happy. And certainly, we have more than a lot of other people out there.

I know I said this just recently, but it's never enough -- I am so thankful for each of you -- my wonderful friends. Your kind thoughts and heartfelt notes, especially with my sadness over my cousin has been so appreciated. Thank you so very, very much.

Enjoy the weekend -- enjoy your families!! And be thankful for each day -- each moment -- you are given.

How Sweet Is This?

This is a page from my four-year old daughter's scrapbook. She has her own unique style (as you can see!) . She has done about 12 pages now and they are all very unique. I have asked her several times if she wants me to help her and she does not. She is content doing her thing and honestly, I know that this will be a fantastic keepsake of when she was four. It makes me smile when I look through her book -- and some days, I can feel a little lump in my throat too!

I happened to go to a scrapbooking site yesterday that I very rarely visit. A thread caught my eye about a younger lady that had passed away (in her 40s I think). A friend had encouraged her for years to scrapbook for her children and she just never got around to it. She got sick and her friends got together to make pages for her and she was going to record her stories. However, she died rather suddenly (sooner than expected) and never had a chance to write anything.

The thread went on to remind everyone of two things. And in my opinion, they are so important and so true. First -- life is short and we never really know how long we have. Unexpected things happen every single day. As a procrastinator and someone who unfortunately feels very unorganized a lot of the time, I feel the need to remind myself of this often. Time is precious and short. Am I using it wisely?

Second -- and this is why I shared a page from my daughter's scrapbook -- it doesn't really matter what supplies we use or what our style is or if others accept our work or if we are published. Why do we scrapbook? To leave lasting memories for our loved ones, right? Does it matter if we have the latest paper or products? Not really. It really bothers me when people get nasty and judgemental about the work of others. We each have our own tastes and not everything will appeal to us. But there is no right or wrong when it comes to creating pages. If you're doing it, that's what matters.

I think the thread also struck home with me because of my 37-year old cousin with cancer. I got a call yesterday that she has taken a turn for the worse yet again. The aunt that called is a nurse who has worked with many cancer patients. She wanted me to brace myself, because in her opinion, time is very, very short for my cousin. So I am apprehensively waiting for a phone call. I feel so agitated these days, and I think it's partly because I'm expecting this dreaded phone call. And though I'm expecting it, I do not feel prepared for it.

Okay -- enough for today. And as I end my post, I want each of you who reads this to know how much I appreciate your friendship.

Wishing you a wonderful, happy, safe and peaceful weekend!

I finally figured it out...

Yesterday I had to run to Walgreens. I was on my way to pick my daughter up from pre-school and was in a hurry. My youngest was being mischievous and somewhat uncooperative (not unusual!) and I decided a little bribery was in order.

I broke my own rule and said to my son, "Do you want a sucker?" I asked this figuring Walgreen's was sure to have a $1 bag of Dum Dums -- right? They usually have stuff like that. No problem. And Dum Dums are just the right size for him.

(Side note -- my rule is never mention something specific to my kids -- like "Do you want McDonald's?" Then we can't find a McDonald's and they freak out because nothing else will do since you've already said the word "McDonald's" -- know what I mean??). Saying the word "sucker" was a big mistake.

I found a package of Dum Dums alright. But it was the economy-feed-a-small-army sized bag. See it? STINKING HUGE. And not cheap I might add. And there was no small bag to be found. Because low and behold -- at the end of August, apparently it's necessary to have all the Halloween candy out. (Who in the world buys their Halloween candy two months early for goodness sakes???)

Now I realize a sensible person would have just said to their child, "Sorry honey -- no suckers today." But not me. I was in a frantic hurry. Didn't want to hear the fussing. (Lame, right?) So I grabbed the econo sized bag of suckers -- spent more than any human being should spend on a bag of suckers and was on my way.

Now this jumbo bag sits in my house. Laughing at me -- making me -- the Dum Dum.

I have always wondered where these suckers got their name. I finally figured it out. I think the words "sucker" and "Dum Dum" pretty much say it all!!