Hats

I am a woman.
I am a wife.
I am a mother.
I am a writer.
I am a sister.
I am a daughter.
I am an aunt.
I am a friend.

Today, I'm also a nurse.

Kids don't generally like being sick - unless they get to miss a day of school. They like that. My son was fine after school yesterday, but as soon as evening approached, he got whiney.

I try to keep my son happy, yet well-behaved. I fussed at him for continuing to whine after I'd repeatedly asked him not to. I told him to whine in his own room. He started crying. I was frustrated.

I asked him why he was crying. He kept crying. I told him to stop crying. He kept crying. I was frustrated and annoyed. He stopped long enough to utter nonsense that had the word stomach in it. I asked questions and pressed his abdomen. Nothing he said made sense, except that his stomach hurt. We watched him whine and cry through dinner. He only ate a few bites of kiwi fruit.

All mothers can guess what happened next.

In just a few seconds, I graduated from nursing school. At the same time, I became a professional carpet cleaner. (Club Soda is mommy's little helper.)

Why is it that mothers have this enormous guilt when they look at situations through their 20/20 hindsight? I felt so bad for fussing at my son. I wanted to rewind and hold him on my lap instead of trying to make him go to his room for being so annoyingly whiney.

My kids are well most of the time, but when they feel bad I always want to know the details. There should be a panel a mother can open to see what her child's problem is. The hand on the forehead is good, but doesn't tell the difference between 101 degrees and 99.5. I need one of those diagnostic handheld devices I used to see on the USS Enterprise. I'd be using it whenever my kids exhibit strange behaviors, or if they're unusually cranky.

My son liked staying home from school. I gave him a cup of water and a popcicle, and then he was feeling much better. As a nurse, I give huge doses of tender loving care. It helps with the temperature-taking. In return, I get a little boy's smile and an invitation to play Guess Who.

I'm almost ready to put on my cab driver hat and pick up my daughter from school. I'll try to get a hug and call that a tip.

Work, work, work

Thought for the day: If you never practice the piano, you'll never play in Carnegie Hall.

I feel like a character in a book. I have a goal, but I also have conflict. In order to achieve the goal, I must push through the conflict. I have to work out a plan. I have to be desperate enough to keep at it until I suceed.

If my characters don't feel the goal is necessary, they fade into the page and become nothing. If the goal is absolutely necessary, they will do anything to achieve it.

I have to keep working at writing. I keep learning and applying. I try this and that until I find that plan of attack that is most effective for me.

I don't mind working at writing. I love writing. It's the juggling that gets me.

God has given me a wonderful family, but they take a lot of my time. I do a lot for them, and they give me some time for writing. But just taking off one hat and putting on another several times a day gets me frustrated. I know many writers do much more than I do in any given day, but that knowledge doesn't really help me. Everyone has challenges.

I have to forget what others are accomplishing and focus on my tasks. I have to forget that the dryer is buzzing and finish my sentence. I have to forget about planning a summer vacation and focus on now.

I know I'll suceed as a writer because I know God called me to write. But I'll never be the writer God wants me to be unless I work at it right now.

Happy Valentines Day

Ahhh... February! The month of love.

Anyone that wants to be sweet doesn't have to wait for the month of love. But while it's February, let's focus on the moment.

Not all months get to have a color scheme. March/April (Easter)'s colors are the pale hues of beautiful spring flowers: the beauty of God's love. November's (Thanksgiving) colors are brown, orange, and red: the noticeable bright brilliance (orange and red) of God's love on the earth( brown). December's (Christmas) colors are red and green: true love and fresh new growth.

February gets to have red and white: true love and purity. White represents the purity of God's love, and red represents the true love of the Lamb of God who was destined to be crucified before He arrived as a man on the earth - and still He came to us.

In February, everyone gets a card or a verbal greeting of love. Grandparents get cards, parents get cards, school friends get cards, siblings get cards, teachers get cards, etc. If you don't get cards, you get greeted by people in the work force with Happy V Day. Everyone seems happy.

How often do we remember to send God some love notes? I've written out prayers to God and when I think about it, it seems silly. He knows what we're going to say before we say it. Certainly, He doesn't need to read a love note. But reading what I've said to God sometimes makes me remember all He's done for me and that reminds me to thank Him.

God doesn't need glitter glued to red construction paper, but He does want my heart.

Good News - Bad News

The good news is... my work in progress is going smoothly.
The bad news is... I still worry about it being less than superb.

The good news is... I've studied my craft well enough to write a good story.
The bad news is... I don't know everything about writing.

The good news is... I know that I don't know everything about writing.
The bad news is... I still don't know everything about writing.

Sometimes I catch myself going through the dismal joyless blues. Then, being the optimist in the family, I find something good to say in the midst of it. However when I stop at the bad news, it takes a little longer to get the cold engine of my optimism running again.

In school, I was the daydreamer. Our elementary school had nice large windows in all our classrooms. When the teacher lost my attention, it was usually because the wind was swinging on our swingset outside. It didn't take long for me to "see" children playing on the playground and imagine what each one would do.

The good news is... I had fun in school.
The bad news is... my mind was playing on the playground without permission.
The good news is... I graduated with my class.
The bad news is... I was totally clueless about which degree to get in college.
The good news is... I got my BSHE and my MRS.
The bad news is... the job I wanted was unavailable because the industry centralized and put the experienced workers out of a job.
The good news is... I got a job as a manager.
The bad news is... I worked in the mall.
The good news is... my husband got a great job.
The bad news is... okay, I can't think of any bad news after this.

That's what happens when I think of how God has changed my life. He has been with me from before I was born and has blessed me in and out of trials. No life is full of only good news. I love knowing that when the trials come, God is already there with a plan. What bad news can stand up to God??

The good news is... Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the Name above every name that can be named.
The bad news is... there are some in the world that don't know this.
The good news is... they will.