Sunday, August 30, 2009

My Moment

I had a "WooHoo" moment earlier today. I had a few mini "woohoo" moments while on vacation this past week, but I had a major one today.

We came home from vacation a day early so that we could "relax" before the chaos of this week begins. My son starts Kindergarten tomorrow (which is a disaster because he's starting a week late which means they had to unroll him and we have to re-enroll him tomorrow), and we still have some things to do in preparation for that. Anyway, we got home and found out our air conditioning was broken. Living in Florida this is NOT a great thing to have happen any time of the year, and in the summer it's enough to make even the most easy-going person scream. I was mildly annoyed, but remembered that we lived through it a month ago and we could live through it again. Which we did.

This morning my husband went into the attic (read, crawl space) to see what was going on. He had to go to the store to purchase a ShopVac because the water was going where it wasn't supposed to. We hefted it up the ladder to the "attic" and he sucked a good 4 gallons out, then handed the ShopVac down to me, then I had the job of lugging it to the sink to empty it. We did it one more time, and as he was working the ShopVac slipped through the ceiling opening and crashed to the floor. I felt it brush my hair on the way down, and as I watched it open and spill gallons of water onto the floor, the first thought in my head was, "Thank God!"

That was my "WooHoo" moment. Where before there would have been 4 letter words and accusations there was instead a feeling of calm and thankfulness. I actually took a moment to say "thank you" that I hadn't been a fraction of an inch closer to the ladder, because we surly would have been on the way to the hospital. I gave a heart-felt "thank you" for the safety of my daughter who was about 5 feet from the event, my son who was safe, and a "thank you" that my husband hadn't had his hand wrapped in the ShopVac hose and fallen as well.

Even while cleaning up the mess I was smiling because my floors are clean now, the a/c is working, and we'll be laughing about this in a few weeks.

The Universe is kind.

-- Jenn

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Crossroads

Sometimes it's hard to be a grownup. Harder still is the knowledge of what should be done for the right reasons vs. what you want to do for the wrong reason. But, even harder than that is when those thoughts (and the emotions involved with them) tangle together until it's almost impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.

I'm going through this right now. I'm trying to make sense of my relationships with people, and the excruciating part is trying to decipher what affects me and for what reason. I keep reminding myself to stay positive, to find the positive side of each situation that I find myself encountering, and most of all I try to keep the thought of "everything happens as it should" in the forefront of my mind. However, it's becoming harder and harder to do this when I find myself getting angry. I'm not sure if "angry" is even the correct word to use; I think frustrated is more accurate. I feel boxed in to a corner in some ways because by taking action to remove myself from a lot of the very situations that are causing me to feel this way I will be causing of a lot more 'stuff' than what I'm encountering now. In the long run it may be better for me, but I'm not sure if I want to travel the road that comes before resolution.

-- Jenn

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Newspaper Confirmation

Funny how things happen. As you all know, I'm not a believer in coincidences and the Universe shows me how right I am in a lot of ways. Sometimes it's comical, like how it happened this weekend. I was reading "Dear Abby" and the topic was "Heroes Close to Home". How funny!

-- Jenn

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Ride Your Ponies Proudly

There was talk today of Shetland ponies. Sound interesting? Read on then.

Think about your childhood heroes. Usually they consisted of superheroes, princesses, athletes, people who appeared "larger than life" because of what they did or what they portrayed. They were the "untouchables"; the people that we adored and wanted to be like, but that we had no real hopes in actually being.

Now, think of your heroes today. Who are they? Are they people like the President of the United States? Are they actors/actresses? Sports players? Or, are they people who are closer to home? People who you come into contact with often, people who are ordinary yet impact your life or someone's life who's close to you?

In short, are your heroes riding big steeds, bashing around the countryside making a lot of noise, or are they happily riding along on their little Shetland ponies, content to blend in and do things quietly?

I was thinking about my heroes quite a bit on my ride home from Church today and was not surprised at who came to mind. In all honesty they are friends, family, and co-workers now. I do hold the utmost respect for some of the famous people of the world (like the Dalai Lama and those other truly amazing people), but my heart-felt heroes are the people that fill my life every day.

I have two friends who constantly amaze me. One has come from a horrific upbringing and has lived through horrors that I can't even imagine. She has struggled with money the whole time I've known her but she just keeps pressing forward. Her children and family are her driving force, and some how she finds the resolve she needs to keep going forward when most people in her position would, I'm sure, just throw up their hands and yell "I QUIT!". My other friend has been struggling with her spirituality and, in essence her happiness, for a while. She has been shown the real dishonest side of humanity a lot, has been disappointed by many, and has been forced to do a lot of single-parenting for reasons beyond her control. She doesn't give up though, and I find that her persistence in finding the balance between her spirituality and reality pretty amazing.

Of course, there is my mom. She is my number 1 hero. She amazes me with what she's lived through (alcoholic parents, married to an alcoholic, 2-time breast cancer survivor), yet through it all it has never been about her. Her experiences have never defined her, but they have rather shaped her. They have been situations to live with and through rather than live in, and she has managed to be a pillar of strength through it all. Her life continues to move forward and yet also manages to shift and change around these situations that the Universe gives her; and she manages to live her life so beautifully!

There are more because, of course, every person in our lives' touch us in many ways, but these 3 people were the first ones to come to mind at this point in my life. They are my constants; my real-life heroes!

As the Reverend said today: It takes ordinary people doing ordinary things to create the miraculous.

-- Jenn

Monday, August 10, 2009

Returning

It's been a long time since I've been able to post on this blog. Between my 9-month-old daughter's health problems, busy times at work, and trying to keep my family's life in some sort of order I'm afraid I let this blog slip to the way-side.

However, now I'm off of work until mid-October. I'll be studying during that time as a well as trying to enjoy my kids as much as I can, but I've also made a pact with myself to come back to this blog regularly. I have been working on my spirituality, and it has been manifesting itself in a lot of ways.

I look forward to updating frequently now!


--Jenn