When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade; is that how the saying goes? I realize that this is a tough lesson for us all, especially when trying to teach it to your children.

This past Monday, I was glued to the internet as I watched the Boston Marathon. As a runner, it is the mecca of marathon events and as someone who was watching the event live last year when the bombings occurred, I couldn’t miss it.

I had several friends who had flown to Boston to participate after hard training to qualify. I had even more friends watching from home after missing their own qualifying time by seconds. One of my close friends decided to fly to Boston to support runners after he missed his own qualifying time by a few seconds.

Ken Nwadike, CEO of Superhero Events (they put on the Hollywood Half Marathon, Costume Party Run, and the Awesome 80s Run series) decides to make the trek to Boston after dealing with disappointment this year when his attempt to qualify for Boston failed by a mere few seconds.

Why? To go and support the thousands of runners (almost 36,000 to be exact) that had qualified and to show that the journey is not always about your own achievement.

Wearing a “Free Hugs” shirt and carrying a matching sign, this race director stood on the course and offered hugs to the participants running by. The reaction was astounding. As I watched his video of the experience, I couldn’t help but finally understand the truth behind life’s plan not always being in our hands.

You can see in this video the reaction that Ken received from his kindness of choosing to fly across the country to show his love and support for the Boston Marathoners. People not only run clear across the course but double back just to get one of his hugs.

Free Hugs

I showed Stella the video at which she asked, “What is that man doing?” I explained that his hope was to be a runner but since he could not, he decided to be a part of the other runners’ experience and spread hugs.

My innocent daughter smiled and replied, “I bet the runners liked the hug more than Ken running.” From the looks of the video, Stella was absolutely right.

So many lessons in such a simple act from random acts of kindness to the tough lesson of sometimes, things that we really want don’t happen for a reason because someone else has a bigger and better plan for us.

 

 

Keeping Stella Too Busy?

As a teacher, I have always felt bad for my students who would tell me that their afternoons and evenings were full of lessons and practice. Some of them literally would moan and groan about how they wouldn't get home until 8 pm from one thing or another. I vowed to never do that to my children.

Fast forward to having a two-and-a-half year old who wants to do EVERYTHING! Anything she sees she wants to do. So I thought I was being a good mommy when I took her to Mommy and Me swim lesson and a year old and allowed her to continue with swim lessons to this very day.

What are they doing?! (In the blue)

I found a Parent and Me soccer class through our local park program and since Stella loves kicking the ball around I enrolled us in it. It was a perfect chance to get her exposed to the premise o the game and give her a chance to run around with other kids on a Saturday morning. This was a six week class that she enjoyed.

Not long ago, Stella began to express interest in gymnastics and dance. She actually asked if we could take her to do those two things. I decided inctead of re-enrolling her for soccer, we would find a dance class through the park system to let her try out. She started the class last week and loved it.

I wonder if I am exposing her to too much. Is it that or am I doing the right thing by letting her try one thing out at a time to see what she likes? Can I make sure I don't turn into that parent that has her kids in five different activities a week?

I think as long as she is having fun and I am keeping her in her weekly swim lesson and maybe one other activity we should be good. I hope I am helping shape a well rounded young lady and not an extra curricular monster!

Check out the video of her! Hilarious!

Stella's First Dance Class

A Time Of Thanks and Other Lessons

Last year I pledged to be thankful more often than just during this time of year. Although I may not have done this as often as I had hoped, I can say that I do find myself being thankful more often than in the past.

I truly believe that being a mom and having Stella is what has made the difference. The glasses that I see things from are a color that I didn't know existed. Stella has completely changed the way I look at family, work, and how I spend my time. Much of this has come from lessons that my sassy, little daughter has taught me.

Lessons Learned From an 18-month-old Teacher (in no particular order)

1. Love is unconditional - No matter what the mood, the situation, or the day's events, at the end of the day, your family members are there to love you no matter what and vice versa.

2. Schedules are sometimes meant to be broken - Not following a schedule can lead to quality time with loved ones that would have been missed otherwise.

3. Get mad, throw a fit, and get over it- When something happens that you don't like, have a quick 1 minute tantrum and then move on to something else. Don't dwell on it.

4. See the amazing things that life has to offer - Finding joy around you is simple. Whether it be something on the television, a walk in the sun, or even a new book, finding joy is easy. There are so many things to be happy about and they are right under our nose.

5. Play by your own rules - Who cares what the norm is. It doesn't matter if you want to wear pajamas all day long or watch the same thing on TV over and over again. Cookies for breakfast and pancakes for dinner? No problem. At the end of the day, nobody else cares.

6. You can never hug and kiss the people you love enough- Give hugs and kisses ALL THE TIME! When you can't use words to tell people how you feel, hug them and give them slobbery kisses to show them. It is surprisingly enjoyable!

7. Make each day a new day - It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Live as though you don't even remember that it happened.

8. Be silly when you feel like it - Wear crazy hats and other people's shoes. Dance to commercials, roll around on the ground, and squeal out loud when there is something that excites you. The days are too short to worry about being judged, and when you surround yourself with people that love you, they won't judge you anyway.

Rule #4 - Joy is simple

Happy Thanksgiving!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4