“Photo” by Kevin Rank @ flickr.com
“The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic – have always blown on free men.”
~Franklin D. Roosevelt~
The girls tried to make themselves breakfast again this morning. Apparently cheese toast and bacon were on the menu along with Good n Plenty, Belly Flops, and some sort of strawberry candy. I have no idea what they were planning on doing with the Fondue Pot. Frankly I am not sure I want to know.
I just realized today was so hectic I forgot to take my meds but I’m still here and very calm amazingly enough.
This afternoon was wonderful. They cleaned up their room without too much prodding and even earned a snack and a movie. Then as they moved back to their room to play as I cooked dinner, silence. For those of you who have never experienced toddlers, silence is a bad thing. A very bad thing. It means they are up to no good. This time they had the sample of Snuggle that had just come in the mail and were pouring it everywhere. I herded them to the tub, rinsed them off, and put them to bed. Yes, without dinner. I do not cook meals for those who choose to disobey. Bedtime went rather smoothly with Charlotte – Alli was another story altogether. I had to get the Magic Monster Catcher (a handheld vaccuum) and catch all the Monsters in their room, assure her the very dead bug on the window was OUTSIDE and would not be coming in to get her anytime soon, and let her crawl into bed with Charlotte so she wouldn’t be all alone. Oh the things Parents do to get their kids to go to sleep.
As I sit here typing, the comforting roar of traffic echoes in the background while the fans here in the house whine and sway as they keep me cool. No sounds from the back bedroom (ok, so silence is GOOD when they’re SUPPOSED to be quiet) and no sounds from Cameron’s room. Chris is at a step meeting and I am relaxing by venting here and contemplating lying down and catching a few ZZzzzZZZZ’s before Chris gets home so I’ll be able to enjoy his company when he gets here. I may just fix myself a cup of tea and sit here instead.
Thanks for listening and sharing my journey. Please don’t forget to take care of yourselves no matter how hectic the day gets. You ARE ALWAYS worth it.
Today a reader left this as a comment on the post entitled “A Gift.” I HAD to share it and could not let it be hidden amongst the comments. It’s such a beautiful story. I hope you enjoy! (Thanks Kate!)
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the masters house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” The pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Fathers table. In Gods great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
— George Bernard Shaw
Well folks –
Here we go.
Let the TECH FREE FOR PPD weekend start!
Click here to sign up on my virtual pledge sheet!
A donation link will be posted Monday morning along with my handwritten account of how the weekend went.
My husband will be updating the blog this weekend to let y’all know how I’m doing.
I will be unplugging my laptop and putting it away in the bedroom. He will be changing the password to his computer so I can’t get on it either. I will be shutting my email and internet functions off on my Centro.
And just a quick FYI, my daughters are THRILLED I won’t be checking my email every few minutes. I think Alli is beside herself at having me all to herself this weekend!
I am probably in bed as this is posting as I’ve got it scheduled to go up at 1159p Friday night.
I’m looking forward to having the computer closed and focusing on my family. I’m sure I’ll probably have some withdrawal symptoms but I’ve been dialing back all week so hopefully that will help.
This morning I got an email from Jane Honikman about my weekend plans. This is what she had to say:
Hi Lauren, Wendy shared your newest fundraising idea with me and I checked out your site about it. Know you can do this too! Actually it might be an opportunity to tell all who blog with you that Grandma Jane’s wisdom is “turn off your computer each evening at 5”. Life without computers or tv means more face to face time with those around us. Good for the soul and body to be unplugged! Good luck and enjoy your weekend! I appreciate your continuing support for PSI!! hugs, Jane
I want this to also be an example that we MUST remember to take time for ourselves in this crazy and rushed world. It allows us to focus on what’s really important and also encourages our families to do the same. Starting these habits early with our children allows them to grow up and develop the good habit of learning to enjoy the little things and appreciate the time we have with others.
As the girls played with play-doh this morning, Alli found a sheet of paper and was using them as directions. Charlotte wanted to have some so I ended up writing some down for her – and of course, Alli wanted those same directions so I made her a copy as well. The following is what I wrote and I hope that you will take some of it (minus the getting the play-doh out although it IS fun to play with it!):
First you get out the play-doh.
Then you play and play and play and play some more.
And last, you let your imagination run free.
Don’t worry – it will come back to you.
My Postpartum Voice 