Cartoon of two students. A boy says, “Should we abandon all hope, or keep plugging through fourth grade?”
Sometimes, it just feels like hope is a distant goal to grasp, doesn’t it? I remember hoping and praying that school would be over soon. Thirty years later, I can tell you there’s hope. Hold on. You’re break will be here before you know it.
Don’t you wish life really was like any blog or article that spews advice? Lately, top ten lists have been all the rage. Someone touts, “Here are the top ten things you need to do to get your kids to become little angels!”
I love watching parents at their kids’ games. You’ll hear someone shout, “Kick the ball, Dylan!” I have to giggle and wonder if the kid is thinking, “Well if it was that easy, Mom, don’t you think I would’ve done it by now?” It’s easier for the advisor to advise than for the advisee to follow the advice.
It’s too easy to spout advice. I am very guilty of that. But I must remember each bit of advice I give has to be tempered with grace and mercy. It’s easy to give parenting advice when you don’t really have to deal with the kid. It is sanctimonious for me to lecture a parent on how to handle a hyper, ADHD child when neither of my kids showed those symptoms.
Yes, I’ve learned doing the right think is neither easy nor simple as spouting advice.
Cartoon of two women next to a wilted plant. One woman says, “It’s a valuable plant. When I complain, it wilts.”
Oh, it’s so easy to complain, isn’t it? Something doesn’t go the way I think it should, and the next thing I know, I complaining a blue streak. I get upon my throne and declare the way things should be. Naturally, the world would be a better place if everyone just listened to me!
But the world isn’t going to cooperate. Billions of people have billions of opinions. Many are legitimate concerns. When injustice and selfishness hurts other people, protests and complaints are legitimate.
But when things aren’t going to change, no matter how much I whine, there comes a point, when the complaining is as bad as the offense. Today, I’m going to look for one of those plants. Surely there must be one out there that will let me know when my speech is becoming less than helpful.
Let’s face it. Cats are not known for respecting personal space. Lately, our cat has been particularly neurotic when it comes to morning attention. It makes it hard to put on your thinking cap when the cat is atop your head. It makes me frantically look for a catnip mouse or a can of tuna as a distraction.
If your cat is keeping you from morning productivity, here are a few things you can do:
Hang in there. This too shall pass!
Cartoon of a boy in a magician’s costume and a duck. The boy says, “I’m sorry, Sis! I didn’t mean to change you into a duck. I meant to turn you into a dog!”
Siblings really do love each other. It’s just that there are so many possibilities when you have a magic wand and hat. It makes me wonder what I would do today if anything was possible. I want to make it clear to my siblings that I’d keep them just the way they are. They’ve turned into very nice adults, thank you. Besides, I don’t have a duck pond.