It Is Enough

In a week I have:
Gotten up at 5:30 every morning to make my husband breakfast before he leaves for work
Shaved and Bathed the dog
Made Two batches of cookies and a Jicama Salad for three different school events
Gone on a choir field trip with 52 ecstatic, energetic children
Gone to lunch with a friend I haven't seen for more than a half a year who needed to talk
Gone to three baseball practices...
A baseball game...
A soccer game...
A karate practice...
A guitar practice...
Spent an evening helping Webelos work on their activity badges
Finally gotten my hair done after a six month lapse, because there just wasn't time or money before now
Made cookies for the neighbor who has been helping us redo our yard
Made time for a date with my over-worked husband
Taught art classes for a full day to kids first through fourth grades
Rescued a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest
Taken the baby bird to a bird refuge
Argued with a nine year old about standing on other peoples cars, having oatmeal for breakfast four days in a row, and if she REALLY has to practice her guitar for a full half hour every single day
Dragged a seven year old around the house to show him all the deserted items he has left in every single room of the house every single day of the week...

And yet I feel like I haven't done anything because...
I have not a sink full, but a kitchen full of dirty dishes,
A mountain of laundry,
A craft room/office stuffed with a dozen piles needing to be sorted and filed or put away,
And a “to do” list as long as my arm!

But somehow when I walk by my son at the school and his eyes twinkle as he says, “Hi Mom!”
Or I wake up to my daughter's beautiful voice singing as she make me breakfast
I realize...

It is enough.

Topic of the Month: Celebrating You!

I was so excited to introduce this topic to you but now that I'm actually at my computer, typing, my mind goes blank!! It's not that I don't find this topic interesting or worthy of our monthly dissection. It's more about which road should I take! My first thought (or question, rather) is how can I celebrate or love who I am when I keep comparing myself to other women? Aren't my efforts good enough? And how does loving myself help strengthen my roots?

I think a lot of this baggage comes from the fact that I hate failure. I aim to do things right and perfect, preferably the first time around. If I don't, I fall short of what I've told myself I should be.

I have this really great friend. Let's call her LuLu. She's poised, graceful, well-read, smart, funny, a great mom, and the list goes on. Instead of being joyous over our common virtues and celebrating our differences I'm stuck comparing and rating our differences. It's a subtle web of misery I create for myself. I think, "Hmmm, LuLu is very graceful, poised, and full of confidence...I'm clunky, quite hairy, and can't seem to sit up straight for more that 3 seconds. She's good and I'm bad! Now I'm forced to hate LuLu! And talk about her all the time!"

Pardon the exagerration. I do have a friend LuLu who is as I described. Sometimes I do struggle comparing myself because I think so highly of her. But am I getting the entire picture? Is this a fair comparison? Afterall, aren't I comparing my weaknesses to her strengths? Unchecked, this road of comparing with judgement could lead to dissolved friendships and a low value of self.

I don't know if anyone is immune to comparing ourselves to others. We are introduced to competion at a very young age. However, we can refrain from making judgements about ourselves and others. When I find myself at the all too familiar crossroads of judgement and acceptance I try with all my might to accept myself for all my faults and successes. Yes, I know that I can be lazy, but I'm also very passionate. Yes, I know I can get angry, but I'm also very kind.

The more we try to accept who we are the less we need to compare. When I can accept my faults I'm content and at peace with myself. Then I'm free to love purely because I'm seeing myself as God sees me. And I'm seeing LuLu as God sees her.

Accepting, loving, and celebrating who I am stregthens me. However, at times acceptance is in the wind that throws us into turmoil. It is through the trials that we learn the sacred act of accepting and forgiving ourselves. With each blow our roots delve deeper into our soil until we realize something we've always known. We each have worth and we all belong here.


I can't wait to hear more thoughts on our topic "Celebrating You!" Contributors, feel free to...well....contribute! Go ahead and post anytime!