"Your Life is an Occasion, Rise to it!" ~ Mr. Magorium
"We must face tomorrow, whatever it may hold, with determination, joy and bravery" ~ Mr. Magorium

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Forehead Kiss

I picked Cade up this morning...he was standing in the kitchen and reached his arms up and said hug...he does that all the time, he is the most loving and cuddly kid I have ever met...So I picked him up and he said, "I got you"...and I said, "I got you"...

Last night he kissed me on my forehead and both my cheeks...Kissing someone on their forehead in my opinion is the best kiss to get. A kiss on the forehead is a sign of love and care...Where do mothers kiss their babies? Their forehead! Where have I mostly kissed Cade? His forehead! So to have a forehead kiss from Cade, well it made me feel good!

And that sums up what my life is all about...my two kids...because no one else really matters!

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Inner Struggle Between Being Coffee and an Egg

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?


You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

~ Author Unknown ~


I'm trying really hard to be the damn coffee! But I think there may be a lot more of the egg in me than I would like! As I have gone through life, I have learned a lot about myself...mainly that I am too nice and do too much for people! And I have learned a lot about other people...mainly that they have never put as much thought or effort into me and are usually no where near as nice. So do I continue to be myself, do I continue to put my whole heart and self into everything I do for people? Or do I basically just do the bare minimum?

I feel like so much of myself and my personality has changed. So I have this inner struggle of being myself or hardening like that egg shell...I think being myself, being nice and thinking about others as I always have is the way to be...but I don't know if it's the realistic way to be! I find that people will take advantage and there are a few who have definitely taken advantage...So maybe the egg isn't so bad in the long run...because if I'm an egg, then at least I won't get my feelings hurt!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Sleeping Just Right

I don't know what it is about watching my children sleep that is so comforting and interesting that it manages always to capture my attention. But it does! Even watching Kai sleep at the age of 12 never gets old.

I've noticed something about the difference in the way my two boys sleep. Kai from as early on as I can remember, after he started sleeping with blankets of course, has always covered himself at night. He will have the blankets totally covering himself head to toe, with the end of the blanket over and under his head. I can't tell you how many times I uncovered him because I was afraid he was too hot or because I was worried he would suffocate himself. And to this day he sleeps exactly the same way. Sometimes it's hard to tell there is someone sleeping in his bed, even as big as he is, because it almost looks like a heap of blankets.

Cade on the other hand usually likes sleeping on top of the covers. He might start out under them, but he always ends up on top. And all of my efforts to recover him are pointless because he never stays that way. I'm always afraid he will get cold and I just want him to be warm and snuggled, so I always recover him. I'm not sure how he doesn't get cold in the middle of the night, I know I do if I ever end up uncovered.

Funny how one seems to roast and the other to freeze! Well at least that's how it would be for me. I can't sleep with my head covered because not only do I get too hot, but I also feel like I can't breathe. And I can't sleep without a blanket or sheet of some kind because I'll end up waking up because I was cold. And yet my two boys seem to be on the polar opposite of each other. Although obviously just right as far as they are concerned since they sleep quite peacefully in their different ways.