Teddy Bear Day

Awe!  What is more classic that the teddy bear?  I suppose I see among my littlest friends other sources of comfort, like binkies and TV or Disney character stuffed dolls, but I still think teddy bears are pretty special.

I have a little brown bear that is plain as can be, but quite loved since my babyhood.  While once named just Teddy, my daughter has since named him-now-her Momma Bear.  Momma Bear has a place of honor on my bedroom bookshelf.

I have another teddy bear who is quite special.  His name is Jim and I got him when I was five years old.  He was big—almost as big as I was at the time—and glossy with a beautiful shiny brown bow.  Jim has been my pillow, traveled to Korea and back, collected oceans of tears and given comfort even to my sisters.  Even now, when I get especially sad, Jim brings me comfort.  This is so true that when my kids see Jim on the bed, the first thing they say is, ‘Mommy, are you all right?’  It is a little embarrassing.

You can imagine that Jim is not so shiny and less than fluffy these days.  But not even my throw-everything-away husband would consider giving up Jim.  Teddy bears are special!

World Juggling Day

Can you juggle?  I can’t.  I have tried.  I will try again.  But so far, I have not met with any notable success.  My husband, on the other hand, is a pretty accomplished juggler.  If you were to ask my kids, this very fact elevates him to rock star status!

My husband has patiently tried to teach me to juggle.  He has given lessons to our kids and their friends.  I don’t know if anyone has actually been able to pick up the skill, though.  We are all too impatient.  We want to just juggle!!  But he is methodical (and right) and makes us all start with just one object, then two.  He gives us little exercises that we can’t master because we pick up a third object too quickly.  Why can’t we just do it?  Why does it take so long to learn how to do it?

I have to say I run into this attitude of mine too often.  When learning to play a game, my husband faithfully reads all the instructions while I try to not crawl out of my skin in anticipation.  I don’t read assembly instructions either.  “Just put it together!  How hard can it be?” 

So, will you learn to juggle today?  Are you an instructions reader?  Do you stop to ask for directions?  Did you marry someone just like you, or your complement?  (Isn’t it nicer to call them complements, rather than crazy opposites?)

Make Your Own Holiday Day

OK.  I am sorry to do two special days in a row, but come on?  Which one would I skip?  They are both too cool.  This one is a homeschoolers dream, right?  I don’t even see how it can be relegated to just ONE SINGLE DAY in a year!

How fun to come up with your OWN holiday!  What will you celebrate?  How will you celebrate?  How will you decorate?  What’s for dinner?  Who will be honored?  Or will it be a what will you honor?  So many questions, so little time!  Gather the kids and help them brainstorm the best holiday ever!

International Waffle Day

Oh, man!  This one is right up my alley, baby!  I love waffle days!  What?  You don’t do waffle days?  Oh.  Well, see…  It is because it takes SO LONG to make waffles, I figure if I am going to do it, I am going to REALLY do it.  I double the recipe and make a ton with my little waffle iron.  A ton multiplied by six minutes per waffle is all day, you know.  So we all eat ‘real breakfast,’ trying to get it some protein.  Then I start on the waffles!  I don’t do this on school days, so I probably slept in, and we already ate breakfast so waffles become lunch.  Then after clean up, bagging and freezing the waffles, I am too tired to make dinner, so we pull out the frozen ones and put peanut butter on them and eat them for dinner, too. 

So…it isn’t such a healthy day.  Maybe I shared too much?  It’s a good thing waffle days are so rare ‘round here, huh?

The moon

Tonight the moon is going to appear to be bigger and brighter.  The last time it appeared to be this size and brightness was twenty years ago.  As the moon orbits at this, it’s closest to earth, it will be 14% bigger and 30% brighter.  I was out last night at midnight and I was drawn up short by the beauty of the scene.  There was fresh snow reflecting the tremendous amount of light.  It looked at though the sun were just on the other side of the mountains. 

Enjoy the view tonight!

Everything You Do Is Right Day

This is an interesting one.  Today is Everything You Do Is Right Day, according to my funny little calendar.  What an excellent opportunity to heap praise on the people around us! 

This may sound trivial, but I am a member of Netflix and I watch movies streamed through my Wii.  After I view a movie, I always get an email asking about the quality of the picture.  I delete them without a second thought.  But, occasionally, the picture isn’t so great, and I make a mental note to answer that survey!

Do you have a tendency to fix the wrong, and let go the right?  I do.  I expect good behavior from my kids, so I tend to let it go un-praised sometimes.  My reasoning includes the fact that there is no call for me to praise using the toilet properly past the age of, say, five!  Right?

But I love praise.  A pat on the back does wonders for my soul.  It motivates me to keep on keeping on.  Mothering is one of those famously thankless jobs, and a sincere word of thanks is a cherished jewel.

So, today, Everything You Do Is Right!  Well done!  Good job!!  Keep it up!!  You are great!  Go give the kids a hug and tell them the same. 

Attitude

Attitude is all important, would you agree?  I stress this with my kids, because I so adamantly believe it.     Something horrible can be made tolerable with a good attitude, and something unpleasant can be quite enjoyable.  Conversely, a fun activity can become unbearably miserable with a bad attitude. Attitude is a game-changers.

Lately mine hasn’t been so hot.  But it is sneaky.  I think all is well, but then I find myself getting frustrated with something that wouldn’t normally be a blip on my radar.

I always tell my kids that what is truly in us is most visible when we get ‘bumped’ because we ‘spill.’  So, I have some attitude problem that spills onto any nearby victim each time I am ever-so-slightly bumped.

Whew!  That is shaming!  Sometimes I guess I just need to slow down and take an inventory.  I forget to leave things at the cross because I move by it too quickly.  I guess the attitude is a good thing…if I view it as a symptom needing examination.

So, how’s your attitude?  Not the one you put on in front of people.  Not when everything is going smoothly.  Not when you are in control.  What spills when things go wrong?  If it isn’t so great, take the time to find out why and make the change.  Those lambs under you—those most often in the spill zone—will thank you!

Thank the Lord in all things, even when the mirror is held up to show that work is needed.  Let it save you.