If The Shoe Fits

Have you had the experience yet of catching yourself saying something a little too familar, and then you realize.... "Oh. My. God. I AM becoming my Mother!!" Lol!!!

For me, that kind of reaction usually means I repeated something that I heard over and over again when I was growing up.  You see somewhere in the intricate threading of the fabric of my childhood, I took notes and professed, "I'm never saying that, I'm never doing that," as if my lack of life experiences somehow made me the judge and jury for my Mother (all parents for that matter), and I was going to do it better :)
Oh, and if your parents ever catch wind of this, they think it is hilarious!!! This adds to the fabric of their parenthood - the thread of justification!!
They love the stories of your children too. More justification :)

There is also the other kind of reaction too, when we recognize the good sayings and qualities we've inherited from our parents. They're  just not as funny to write about :)

Really, we all have characteristics that stem from our background . Our parents are out first teachers, and we are products of our environment. It only makes sense.

So then, what about the shoe anyway? Right. You know the saying, "If the shoe fits, wear it."
That has double meaning for me, as I think about it.
My Grandfather started a family business carried on by my Uncle -- hand-made shoes. Now, I could start a whole other blog and give you the entire history, but I won't because I'm interrupting myself. For now I'm sticking to the connection.
Just know that the family business is still carried on today, by my cousin and my aunt after my Uncle Paul passed away three years ago.
And since I've now peaked your curiosity (or completely lost you as a reader), you can learn more here:
http://cordwainershop.com/shoes.php

 Now, the other connection to me and the family shoe business is health. "What?" Yes, I said health.
You can imagine that custom hand-made shoes are better than manufactured shoes, right?
Leather upper, leather sole, custom made to your foot (stay with me....). Perfect fitting shoes make for healthier feet, and back... etc. etc.
Okay, so this is where I first got the idea to educate myself about decisions that could influence my health.
Believe me, I REALLY thought I would not EVER go the healthy route when I was a kid.
Kids are drawn to the things that aren't very healthy -- ice cream, cookies, candy, you get the idea.

Remember I said I was going to "do it better"?? Right. Well for starters, I professed that I would NOT ever keep 100% wheat bread in my house. Especially not Clark's Brownberry Ovens wheat bread. And I CERTAINLY would not ever buy seperated peanut butter!!!! You know what I'm talking about, the natural kind that you have to mix because the oil floats in the top 1/3 of the jar??
No. I'm NEVER doing that.

When I first moved away from home,  my first rebelious food purchase was a bag of Twizzlers :) I still love Twizzlers (in moderation), but educating myself about healthy choices  has lead me right back to my roots.
Today, I have whole wheat bread and seperated peanut butter on hand
at all times. They are staples at my house. 
And very soon....
I plan on sharing more about different kinds  healthy choices I've made. Something to look forward to :)

So, as I got older, I realized that maybe my Mom had some really good reason for choosing a healthier way of living. She absolutely
does, and looking at her and how she lives is the proof in the pudding!
My Mom is 82 and is in great health. She is in great physical shape, takes NO prescription meds, and she is very active. A few years ago, she even took up tap dancing and yoga!
So, though I've made some healthy choices as an adult that I never
thought I'd make as a kid, I am rather proud of the "shoes" my Mom
"made" for me. They fit rather nicely :)

Juggling Everyday Tasks

"What? It's the end of the day? But I didn't get it all done!"

That's how I often feel on any given weekday. I am a Mom of three, I work part-time from home, and you would think I would be used to juggling it all. You would think......
Except for the fact that I have two lists running constantly in my head. Okay, maybe more than that, but let's just say two for starters. There's the list of to-do's that have to be done around the house and for daily living, and then there's the "What I want to do for myself" list.
That's a new list for me, as my youngest is now in school all day. I've been looking forward to creating that list for, oh....14 years now.
Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every minute of my kids before they were school-aged. It's just that.... well, it's kind of like the Mom's right of passage. On to the next chapter!!

Hmmmm......what would I really like to do? Sometimes I'd like to go to a class at the health club, sometimes I'd just like to make it to the drive-thru at Starbuck's, and other times I'd like to schedule a Mom's Night Out (MNO) to rejuvinate with friends.

So what? you might say. We all have things we need to juggle and maybe that list of mine could be tackled by prioritizing, or picking and choosing? Great! Problem solved!  But wait........
I think I have something else to offer.
What is your emotional state during any given busy day? How do you feel? Do you feel hurried? Stressed? Pulled in many different directions?? Like you don't have enough time?
Do you ever notice how some days things seem to be running along smoothly, and then something happens and the day just falls completely apart??  Things can change in an instant. Things can change in an instant with just one thought!

What? A thought? That sounds too easy!  Well, at first I thought so too. Recently,  I've made a conscious effort to just focus on a good feeling thought. Right, it did not get anything checked off my to-do list, but I just added a little good feeling to my day. Just hoping to feel better, really. It's a start. We all know that if we want something to be different change has to happen somewhere, right?

"Really? How could that possibly help when I'm being pulled in all different directions?" It can help because you choose in that moment to pause, and move in a better direction with one good thought, rather than getting caught up in a downward motion with a stressfull thought. For me, one stressful thought usually leads to the next, and the next, and the next, and sometimes I think back to how my day started and it was bound to be stressful! Why? Because I woke  up with something stressful. It was a thought. Then it multipied and here I am! "What? It's the end of the day?"

So, yes, I didn't get it all done. But I've had several thoughts that are good today, and the more I focus on those, the better I feel. The better I feel, the less stressed I am.

I invite you to try an experiment. The next time you're feeling stressed in the middle of a busy day, think one thought that makes you feel good. It could be the last time you went out with your spouse, or friends, or it could be something as simple as your little one saying, "I love you."
It can be anything, big or small. A life-long dream, or an appreciation for fluffy white clouds.
Whatever it is, I am hoping that you'll find the same thing I did. A little peace of mind in juggling everyday tasks.