Most of you have been hanging out with me for eons. This is a straight catch-up, brain dump. You’ve been warned. Also, I feel like maybe, one of these days I will have it all together and then I am reminded that no, I probably won’t, and I should totally practice what I preach instead. Be the best of who you are and let the rest go. No, that doesn’t mean let everything else go to hell, or be lazy or quit trying or anything like that, for you read-into-everything-ers in the bunch. I mean, mentally let it go and put your energy into something more productive.
I should know this lesson already because my two year old sings Let It Go approximately 47 times a day. It is indelibly on my brain. You have to be the world’s luckiest blog readers. You get an earworm! You get an earworm! You get an earworm! Everybody gets an earworm! Elsa and Anna 4-lyfe. What! What!
When something bothers me, my first inclination is to "right" whatever injustice has occurred. This is multiplied by oh, ten million, when it concerns either of my children.
First, I want to fix it. Then, I want to write about it.
Because there are things that I won't write about in this space, I sometimes have to just shut up. I'm learning to do that, because I know this is going to shock you, but I wasn't born with the shut up gene. I was born with the shout it from the rooftop gene until the world's ills, real or implied, are cured. Plus, shutting up is excruciating for me.
Sometimes the bullhorn is effective, but not always. I'm learning, at thirty-eight, that there are also ‘quietly put right behind closed doors’ meetings that can remedy a situation just as well. Who knew?
It's a hard lesson. One that I needed desperately to learn. Which is probably why I keep getting myself in situations where I’m forced to learn the same lesson over and over again until one day, it clicks. I’ve been upset and preoccupied and this morning I woke up and BAM… Perspective.
In fun-ner news, we’re spending the long weekend doing things that are all OH. My. God. Becky. Look at her butt. She’s like one of those rap guy’s girlfriends. Summer is almost here and it’s a long weekend and the weather is crazy beautiful! Cedar Point and Flower Days at the Farmer’s Market await.
I’ve told myself that before we’re doing anything fun, I need to get through the mound of crazy burying my desk and clean our room since my suitcase is still sitting in the middle of our bedroom floor from three weeks ago. It was funny when Dave was tripping over it, but now I’ve done it twice myself. I always tell Tate that she can’t do anything until she cleans up her crazy two year old toy messes, so I’m imposing the same rule on myself.
It’s harder when you’re the grown up and you know that you can totally pull the airplane chute, pop a beer tab, and say see ya later, Suckas! Except, I don’t drink beer out of cans, so I’d probably have to go searching for a bottle opener, but you get the point.
Coffee and cleaning our room, it is.
What awesomeness do you have planned for this weekend?
The "right doesn't always win" lesson was and still is a hard lesson for me.
ReplyDeleteI am also missing the shut up gene. At 47, I am finally learning how and when to shut up, but if you cross my family, that's another matter entirely. All bets are off at that point. At home, I'm trying to implement the "being kind is more important than being right" rule with myself. I tend to really like to be right, so shutting up a bit more at home would serve me well. Clean for an hour and then go enjoy your weekend. It sounds like you deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do NOT have the shut up gene. Nope, not me!
ReplyDeleteAt 57 I, too, am still learning this. The best reason I know for holding back my passionate feelings is that I have had the experience, many times now, that well-chosen words, spoken calmly, are more effective than the rant which feels so good when I'm doing it. If I need to vent, I vent to myself. If I want to achieve an objective, I try for calm and concise.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, Becky! This post was funny. Love you!
ReplyDeleteI don't shut up well. At least not when I should.
ReplyDeleteDid you get the room clean?
I drink beer out of cans. I also drink beer from bottles, but not usually the fancy kind that requires an opener. Twist Off 4-lyfe. Oh, and disclaimer: those previous statements apply when I am not knocked up. But I would like to drink a beer this weekend.
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