Friday, April 22, 2005

Seize the Day!

Well, we have had another couple of frustrating days! Micah passed his virus along to Hannah and Sarah, who were due for shots yesterday. Hannah was running so much fever, they would not give her shots to her. Sarah probably should not have had them either, but she did, and at least she is good to go for the next 7 years or so.

Tuesday, Sarah will begin her work with the pediatric dentist to fix her failing enamel on her teeth. My kids just don't have good teeth, for the most part. At any rate, we will take her early Tuesday for the work, and then we will swing by the doctor's so that she and Hannah can get their TB skin test and so Hannah can get her shots. We are going to have some cranky girls on Tuesday. Then, while Tim stays with them, I will have to turn around and head the 30 miles or so back north to the 'Boro with Dan in tow (as my bodyguard! :) to have a pelvic ultrasound. They want to make sure everything is back in good working order after the "Hannah birthing incident." Thursday, Sam will have more of his dental work done to restore his teeth now that he is reaching the age where they are sure that his front tooth is going to live after being replaced in its socket while we were up in NJ.

Forget housecleaning. I can't get any continuity for all these appointments and errands. We are going to try to restore some sanity to the house this weekend, so we will see how much we actually get done.

A friend sent me this verse. I thought it has merit and wished to publish it here. It reflects a lot of what I have been thinking recently, about how I am going to initiate some changes in my life once school is out---really!!!! It is looking more and more like we are going back to homeschooling next year. Attititudes and events in our present school are moving us toward that conclusion. Hopefully, we will make a decision by Daniel's graduation time. School is controling my life right now, and I do not like that. I want to be in complete control of my time--not have someone dictating to me how we are going to spend our nights and weekends.

So, I leave you today with these thoughts....They remind me a lot of the "Cats in the Cradle" song of the 70's. If you have never heard the song, find a copy and listen to it.....

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know itwas coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." ...She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now..go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain dripping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

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