A Brand New Life

I was having a particularly stressful day recently. It all started when for some reason, my alarm decided not to give out its warning and I knew I would never make it on time. I had too much to do–rouse the kids out of bed, get them dressed and fed, and get them to their bus stop–and not enough time to do it.

By the time we went through our routine, at lightning speed and with too much yelling, we made it to the corner just in time to see the bus fly by. That meant running back home and riding with the family down the street, through the courtesy of a car that has had a check engine light glaring at me for at least a month.

I had faced too many mornings like this lately and was determined that it would not end like usual, with everyone late for school and one or more kids crying. No matter what the odds were this time, nothing was going to stand in my way. I knew that making my way to school that day would take everything I had.

But this day, everything I had was not enough. We arrived 15 minutes late to school and my first grader was in tears that she missed the morning line-up and would have to walk into a class that had already started. After making our way to her class, I bent down and whispered to her, “Show me your smile again. Don’t waste another minute on your crying. I love you. You can be brave.” She looked up at me and said, “Mom, there’s nothing we can’t love each other through, right?”

My heart melted and I knew that although sometimes the world looks perfect and there is nothing to rearrange, I had a feeling like I needed some kind of change. When I returned home, the thought blossomed. Mornings like this and the associated tears were becoming way too common, but I knew there must be some magic clue inside those tearful walls. Instead of asking myself, ‘What ever happened to predictability?’, I was beginning to see that my life was becoming predictably stressful. And needlessly so. My daughter started the spark of an idea, and I was beginning to see that there is a path you take and a path untaken, and the choice was up to me which one to choose.

And so, step by step and day by day I began to make changes. I decided to make a fresh start over, create a different hand to play. First I had to purge myself of the old way I had approached life–as if there was a time for love and a time for living. Because there should not be that dichotomy. When I took the time to do so, everywhere I looked there was a heart or a hand to hold on to. Everywhere I looked there was a face of somebody who needs me. And most of that started at home.

After spending the day thinking about these things, when the kids came home from school I no longer approached the situation as the world falling apart in their tornado of books, bags, shoes, and dirt, but instead thought that as long as we have each other, we have the world spinning right in our hands.

This shift in mindset made all the difference. I began to be able to share the laughter and love with my family without stress. I could take a break from all my worries, knowing that in a family, our troubles are all the same. And even if I lost a dream or two, at the end was a loving family. Here are a few final points to ponder that have helped me in changing my mindset:

•         As long as you keep on giving, you can take anything that comes your way
•         You are nowhere near the end; the best is ready to begin
•         The flame of love in your heart gives every dark street a light at the end
•         Decide that it’s your life and your dream, and nothing’s going to stop you now
•         When you’re lost out there and your all alone, a light is waiting to carry you home

This has worked in my life. All I see now is a tower of dreams, with real love bursting out of every seam.Yesterday the girls bouncing here and there and everywhere, playing some sort of princess game. I sat in my chair watching them, and I took a look at my kingdom. I knew that I was finally there, sitting on my throne. And believe it or not, I never thought I could feel so free.

QUESTION: What can you do to make a change when the world never seems to be living up to your dreams?

CHALLENGE: Share a laugh with your family–you might just live the good life yet.

Disclosure (and Editor’s Note) from April Perry:

This isn’t actually a real post.  Well, I thought it was, and I was excited when I received it as an email submission from a “Donna Jo Tanner” (A.K.A. “DJ Tanner), but then I found out that a husband of one of our board members had actually taken a variety of American TV show theme songs from the 80s and 90s and created this mock-submission as an inside joke between he and his wife.

So then my husband sat down with me and joked, “Seriously April? You didn’t see all the TV references in here?” So we read it together.  And I have been laughing and laughing and laughing ever since.  Who knew there was such wisdom in these songs?

So if you click the green answer key link below, we’ll reveal the TV show references and links to the YouTube videos of the intros (see how many you can guess before you click).  Who says moms can’t have a little fun?  And please, somebody . . . tell me I’m not the only one who was fooled!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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I was having a particularly stressful day recently. It all started when for some reason, my alarm decided not to give out its warning and I knew I would never make it on time (Saved by the Bell). I had too much to do–rouse the kids out of bed, get them dressed and fed, and get them to their bus stop–and not enough time to do it.

By the time we went through our routine, at lightning speed and with too much yelling, we made it to the corner just in time to see the bus fly by (Saved by the Bell).  That meant running back home and riding with the family down the street, through the courtesy of a car that has had a check engine light glaring at me for at least a month (The Flintstones).

I had faced too many mornings like this lately and was determined that it would not end like usual, with everyone late for school and one or more kids crying. No matter what the odds were this time, nothing was going to stand in my way (Perfect Strangers). I knew that making my way to school that day would take everything I had (Cheers).

But this day, everything I had was not enough. We arrived 15 minutes late to school and my first grader was in tears that she missed the morning line-up and would have to walk into a class that had already started. After making our way to her class, I bent down and whispered to her, “Show me your smile again. Don’t waste another minute on your crying (Growing Pains). I love you. You can be brave.” She looked up at me and said, “Mom, there’s nothing we can’t love each other through, right?” (Family Ties)

My heart melted and I knew that although sometimes the world looks perfect and there is nothing to rearrange, I had a feeling like I needed some kind of change (Perfect Strangers). When I returned home, the thought blossomed. Mornings like this and the associated tears were becoming way too common, but I knew there must be some magic clue inside those tearful walls (Family Matters). Instead of asking myself, ‘What ever happened to predictability?’, I was beginning to see that my life was becoming predictably stressful (Full House). And needlessly so. My daughter started the spark of an idea, and I was beginning to see that there is a path you take and a path untaken, and the choice was up to me which one to choose (Who’s the Boss?).

And so, step by step and day by day I began to make changes (Step by Step). I decided to make a fresh start over, create a different hand to play (Step by Step). First I had to purge myself of the old way I had approached life–as if there was a time for love and a time for living (Who’s the Boss?). Because there should not be that dichotomy. When I took the time to do so, everywhere I looked there was a heart or a hand to hold on to. Everywhere I looked there was a face of somebody who needs me (Full House). And most of that started at home.

After spending the day thinking about these things, when the kids came home from school I no longer approached the situation as the world falling apart in their tornado of books, bags, shoes, and dirt, but instead thought that as long as we have each other, we have the world spinning right in our hands (Growing Pains).

This shift in mindset made all the difference. I began to be able to share the laughter and love with my family without stress (Family Ties). I could take a break from all my worries, knowing that in a family, our troubles are all the same (Cheers). And even if I lost a dream or two, at the end was a loving family (Who’s the Boss?). Here are a few final points to ponder that have helped me in changing my mindset:

• As long as you keep on giving, you can take anything that comes your way (Growing Pains)
• You are nowhere near the end; the best is ready to begin (Growing Pains)
• The flame of love in your heart gives every dark street a light at the end (Perfect Strangers)
• Decide that it’s your life and your dream, and nothing’s going to stop you now (Perfect Strangers)
• When you’re lost out there and your all alone, a light is waiting to carry you home (Full House)

This has worked in my life. All I see now is a tower of dreams, with real love bursting out of every seam (Family Matters). Yesterday the girls were bouncing here and there and everywhere, playing some sort of princess game (Gummi Bears). I sat in my chair watching them, and I took a look at my kingdom. I knew that I was finally there, sitting on my throne (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). And believe it or not, I never thought I could feel so free (Greatest American Hero).

QUESTION: What can you do to make a change when the world never seems to be living up to your dreams? (Facts of Life)

CHALLENGE: Share a laugh with your family–you might just live the good life yet (Mr. Belvedere).

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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About Power of Moms

Power of Moms is all about moms helping other moms become the mothers and people they really want to be. We're a gathering place for deliberate mothers interested in growing through motherhood – not just going through motherhood. Our overall vision is to offer moms around the world the chance to “network” with other moms who share their same values, motivations, hopes and dreams. We aim to help moms take care of the person inside the mom, while taking care of their families.