5th Thankful Thursday: Don't Complain

Welcome back to my 5th edition of Thirteen Thankful Thursdays!

When something bad happens in your life, whether it be the mundane or the tragic, people complain. Complaining is human nature. Some do it more than others, and some take it to the far outer limits of the universe. I, for one, was never much for complaining. It just wasn't something in my nature. You'd never know I was sick, or injured- I just didn't complain. I was never one to constantly complain when someone upset me, when life didn't go my way or when challenges faced me. I just never have seen the point of it really. 

My life took a great turning point when Shannon died. I seen life differently, my eyes widened. I kissed a precious, new life goodbye. I seen death; it changes you. During this time, I noticed something. People complain. A lot. Like, way more than they should. I'd pray that I could have the chance to complain about life's minuscule details like them. 

One thing that drives me absolutely bonkers is the insignificant complaints I see and hear daily. Some people wish they had your complaints. Seriously. Want to complain about your sore back? I'll switch you backs. Want to complain about being pregnant? I would love to have that chance again. How about complaining about how much you/your partner work. Um, do you know how many are without jobs? 

What's the sense of complaining then? The challenge this Thursday is simple and is this: I want everyone to go a whole 24 hours with absolutely, positively NO complaining. Not once. No cheating. 

I see these helpless kids, brave men and women battle cancer and go through chemo's, hair loss, surgeries, radiations, medical procedure after procedure and do you know what I see? A smile. For everything I have gone through in this journey so far, and what I will go through, I just smile. Complaining is a negative reaction to an event in your life. Negativity causes stress, and stress makes you sad and angry. And who wants to be sad and angry? Not me! So this challenge is dedicated to anyone who is battling cancer. When you want to complain the next 24 hours, think of one of us and remember that no matter how bad you have it, someone always, always, always has it worse and would gladly switch you places.

Don't forget!
Share your Thankful Thursday missions with me by hashtagging #thankfulthursday on Facebook (YES! FB has hashtags now!), Twitter or Instagram!

4th Thankful Thursday: Slow Down

Welcome back to my 4th edition of Thirteen Thankful Thursdays!

My Dad is a Marine (you are never an ex-Marine, were a Marine or used to be a Marine) and he always ran a tight ship at home. We did things when asked, not "in a minute" or even the next day; we were never late for anything and we always needed to get things done in a timely manner. Of course as I grew up and became a Mother, I found myself being more scheduled than I ever thought I would be. I kinda had to though, being an actual first time Mother to twins was tough! I felt the only way to keep sane was to have a strict schedule that was stuck to. It grew harder as Stephen was born, and I had to become accustomed to taking care of myself and three little human beings at the same time.

As the kids grew and started pre-school, running to therapies and appointments with Stephen, I found myself always rushing. I was always yelping at them. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late". "Let's go, we'll be late". "If we are late, you are in a lot of trouble". I was always rushing them, telling them how we would be late, even though we never were. And one day, while getting dressed, Lily said to me "Mommy, are we going to be late?". My heart sunk. I felt as if I failed as a Mother. I had made my child believe that we couldn't take our time, that we always were rushing. Everything I did, I rushed. Driving I would speed past other drivers to get to my destination even though I had plenty of time to spare. I would rush to get crafts done, afraid I wouldn't finish on time. Rush, rush, rush. And life, it isn't about rushing. 

Cancer taught me that lesson quickly. I will never forget driving to get Stephen to therapy one day after I was diagnosed and I was speeding and it was making me angry. Then, I had an epiphany, why am I rushing? I wan't running late, and even if I was, who cares! So, I slowed down, pumped the music through the van, put the windows down and started singing with the kids. 

I don't want my kids to grow up feeling rushed. I would feel as if I robbed them from the innocence of truly stopping to smell the roses. I am done rushing. The world can wait on me, the world can wait on you. The challenge is this: slow down. Don't rush. Drive in the slow lane, don't use the words "hurry" or "lets go"; don't set deadlines, if your child stops to notice the beauty of a butterfly- let them instead of worrying how you might miss something because you took an extra 10 minutes to waste time. You will never get a moment back like that to watch your child in all their purity. Enjoy every single millisecond of your life.

This is an ongoing challenge, just don't do this one day, do it everyday. 

Don't forget!
Share your Thankful Thursday missions with me by hashtagging #thankful on Facebook (YES! FB has hashtags now!), Twitter or Instagram!

3rd Thankful Thursday: Smile

Welcome back to my 3rd edition of Thirteen Thankful Thursdays!

Did you ever notice that making someone smile is one of the best feelings in the whole world? I have always loved making people smile. Whether I was doing Austin Powers impressions as a kid or watching a NICU parents face as I handed them gifts from Project Sweet Peas, it was a feeling down deep in my sole that I craved.

I love a good old fashion genuine smile nowadays. They say a lot about smiles; they speak a thousand words without saying one, they are infectious, it is a language of peace, it is an action of love, and even E.E. Cummings wrote that twice he has lived forever in a smile.

Smiling is awesome. Smiling gets me through these days. So do me a favor, go make someone smile today :)


“Smile at each other. Smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other- it doesn't matter who it is- and that will help to grow up in greater love for each other.” -Mother Teresa

Don't forget!
Share your Thankful Thursday missions with me by hashtagging #thankfulthursday on Facebook (YES! FB has hashtags now!), Twitter or Instagram!