Kathy... The Mother Hen

Someone asked me tonight, "Why do you have to go to Mississippi?" "Why do you take care of people who are not your responsibility?"

I sat and thought for a long time what my answer would be. How would I answer these questions in such a way that they made sense. I had to really ask myself... why do I do what I do?

All my life it seems I have been taking care of people and things. I think it was instilled in me from a very early age. My mother was a nurse, so I watched her take care of people. I watched her take care of her mother. I watched my aunt take care of children who weren't hers long before she had one of her own. My aunt mowed the yard of an elderly lady for years. I watched these two women take care of things, people, and each other. Often times there was never any money involved. It seemed they did it because they wanted to.

I have seen both these women cry because the people who should have been caring for the ones they were caring for said mean things to them or showed them disrespect. But they never stopped caring for the ones who needed them.

You can say I learned by example. When I was little, all I ever wanted to be was a mom. Nothing else. It's what I do. It's all I know how to do. I take care of people. I mother people. Everyone I have ever worked for or with will tell you the same thing. I even help the elderly in stores and sometimes have long conversations with them. I often think what if I'm the only person who talked to them that day.

I don't do it for a pat on the back. I don't do it for money. I don't do it for the recognition. I don't do it expecting anything in return. I do it because something inside tells me to do it. I guess that is why I actually like cleaning houses for people. Yeah the money is good, but deep inside I know I am helping someone out. I'm taking care of something for them.

I have often wondered if this was my purpose in life. Is this the talent God gave me? I don't really know, but just in case it is, I hope I make Him proud. Because this is who I am and a small part of what makes me ... me.

The lesson dust bunnies taught me

While doing fall cleaning on my bedroom today, which had been horribly neglected lately, I became very aggravated, and just down right irritated. It seemed nothing was going right and I didn't feel I was making any headway.

The new vacuum, I received last Christmas, just didn't seem to be doing the job it should have been doing. I discovered it was jammed packed with dust, dirt, and debris. David and I took it outside where we cleaned, wiped, and washed everything. We put it all back together, and it looked brand new again. Plugged it in, turned it on, and it still didn't perform like I thought it should. I was ready to throw in the towel, give up. Ready to fix a mixed drink and call it a day.

Decided I would have a glass of water and cool down. Silently talking to myself, giving a little pep talk. I clean for a living, why should I have such hard time with mine?? It was then it hit me, my bedroom and I had a lot in common today.

This room and I are dirty, dusty, disorganized, and in need of a good deep cleaning. As I fought with the dust bunnies and cat hair, I found myself becoming overwhelmed. It seemed that I wasn't making any head way. The equipment and supplies I used just didn't seem to be helping. The yelling and fussing didn't help either. As I sat there cooling off with the water, I also realized that I am the same way with myself.

Seems no matter what I do to change the things I feel are wrong with me and to fix the things I feel are wrong in my life, I am met with the same obstacles. The things I use, the supplies, the equipment, nothing seems to work at times. I feel just as overwhelmed at times as I do today. I can yell, scream, fuss, cuss, and throw a damn hissy fit and still feel like I'm not making any headway.

When the water was gone, I walked back into my room and realized the half that was done really did look good, clean, and pretty once more.

Maybe that's what my self needs, a break from me. Give the self criticizing a rest. May be the next time I walk back in front of a mirror I will look good, clean, and pretty once more.

Crying wolf

We all know the fable of the little boy who cried wolf, but what if the fable were real life? How would you handle it?

What if someone constantly cried out about how bad their life was and how sick they were? Would you take it to heart each time? What if their complaint seemed trivial compared to your own ailments or life? Would you still feel compassion for them?

It can truly be hard to give sympathy and have compassion for someone who constantly complains over things we find trivial and minor. We want to shake them and say, "Hey get a life!" or "Get off your duff and do something about it!" For some of us, that is easy to do. For others, its not so easy. We sit and listen. We offer words of encouragement and advise. Sometimes its accepted, sometimes it falls on deaf ears and other times its met with anger.

No, we don't always know how bad things are for a person, how bad they really hurt or just how sick they really may be. Only they and God know.

So for now, we listen - we encourage - we hold our tongues - we pray for those who cry wolf. Because as we have learned from the fable, one day it could be the real thing.

The power of 13

Do you believe in the power of numbers?

Seems like the number 13 has become my sisters lucky number. This number keeps popping up in different ways for her. For example:

There will be 13 yrs between her two children.
There will be 13 yrs between her boyfriends oldest child and this baby.
It took 13 years for sister and her boyfriend to get back together.
There is 13 years between my sister and I.
There is 13 yrs between her and her oldest brother.
Her mom was 31 when she had her (13 backwards)
She will be 31 when she has this baby.
She saw the baby in the 13th week. (ultrasound)
Baby is due March 13th (3-13-10) 3+10=13

Any one wanna take bets that the weight will somehow be tied to the number 13 too? I will keep you posted!!