Year: 2012 (Page 17 of 51)

It started with a choice

August 16, 2012 / Michele Minehart

Yesterday was a Supermom day. As the evening set in, I thought to myself, “this was a well-lived day.” I accomplished much, got frustrated very little, and my general sense of peace rested high on the charts, even with all the activity. If you spoke with me yesterday, I would’ve said I could have 5 more babies and a bigger garden.

Today ranks as a complete Mom Fail and it’s not even time to prepare lunch. I’ve been frustrated with the kids all day because they’re hungry. What do you mean get you a snack? Why do you always need to eat? Or because they’re walking too slow. Come on! Let’s hurry to get around this block, so we can… go… home and do nothing (voice trailing). And the repeating. OH FOR THE LOVE, I don’t want to repeat myself again. I have Facebook to check and imaginary concerts to dream about attending.

I even semi-kicked the dog because she was laying in the path of my comfy chair. How dare she.

The difference?

Half an hour.

Yesterday I woke at 6:30, like I almost always do, still tired but decided to get in that bit of Me time that can only be found at dawn. A cup of coffee with some reading and reflection and I’m ready to face the day.

But this morning I watched that half hour slip by from my pillow. “I deserve to sleep in just a little bit.” And when JJ didn’t get the baby quieted down in ample time? Annoyance. When H Boy just wanted to play with daddy and not get dressed? Annoyance. Going for a walk and disagreeing on who would ride the trike and who would push the baby buggy? I was ready to throw my beloved coffee at the sidewalk.

For some reason, when I choose to arise in peace I’m more able to give myself fully to my family. A small nugget of time to breathe in the morning air means that the demands of the day don’t seem so… demanding. When I choose to honor myself and my heart with a bit of tranquility to start the day, I don’t expect everyone else to be fitting to my preferences in the hours following. I come to expect interruptions, expect inconveniences and expect frustrations that need not frustrate me if I bear just an ounce of patience.

But first, I must choose. I must choose peace in my own heart before I can expect my littles to be living it. In so many ways, they manifest the condition of my heart, as if until they’re borrowing my perspective until theirs is fully formed. So by choosing the way to start my day, I’m setting theirs in motion. The way I respond, the way I react, the way I choose to be who I am, sets the rhythm of their melody.

I must choose my song wisely.

It’s only noon?

August 15, 2012 / Michele Minehart

I think I’ll take the rest of the day off, as I’ve squeezed enough into my morning hours.

Morning reading and reflecting resulted in a blog in draft. Thoughts forthcoming.
Pancakes for breakfast (thanks for the recipe, Shannon! Kids devoured them! Best consistency I’ve found so far.)
All 3 kids dressed and beds made, teeth brushed. They’re starting to catch on to the pattern…
Play time outside with bikes and pushing the baby cart while I arranged for 2 more showings today when JJ is working on the rental house
2 loads of sheets and towels through the wash. Diapers to soak this evening.
Started in on preserving some tomato soup from our bounty. With homemade bone broth that simmered all day yesterday. And basil from the in-law’s garden. And garlic from my garden. This is 100% local soup, I tell you. **Update: I only blew up 2 jars. No idea how. but the rest is safe. So while this may seem like a braggy post, I assure you there are hiccups.
Kids played agreeably, for the most part, in the living room with their brooms “paddling their boats” (couches), managing not to poke out a single eye or put a hole in my wall. I’m sure this will change eventually.
Put dinner in progress – Greek Nachos again, so the tzatziki sauce needs to ruminate. Don’t worry, I salted the cukes and drained the yogurt yesterday. Chicken currently thawing.
When I realized we had nothing to go with our ham for lunch, I went out to the garden and trimmed off some broccoli, tossed it with some oil and roasted it.
Can I share the joy of watching all 3 children devour broccoli? Granted, they mimicked their father by first sticking it up their nose. But it eventually made its way to their mouths and Miss M even asked for seconds
After lunch the bigs raced for their rain boots (on this beautiful sunny day) so they could go out back and play on the swing set.
The baby is playing with the doll house and piling the clean laundry on the floor as we speak.

On deck: making zucchini muffins for breakfast on the go this fall, possibly some reading or writing or project imagining. If JJ gets home early enough, I’ll squeeze in a run and log this day into the history books.

Functional Friday: Digital laugher

August 10, 2012 / Michele Minehart

A recent FB thread inspired me to remark upon usage of non-words, as I regularly mock people who use them improperly. I thought perhaps by logging The Rules, we’d be able to curb offenses. So, in our efforts to share with conversational partners that they are, indeed, hilarious, I’ve composed a little how-to of digital expressions of laughter.

I heard that. You just asked how I came to know The Rules of Digital Laughter. It’s quite simple. This is how I do it. And thus, everyone should.

The LOL: The primary form of digital laughter comes as the LOL. This means I just laughed out loud. (Technically, our little diddy is inaccurate: it’s aloud. Using non-words as shorthand for a grammatically incorrect phrase just heightens the absurdity).

Proper function of the LOL: informing your conversational partner that you just laughed ~~out loud~~ aloud.

Common improper use: a filler, like you would verbally with “uh” or “and” or “mmm”. It indicates that the phrase was heard or the last message was received, but with improper use it lacks the significance of how funny the other person actually was. Speaking as a hilarious person, I’m on a mission to abolish this practice of the filler LOL. To coach on improper use, I tell people, “Literal LOL” to signify that I literally* laughed aloud. Over time you can remove the use of literal as they understand your mastery of the English non-language.

And why should the filler LOL be eliminated? Because who wants a text that only says, “LOL”? It’s like the Gratuitous Thank You of the business world. An email, empty, except a thoughtless “thank you” serving to tell me that you’ve acknowledged the existence of my action or previous email. Ridiculous. The Gratuitous Thank You is another drain on society.

So, how does one communicate enjoyment of a comment without putting it on the status of the LOL? A few suggestions:

Haha. Quick and simple. It means “I caught that joke”

HA! The blurt approach. Much like a Bah! but quicker. It might be translated as “Please hand me a towel to wipe the coffee from my monitor.”

Hehehe. A polite chuckle of the non-literal variety.

Depending on your laugher style, there could be further options. Are you a cackeler? Or whooper? Then perhaps you can translate that into your digital laughter response. Let us hear your voice. My cousin Kimmy should drop LOL altogether for “aaaaaahhhhahahahaha hahahaha ahahah.” She would type that in a red font, as red always translates well into high-pitched squeals.

ROFL and LMAO/LMBO/LMAO? These are just silly. No one above the age of 17 should use them. We’re adults. We don’t need code. No one will tell your mommy if you found the joke funny. And besides, the un-literal use goes beyond the LOL. Rarely do I see an ROFL remarking on something of true hilarity.

*This would lead to a lesson on the proper use of the word literal. This means actually, in real life, not an exaggeration. You do not literally “see red”. Rule #1, never use the word “literal” with metaphor or simile.

Year: 2012 (Page 17 of 51)

It started with a choice

It’s only noon?

Functional Friday: Digital laugher

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