Do you believe in second chances? I do.
I didn’t have the best of days on Tuesday. I now realise I was quite sleep deprived, which hindered my decision-making (that’s my story and I’m sticking with it! hehehe). Basically at the end of the night, I felt I wasn’t as attentive to the kids as I could have been (Have you ever felt like that? As soon as your children’s head hit the pillow you start thinking…ah I wish I did things differently??)
Anyway, the next day I woke up early and was much more alert, and I said to myself, “I’m going to have a “DO OVER”!
To me, a “do over” means accepting that you may have had a bad day the day before, but that today is a new day, with new choices to be made.
The biggest difference to my “do over” day was my attitude. As I kept reminding myself that it was a “do over”, I felt empowered to guide the course of the day with my positive actions.
For me it meant:
being proactive instead of reactive
being showered, changed and ready for the day
starting the day with prayer and inspirational reading
listening to my body and having a rest to recharge my batteries
practicing patience
not going on the computer till after the kids go to bed
and as I mentioned, having a good attitude
My 7 and 9 year old must have decided to have a “do over” as well, because they woke up early and did their chores of unloading the dishwasher and getting the fruit and snack portion of the lunches ready, ate breakfast and got dressed, ALL without being asked!! Heaven!
Yep. I totally get this.
I really needed to read this today! Thanks for the encouragement!
I can completely relate. I’m constantly reviewing my day at bedtime and I often come up lacking. Last night was one of those nights for me. Thanks for sharing your “Lessons in Motherhood”!
I’ve given you an award on my blog: http://theperfectlyimperfectlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/versatile-blogger-award.html
It’s been so fun exploring your blog. Thanks so much for swinging by Meylah! I’m so envious that you live in NZ, what a fabulous country, I was there years ago on a long journey throughout the South Pacific and I absolutely loved it. In fact, the countryside reminded me so much of home (Seattle, WA, USA). Also – I can’t remember which city I was in, but I had the most fabulous, decadent dessert ever over there at a dessert shop dedicated to chocolate. OHHH, how I wish I remembered the name. It was like I’d died and gone to heaven.
P.S. – Love that you’re doing RAOK, such a fun and rewarding experience! Today my husband and I participated in a huge event packing meals for Haiti survivors, giving is the greatest gift you can give yourself. I believe it’s healing for the soul.
I think every mother can relate to your do over day. Thanks for sharing. By the way..if you’ve never read a book called Mother Styles I highly recommend it. I suggested it to the Wellington Library they now have it available to borrow. It is more to do with personality types. I learned a lot about myself in reading this book. If you seem to clash with one of your children and not the other’s, Do some parenting responsibilities sap your energy while others reinvigorate you? Have you ever compared your parenting style with the mom next door and wondered if you were doing it all wrong? This book will enlighten you! I think this book would make a great gift to any mother, you can get them second hand on amazon.com the author is Janet P Penley
I love those sorts of books. Thanks Jeanette!