Lesson #15,116-Burned Biscuits

Okay, so I didn't write this myself but I am going to share it with you all because it is such a wonderful story.

Here Goes:

Burned Biscuits - A lesson we all should learn.

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!
All my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing...never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said, "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides--a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!"
As I've grown older, I've thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people.
I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today...that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket--keep it in your own."
So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine.
And PLEASE pass this along to someone who has enriched your life--I just did!
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
"Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil--it has no point"

Written by Jan W. Nahorski.

Lesson #15,070-The Many 1sts Once You Become A Mom

Once you become a mom, you have many "firsts".  I am not talking about first birthdays or first steps or first teeth.  Those are the easy firsts.  I am talking real firsts!  Here are some of my "1st's" once I became a Mom:  I bet you have never before had someone else vomit down the front of your shirt and into your cleavage, sometimes soaking your bra to the point that it could be wrung out with your hands. That being said, the FIRST time you smell that vomit will be another milestone 1st!!

I bet you have never had someone else's pee shot into your eyes, nose and mouth.  (If you have, then you are one of those freaks!!) This one, though, you will laugh about!!  No, really, you will.  Not at that moment but you will some time later.

Another 1st is having to take care of something and keep it alive on 2.2 hours of sleep.  (And that is not consecutive sleep. That is total sleep.) You wonder if that little bundle of joy will ever sleep.  How could it sleep so soundly and wake up so angry?  What made it so full of rage when 20 seconds ago it was the most beautiful, peaceful sight that you have ever beholden in your entire life?  You even wonder how lungs so small could be so strong.  Could this kid be the next Michael Phelps?  He's definitely got swimmer's lungs!!

The first time you try and figure out a car seat.  What the Hell?  For all of us adults we just have one strap and we weigh 120 pounds (wink, wink) more than this little critter.  Why are they in four point harnesses?  I mean, are they a mental patient or a baby, for goodness sake?

The first time that precious baby poops more than you do and it goes completely out of the diaper, running down the baby's legs and up his back, all the way up to his hairline. But??? How??? The poop is literally bigger than the baby.  You have to look around to see if Ashton Kutcher has Punk'd you because you know it has to be a joke.  Then you get to figure out how to change the baby.  Should I just clean the baby with wipes or put him in the baby bath tub?  The answer is always the baby bath tub.  Don't bother trying the wipes.  Just trust me on this one!!

The first time you try to leave the house with the baby.  By the time you get all of the gear that you will need or could possibly need packed, you will have missed whatever you were going to.  The baby bag will need diapers, wipes, a changing pad, a couple of bottles, pacifier, a toy, blanket, a hat, a change of clothes or 2, bibs, teething ring, gum ointment, gas drops, Tylenol for infants, Motrin for infants, the nose sucker thingy, a syringe, ear plugs (for the husband), nose plugs (also for the husband), disposable gloves (again for the husband) and a burp cloth.  Then you have to get your purse, keys, the baby carrier, stroller...Yeah, never mind.  I told you it would be over before you left the house the first time!!!!  We missed church several times before we got it right!! And that was on 2.2 hours of sleep.

But then there is the first that makes it all worthwhile.  The first time that you have ever felt this way about any other living being.  I mean, yes, you loved your parents, your siblings, your spouse, etc. but you have never, ever felt so much love for something.  I try to explain the love that you have for your child to a person who doesn't have kids yet but all I can say is this.  It is a love that fills your entire heart.  You can actually feel it growing the moment that you look at that baby for the first time.  You know that you love the baby while it is still inside your stomach but once that baby is out and you see that precious baby, you know that you would die for that tiny baby right then and there. It really is like your heart being outside of your body from then on.

Lesson #15,061-Be Thankful.

It's that time of year again.  Thanksgiving.  A time to reflect upon all of the blessings in our lives.  Our friends, family, God, a home, food to eat, etc. It is a great thing to be thankful.  These are a few things that I am also very thankful for this year:

Wine. 
Hair dye. 
Botox. 
Wrinkle Cream. 
Nutella. 
Preparation H. 
Advil. 
Nerve Pills. 
My doctor and my pharmacist.  (These go along with Nerve Pills.)
Friends who will pick my kid up from school when I just want to take a nap. 
Reality TV.
Facebook (Sometimes). 
My comfy pajamas. 
My soft blanket. 
Spanx. 
Age spot bleach (See my friend, Julia Wheeler or Susan Radford, at English Aesthetics, for this stuff!!). 
Deodorant (I wish more people were thankful for this one and used it accordingly). 
Ice cubes. 
Pilates and Piloxing (See my friends Jill Hinson and Heather Moses at Core Studio for these!!). 
My big ole non-green Cadillac SUV (Shut up all of you Smart Car and Prius drivers.  I cannot fit 5 or 6 children in one of the little cars.  I carpool so I am GREEN!!! Actually I carpool with other mothers who have large Cadillac and Chevrolet SUV's.  We bought American, So There!!!) 
I love and am thankful for my hairdryer. 
Curse words (Because sometimes "Gosh Darn It Flippin' Poop" doesn't begin to cover it).   
Cherry Lemon Sundrop.
My iPhone. (Only because I can play Angry Birds anytime I want!!)
Money. (Now let me explain.  I have enough money to buy all of my needs but not enough money to make it okay to buy a $400,000 car or a $20,000,000 house.  I am totally serious.  Because if I could afford a Maserati, I would totally have one and it is asinine to spend that kind of money on a car.)
Pinterest. Enough said.
eBay.  (Because if you want anything and it isn't on eBay or Craigslist, you don't need it.)
Shoes. (Oh how I love shoes. Ahhhh.)
Catered lunch. (If you don't know what this is, your child does not go to Union Academy. It keeps me from having to make a PB&J every day of my life for my son to take to school for lunch.)
Mills Dry Cleaners. (Shout out to Parker Mills. Thank you for doing all of my ironing for me!! Mwaah!!)
Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and all other catalogs that are sent to my house that keep me from folding laundry.)
My Dryer's "Restart" button!! (To go with that folding laundry comment.)
The beach!! (And I am very thankful for my BFF just purchasing me, us, herself a new beach house!!) 
Hand sanitizer. Hand soap. Hand towels, Hand lotion. (Obviously, I have issues.)
And finally, My step stool in my kitchen.  (Since I am fun sized, I have to have a step stool to reach anything on the second and third shelf of my cabinets.)

Okay, so these are the things that I am thankful for.  Don't Judge!! May you all have a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!! I will be back on Monday.  I'm taking a few days off unless my family gives me enough material to blog about which is entirely possible!!

Life Lesson #15,051-Make Everyday Special

Why do we save our good china?  Who are we saving it for?  I mean, the people who mean the most to me would gladly eat on paper plates.  If I am eating on my good china, I probably am not very comfortable with whomever I am eating.  Actually, I have never eaten on my good china.  I have been married for 16 years and have never, ever eaten on it!! What a waste of good china!

Why don't we burn our candles?  They smell so nice and make for great lighting.  They aren't that expensive so why not enjoy them?  Who has to visit for me to actually light my candles?  What am I waiting for?  Isn't today special enough?  It's Wednesday for Pete's sake!!

Let's use those fancy towels and break out the good sheets!!  Who doesn't want to sleep on 1500 thread count sheets?  Why are the large, thick, white towels reserved for guests?  I can afford new ones at TJ Maxx for guests!!  Why not enjoy them myself?  I am going to put those nice sheets on my bed right now!!  The guests are gonna get my ratty old navy blue towels.  So sorry if you are planning a visit to the Bromfield Inn anytime soon but you will be getting the 300 thread count sheets!! Luckily, I don't buy cheap toilet paper so even visitors will still get the Charmin.  I may have to start buying little chocolates for my guests if I make them sleep on the cheap sheets.  Oh and bath salts!! Why save them?? Enjoy them!!!!!!

What about the crystal glasses?  What about the couple pieces of silver that I have?  I got them as wedding gifts.  If I get them out, I will probably have to find some Tarnex because I have never used them before.  They are still in the same box that they came in.  Isn't that just sad?  What is wrong with me?  And my crystal glasses!! I have used them!  I love them!!  I usually use them when I have a crowd and have used up all of my glass glasses! Or maybe even my plastic cups!!

Okay everyone, Let's celebrate today!! It's a great day to be alive!! It's Wednesday!! Isn't that special enough?  I will give you something to celebrate...No more campaign ads!! That is one thing to celebrate!! Even if your choice didn't win the elections, let us all celebrate that and celebrate that it is a new day!!  So if you come to my house tonight, I will be wearing a ball gown, a tiara, silk shoes and eating hot dogs on all of my good china by candlelight!!  Make everyday special!!

Life Lesson #15,050-Your Children Only Get One Childhood

Okay, this one is for parents.  We all know how quickly time passes but to our children, their childhood passes slowly.  The longest 12 years of my life were when I was in school.  I remember how slowly time seemed to creep by.  Once I got married and started a family time sped up.  As soon as my son was born, life has seemed to pass at light speed.  I have to remember that for him time is passing slower than for me.  I have to remember that he only has one childhood.  Will he look back on his childhood and smile?  Will he say that I was always there for him?  Will he think that I spent enough time with him?  Will he feel loved?  Will he want to come home to visit or just come see us at Christmas, out of obligation?  When he gets married will he want to live nearby or want to move as far away as possible?  All of these questions are being determined right now and I have to remember this. If I don't want my son to move across the country when he grows up, I have to play Checkers with him now.  If I want to enjoy seeing my grandchildren in 25 years, I had better give him hugs and kisses today.

 

Life gets so busy and everyone knows that I love a nap but it is more important to make sure that my son knows that I have time for him than to take a nap sometimes.  I miss that snuggle time that we used to have when he was younger.  I could wrap my arms around him and he would snuggle up to me and go to sleep in 5 minutes.  Now he's too big and too busy and sometimes too stinky!!  I really miss those days!! Like I said, it goes too fast.  Speed of light fast!!  If you have ever read the book "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch, you know the unconditional love that any good mother has for her children.  It's the kind of love that fills your entire heart.  It cannot be explained.  It can only be felt.  You feel it the moment you look into the face of your child for the first time. 

 

Okay so my point in all of this rambling is that our children get to be kids once and we only get one chance to be great parents.  Our words shape who they are and who they become.  Our time means more to our children than what we can give them materially.  We are responsible for their needs.  Their needs include not only clothing, food and shelter but also time! That is the one thing that costs us nothing but means so much. Spend time with your "babies" today!!  (Forever my baby you'll be.) 

Life Lesson #15,031-People In NYC Are Interesting

Life Lesson #15,031-People In NYC Are Interesting

Only in NYC will you walk past a Naked Cowboy, Hello Kitty or someone painted completely green and nobody even stares at them.  Honestly, there are no freaks in NYC.  There were a few people, however, who made an impression.  The very first night we landed in NY, we had a great driver who drove us from LaGuardia to the hotel.  He was from Africa and was so glad to be in the United States.  I loved this guy from the second that I met him.  He told us about growing up with 1 pair of shoes to wear to school, to church, to play in and everywhere else.  He grew up very poor and was blessed to have that one pair of shoes. He was glad to be here and have more than one pair of shoes.  Thank you, God for not making me live in Africa with no shoes!!



Okay I have lived in the South my entire life and have never even spoken to a Muslim in my entire life.  The only ones that I have ever seen have been in the airport or at the mall.  Needless to say, the only thing that I know about their religion is The Koran is their holy book and Mohammed is their prophet and Muslims are responsible for the terrorism on 9/11 so they all must be violent and crazed and hateful.  Right?????????? 
So there were these food carts just sitting unattended on the streets of NYC and there was this loud crazy music coming from all of these carts.  It sounded like some sort of horn being played.  The music was haunting.  Then it hit me.  It was the "Call to Prayer" that was playing and the unattended food carts were abandoned by their owners because they were doing their daily prayers.  If I am not mistaken they pray about 5 times a day.  (If I prayed to my God 5 times a day, I would probably be a better person.)  Then we finally hailed a cab and of course a Muslim driver picked us up. Was he going to scream at us?  Was he going to set a fire?  Was he going to set off a bomb while we were driving with him???????? Well while was driving us and he began to talk about 9/11.  He talked about the horror he felt and how all he could do was stare out his window in shock, much the same as I did at the TV that day.  Every Muslim we encountered was polite, hard working and nothing like Achmed!!  One of our drivers told me about how just after 9/11 he could not leave his house because of people being angry at all Muslims about 9/11 and how there was violence against them because of their religion and how they were hurt by the attacks too.  I felt ashamed of myself because I had thought terrible things about all of those people myself.  I didn't realize that there were those Muslims who hated what was done on 9/11 just as much as I did.  I pride myself on not being judgmental of people but I had judged an entire religion on the acts of some.  I am sorry for that.  I now know that they all don't feel this way about us "infidels". 

 

So we went to "The Lion King" at The Minskoff Theater one night and I was honestly afraid the bathroom attendant was a terrorist.  I don't know what religion she was but maybe she just needed some religion, or somebody to Bless Her Heart or maybe she just needed some sweet tea.  I am not sure what her problem was but this attendant was screaming at us in the stalls and telling us that we were taking too long.  Has this woman ever tried to pull up underwear, Spanx and pants?  I don't think she understands what it takes to get all of these items back in place!  Honestly!! It takes more than 15 seconds to dismantle the undergarments, sit, pee, wipe accordingly, pull up undies, Spanx, Pants, fasten the belt, turn around and flush.  I consider it rude to have almost 1600 seats in a theater and have 4 stalls for the ladies.  Just sayin'! At intermission, if half of the crowd is female and then half of the females have to pee then you have 400 women standing in line to pee and 4 stalls. Intermission was 10 minutes.  You can do the math but even I know the odds aren't very good that everyone can do their business in that amount of time with that amount of stalls!! So stop screaming at me you terrorist bathroom attendant!! No tip for you!!!

 

I had many, many people leave an impression on me but the most interesting person that we ran into was this homeless person.  All of the homeless people in NYC have a cardboard sign and a hoodie.  This one guy had a sign and it said, "I'm not even going to lie.  I need money for pot".  I swear I thought about putting a few bucks in his can because he was being honest.  I laughed out loud!! I have mad respect for that homeless, pothead!! 


Come back tomorrow...

Life Lesson #15,020-Housewives/Stay-at-Home Moms, Is it a competition??

Life Lesson #15,020-Housewives/Stay-at-Home Moms, Is it a competition?
I have a friend who is a "Housewife".  This person can do it all!! This person is a master gardener.  Their garden has won "Yard of the Month" in a small town in South Carolina.  This is a highly coveted award in this small town and there is major competition among the finely manicured lawns lining the streets of the town. **My plants are dying.

This person also cooks wonderful meals most every night.  I see the menu on Facebook every night and think, "Hmm. My hot dogs don't sound as appetizing as their meal".  Seriously, who has time to garden and cook? Their meals are also healthy and probably take hours to cook.  **Mine is unhealthy and took minutes to cook.

This person also does community service throughout their community.  How this person has time to do for others is beyond me.  This person is always helping with community activities and with local charities.  This person even collected shoes for the people of Haiti after the tragedy there a few years ago.  Things like this are always going on at their house.  This person also does community service with local young ladies who are in the pageant world.  This person helps the ladies with every aspect of the pageant process and with their community service as well. Their motto is:  "If you ain't giving, you ain't living."  **I haven't done much for my community lately. I am, however, serving at the Union County Homeless Shelter this Saturday night.

This person hosts the most fabulous parties.  Hundreds of people show up for these parties.  Their Cinco De Mayo Party is legendary.  There is also the Annual Redneck Casserole Supper.  Ice Cream parties. Pretty much any day is a reason to have a party.  A fabulous party, I might add. **I gave up on parties.  It always RAINS!!!



This person and their husband decorate for Christmas beginning in early fall so that the "Santa House" is nearly perfect for the big day.  They have over 20 Christmas trees in their yard for the holiday season.
**I can barely decorate one tree!!
Check this out: 



This person does all of this along with daily duties of a housewife such as laundry, dishes, cleaning, shopping and all other duties that we housewives have.  This person has a grown son and daughter and granddaughter. They now take care of a cat and 4 small dogs (All Yorkies and properly named after the cast of the greatest movie ever made, Steel Magnolias.) and tries to find homes for homeless pets. How cute is that???  **My 3 cats are driving me over the edge!!


This person is a cancer survivor.  You would never know it and you will never hear this person complain about it. **I complain about a hangnail.

Would you like to know who this amazing housewife is??  Are you ready for this??
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Well, here HE is...


Tim is the one on the left.  His husband is Neil on the right.  They live in South Carolina with their 4 dogs and cat in the "Santa House". Tim is the most amazing housewife EVER!!! I aspire in life to be as good a citizen as he is someday!!  **No competition!! Tim wins!!!

Life Lesson #15,017-Human Nature is Inherently Good

Life Lesson #15,017-Human Nature is Inherently Good
Watch this video and you will know what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/MDOrzF7B2Kg?rel=0

It is the Great Boatlift of 9/11/01 in NYC.  Take 12 minutes and watch the video.  I promise it is worth it.

Life Lesson #15,010-If you are lucky enough to be American, You're lucky enough.

Life Lesson #15,010-If you are lucky enough to be American, you're lucky enough.
No matter which side of the aisle you may be on.  You may be Conservative, moderate or liberal.  You may be Republican or Democrat. You may bleed Red or Blue.  Either way, if you live in America, you are blessed.  The poorest people in our country would be wealthy in some other countries.  People have died trying to get here. People would die to send their children here.  We have freedoms here that most countries can only wish for.  We can have our own opinions about politics or religion without the fear of a government officer coming to arrest us or worse. No wonder so many people want to come here.  It is the land of the free and home of the brave.

Watching the RNC last night made me think about these things. As Americans, we should be so proud to live in this country.  We should never apologize for our freedoms.  We should be proud to have the military personnel that we have to protect us both domestically and abroad.  (If you don't stand behind our military, by all means, stand in front of them.)  Everyone in America has the opportunity to go to school.  Public schools in some foreign countries are not free.  They actually pay tuition to go to a public school.  Not here.  We have fire departments and police service.  We even have the Department of Homeland Security to keep us safe. We have an FDA to keep our pharmaceuticals and food safe.  We have the FAA to keep us safe when we fly.  We have the DOT to keep us safe when we drive. The list goes on and on.  My point is that the USA does take care of us well.

Let's all be proud and hang our flags and go to parades and most important, get out and vote!! It is your right.  No matter the political party, go VOTE!!  Never take it for granted.