Katie is having a good week. She still complains of an occasional tummy ache, but if she takes a bath or her daddy rubs her tummy, she says she feels "better". Also, like I said, she is falling down more. She seems to "buckle" at the ankle. It is a strange thing to watch. Her ankle twists right out from under her and she goes down. She stands up, takes a step, her ankle twists again, and she goes down. She just keeps getting back up and trying again, until either her legs work or (until I can't take it) and grab her and carry her. However, she insists she wants to walk. She is very determined (and a bit stubborn) - both qualities have served her well! Katie is still as cheerful as always - she brings so much light and joy to our family!
Conner is having success with his "thumb cast". However, he has had troubles sleeping. Since day one of the cast, he hasn't been able to fall asleep at nap time. So, in attempting to get rid of the thumb sucking, I think we have done away with nap time as well! Because of this, you would think he would fall right asleep at night, but that is not the case. Overall though, I think this is going to work for him. Yeah!!
So....along with my need to get more humor back into my life, I have been informed (by my husband and multiple family members) that I need to learn to relax. Which is funny! I can remember even as a little girl, sitting in piano lessons and the teacher always telling me to relax, "You need to relax - relax, relax, relax!" Yah...So, if I couldn't do it then, as a child in piano lessons, then it certainly is a challenge now, with all that is going on! =)
I am a thinker and a worrier. I have a hard time shutting off my brain. Because of that, I have a hard time relaxing. However, this is my first step towards "recovery" - admitting. My next step, is to let go of "expectations" and "lighten up". Dr. Richard Carlson said, "The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. Very simply, we want things to be a certain way but they're not a certain way. Life is simply as it is. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: 'Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure in life, and when circumstances don't fit our ideas, they become our difficulties.' We spend our lives wanting things, people, events to be just as we want them to be - and when they're not, we fight and we suffer.
"The first step in recovering from over seriousness is to admit that you have a problem. You have to want to change, to become more easy going. You have to see that your own uptightness is largely of your own creation - it's composed of the way you have set up your life and the way your react to it.
"The next step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustration level. Whenever you expect something to be a certain way and it isn't, you're upset and you suffer. On the other hand, when you let go of your expectations, when you accept life as it is, you're free. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up." (A suggested practice is to approach a single day without expectations. For example, don't expect people to be friendly. If people aren't friendly, you won't be bothered by it. If they are, you'll be delighted. Don't expect your day to be problem free...) "Rather than fighting against life, you'll be dancing with it. Pretty soon, with practice, you'll lighten up your entire life. And when you lighten up, life is a lot more fun." (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's All Small Stuff, 205)
Today I am glad for how light hearted Katie is. I think she can teach me a thing or two - actually, I think she already has - but there is still more I can learn from her! I hope she never looses her ability to laugh and to love whole heartily! She is a ray of sunshine. (I will not be posting anything tomorrow, my husband is going to whisk me away for a day for our anniversary!) =)
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