A Love Letter

Dear Kids (because you'll always be my kids),

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How am I doing? Have you noticed I've been trying to leave you alone?

I've been very careful not to phone, or email, or text too much. I try not to pry. Or second-guess your decisions.

When you are home and go out in the evening, I do my best to only say good-bye and not ask where you're going.

All in all, I think I'm doing a decent job of letting go and letting you become an adult not tied to the old apron strings. Not that I claim I'm always doing this right, but I think I'm improving and I want you to know I'm trying not to be that annoying mother who insists on clinging to her babies.

But. . .

Don't you think you could call once in a while? Or, perhaps send a quick email. Or even just a text saying, "Hi." Is that really too much to ask? It doesn't even have to be once a week. Maybe once every other week.

I know you're busy, but so am I. And I'll never be too busy to talk to you.

So 

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Love,
Mama

How Come?

How come low-fat, low-sugar, low-sodium foods usually cost more than their less healthful cousins? Aren't fewer ingredients being put in the package?

How come shorts cost as much as or more than pants? Two whole legs worth of fabric are missing,

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probably being used for another pair of shorts.

How come the government can track our private conversations and get away with it, but if we do the same and get caught we go to prison?

How come my best blogging ideas are developed when I'm in bed at night and too tired to get up and write them down?

How come everyone else has a nicer lawn?

How come there aren't any holidays in April? If Easter turns up in March, that leaves us with a rather dull month.

How come when you have time to sit down and talk with your husband, you can't think of anything interesting or important to talk about?

These are some of the thoughts I've been thinking lately. How about you?

Talk is Cheap

My Dad said this all the time when I was growing up. I never really thought about it much, but the truth of it struck me this morning.

When our children were little and one needed to apologize to another, we insisted the perpetrator say he was sorry to the one he offended. We didn't allow a grouchy, grudging, unrepentant apology. The perpetrator had to look his victim in the eye, speak with a sincere tone and then hug the offended brother or sister. A "cheap" apology isn't a real apology.

This leads to what I think of as a political apology. You know, the type of apology a politician makes when his sin finds him out. "If I have hurt anyone . . ." Notice the If, there is no ownership of the offense.

A friend sends a quick text and says, "I really miss you." That's nice, but genuine friendship also means an investment of time and energy. When we send a text or email containing this type of platitude with no real intention to remedy our neglect, we're often only assuaging our own conscience by sending it at all. Talk is cheap.

I say "I love you" to my husband, but I treat him disrespectfully, nag him and criticize him. Is that love? My talk is cheap.

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

(Prov 12:18, NIV)

Image: ambro/freedigitalphotos.net

Life skills, According to Mama

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One portion of my brain is always focused on my youngest son's  transition  to college in August.  A reoccurring, panicky thought I have is, has he acquired all the basic life skills he needs?  Can he survive without me telling him what to do?

When my kids were young I kept telling them, "You better learn this.  I'm not going to college with you, you know." (One of my sons told me recently that he was always confused by that because he didn't even know what college was.  As you can see, I was planning their academic careers well in advance.)   So even though I was aware my four chicks would leave the nest someday,  I started to worry that I forgot to teach my son something important.

I thought I'd better sit down and make a list of skills I think are essential for college survival and beyond.  Then make sure he has mastered them.

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1. Laundry (how to do it)
2. Laundry (actually doing it)
3. Nutritious meals (these are not comprised of pizza and tacos)
4. Keep track of spending and reconcile a bank statement (more must come in than goes out)
5. Sleep (five hours a night are not enough)
6. Pass a class  (includes more than just studying for the final)
7. Communication (call your mother occasionally)
8. Friends (Proverbs 2:12-15, Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.)
9. Cleaning (find roommates who are neater than you)
10. Balance (make a realistic schedule including classes, studying, work, activities and other commitments)
11. Exercise (oh right, you'll be in the marching band playing a tuba, that probably covers it)
12. Faith (find a good church and plug in, pray, read your Bible)

Somehow, this is all I can think of and I'm afraid I've left off some important skills.  But, he'll learn and figure things out on his own and he can always call Mama.

Am I Zonked or am I Zonked?

We've reached the end of the Challenge and I'm zonked.  I know I'm not the only Blogging A to Z participant who feels like they've been climbing a mountain barefoot, blindfolded and being timed while they did it.

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However, we've arrived at Z and I repeat that I am zonked.  I always understood zonked to mean exhausted, and while I'm not generally ignorant about word meanings, it was pointed out to me that zonked has an alternate meaning of which I was unaware.  It is also defined as being high.  High as on drugs not on a high place like a mountain top, its zenith.

How could I have lived so many years without knowing that?

My misapprehension of the meaning of zonked caused me to consider misunderstandings in general.  In addition to misunderstanding word meanings we also misunderstand people, their motives and words.

How often do we get into a disagreement because we misunderstand what someone really means?  It would be advantageous if we could open someone up, turn their pages and find out what they really mean as easily as we crack open a dictionary to determine a word's true meaning.

There's a lot more on my mind about communication and misunderstanding, but like I said, I'm zonked.

We have reached the zenith of the Blogging A to Z Challenge.  Good grief, how can I continue to blog without an alphabet prompt?