happiness is a fresh vocabulary...

Have you ever noticed how some parents sort of encourage their kids along when they invent their own words for things? For instance, if a child says nana for banana, then the parents just start saying nana too. Well I've never really been one of those parents. No matter how cute, I have generally corrected the children's vocabulary. That's really embarrassing to admit. You're probably thinking, wow, this lady has serious issues. Actually, if you're reading this, then you probably already know. But anyway, yesterday I had a breakthrough. I caught my 5 year old (she's actually 5 now) saying "hanitizer" instead of hand sanitizer =) and I let it slide. Yep... didn't say a word. It was a beautiful moment worth blogging about.

sunny disposition...

My how the time flies!!! I can't believe it's been 19 days since my last post. What I can't believe even more than that is that I actually kept up with this consistently for 4 months! Recent highlights:

My 12 year old daughter (almost a teenager) loves to be with me. We recently had a night out and she left her side of the table to come sit right next to me. She also wants to hold hands wherever we walk. I am so blessed. She has such a wonderful personality! She sees the best in everyone. We went to Zingerman's for dinner and our waiter was kind of a stick in the mud. When he came over to greet us, my first thought was, "what's his problem." But as he was leaving, Snow said something like, "I think our waiter is one of those people who is afraid he's going to mess things up." So, I was softened and felt she was right. Then he did mess things up. He never brought us any bread before dinner, and when dinner came he poured my clam chowder all over Snow's potatoes and served me a bowl of gravy. =) I didn't care at all. I just asked if he would bring some bread and told him about the mix up. He offered to bring Snow more potatoes, but she actually liked it. The next time he came to the table Snow said, "Really, don't worry about the mix up. I like it. I think you should make a habit of it." And he smiled. I don't know where she gets it from, but Snow is a sheer joy to be around!!! Beautiful in every way!!!

ps...

also, i was born on a thursday...which means i have far to go. i've always wondered which one i was. out of all the options, i think this one fits me best. how is it that the person who wrote that nursery rhyme in 1838 knew that about me?

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

my tree...

so yesterday I found out that my birth tree is the...

Walnut Tree, the Passion

somehow this ties in with being...

unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egoistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromises.

oddly enough, most of this is probably true though not all easy to admit. the egoistic thing is a problem which ties in with neurosis (neurosis is a psychiatric term that refers to a class of functional mental disorder involving distress but not delusions or hallucinations, where behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms.) i love this definition. i don't like to think that i have a mental disorder, but at least i'm functional and not outside socially acceptable norms =) anyway being neurotic means i have anxiety and phobias, but the interesting thing is that that all comes from thinking about myself too much or being egoistic-which is what i'm doing right now, right.

so i recently heard a quote - "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." ~Aristotle i don't believe this. i believe that knowing God is the beginning of all wisdom, but knowing yourself might be next. when i saw this quote, my first thought was, well then there's no hope for me, because i don't think i'll ever understand myself or any other person for that matter. people are complicated and i'm one of them. honestly even though i focus on my own feelings and opinions i haven't taken time to look at myself objectively. i think this could be a good thing. i can be my own psychiatrist. wait-is that a good idea?

one thing that's true about me is that i love to laugh at myself. i know i'm a mess and i love it when my husband teases me, because it makes light of it i guess. plus, i guess it feels good to know that even though he knows all these things about me he still loves me and can laugh about them too.

ok this is getting way out of hand. this is probably my longest blog ever and it's all about me.