I am watching my 15 year old vacuum right now. He came directly home from school...(a little something we worked out last night when he waltzed in an hour and a half after curfew..) and has been compliant, cooperative and even eager to help ever since. This is unusual. Perhaps the proximity to Christmas might have something to do with his astonishingly positive attitude - probably more so than my parenting skills - but hey, I'll take anything I can get.
He is a good kid, though. Beneath all the skulls, video games, tough talk, eye rolling, and even at times belligerence, he is, deep down, the kind of kid ever parent wishes for. He is my blessing spotlight for today, and here's why:
My Ben is driven. He has goals and he achieves them, even when they are hard. Landing a crazy snowboard jump was one of his recent goals. Not even a broken wrist could keep him from trying again and again until he landed it. I have the hair-raising video to prove it.
Ben is brave. Backing down is rarely an option for him. Retreating into the shadows would, a lot of times, be easier than facing the world. Such giving up is something I've seen many teens do - even some of his friends. But not Ben. He is out to live life. To the fullest.
Ben is funny. He makes me laugh everyday. Honestly, though, teenage boy humor often crosses a line. At the end of a joke a mom can often find herself struggling for air in a surprisingly nasty, green-tinged land where she could either gag or laugh. Barf humor is an example of this. It's never really been that funny to me. Ever. But Ben's barf jokes have had me wiping away real laugh-tears on many occasions. I'll spare you the splattering details. (You're welcome)
Ben is tender-hearted. As much as he protests and even tries to hide this aspect of his character, he has always been, and hopefully always will be, a softie. The first manifestation of his mushy, sweet center was when, at the age of two, Ben watched The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. When Tigger sulked away after everyone in the Hundred Acre Woods tells him to stop bouncing, Ben openly wept. "Come back, Tigger," he cried to the TV screen. "I want you to bounce!" A champion for the downtrodden, my Ben is. A true hero.
He is my blessing. The reason I was put on the planet. My treasure. Though sometimes I have to look hard for the positive when it comes to him - he is, after all, 15. But the positive is there. In abundance! It's not even buried that deeply.
In fact, I hope you'll excuse me. I need to stop blogging for today. There is a certain hulking teenage hero that needs a hug right now.
Love to you all,
Sylva Leining
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Late Night Chats
Last night my husband and I sat up talking. This chat session was prefaced with those four little words that no one wants to hear: "we need to talk..."
Even though I knew what we were going to discuss, and I knew our marriage was and is still rock-solid, I have to admit that my stomach dropped upon hearing that dreaded phrase. But I need to back up a bit.
My husband and I are looking to relocate. Not too far away from where we currently sit, but far enough for a fresh start, and in a neighborhood that suits us better. The desired neighborhood is one we've had our eye on since moving to this state seven years ago. But seven years ago, we couldn't afford a home in this exclusive area. Now, however, with housing prices what they are, we could easily situate ourselves comfortably in this hidden treasure of a community and stay there for the remainder of our days.
We've walked through countless houses for sale down in that neighborhood. Some that had wallpaper on every surface (I kid you not...EVERY surface!) and some that need to be gutted. Some that are only moderately worn, but are over-priced, and some that should be condemned and then leveled to the ground.
Last night the hubs and I sat up making a list of pros and cons comparing our two favorites. After we'd been deliberating for an hour, a surprising tidbit surfaced: We like the same things! It was such a comforting realization to me. We've been married for almost eighteen years and I just now figured it out.
We have the same goals. We share the same dreams. We are pulling in the same direction - like a well-matched team of horses. What a blessing it is to know that he is on my team! This strong - often to the point of being stubborn - man is working with me to make our similar dreams come true!
Thank you, God, for such a man in my life. What I've done to deserve him as my teammate/ co-creator, I may never know, but it is a blessing that he is by my side.
Here's to more late night chats where we learn more priceless gems about each other....
And here's hoping you have such a friend in your life too.
-Sylva Leining
Even though I knew what we were going to discuss, and I knew our marriage was and is still rock-solid, I have to admit that my stomach dropped upon hearing that dreaded phrase. But I need to back up a bit.
My husband and I are looking to relocate. Not too far away from where we currently sit, but far enough for a fresh start, and in a neighborhood that suits us better. The desired neighborhood is one we've had our eye on since moving to this state seven years ago. But seven years ago, we couldn't afford a home in this exclusive area. Now, however, with housing prices what they are, we could easily situate ourselves comfortably in this hidden treasure of a community and stay there for the remainder of our days.
We've walked through countless houses for sale down in that neighborhood. Some that had wallpaper on every surface (I kid you not...EVERY surface!) and some that need to be gutted. Some that are only moderately worn, but are over-priced, and some that should be condemned and then leveled to the ground.
Last night the hubs and I sat up making a list of pros and cons comparing our two favorites. After we'd been deliberating for an hour, a surprising tidbit surfaced: We like the same things! It was such a comforting realization to me. We've been married for almost eighteen years and I just now figured it out.
We have the same goals. We share the same dreams. We are pulling in the same direction - like a well-matched team of horses. What a blessing it is to know that he is on my team! This strong - often to the point of being stubborn - man is working with me to make our similar dreams come true!
Thank you, God, for such a man in my life. What I've done to deserve him as my teammate/ co-creator, I may never know, but it is a blessing that he is by my side.
Here's to more late night chats where we learn more priceless gems about each other....
And here's hoping you have such a friend in your life too.
-Sylva Leining
Friday, December 10, 2010
To Be Needed Is A Gift
You know, even though it is the Christmas season and I am running all over the state picking up obscure gifts, helping my sister get ready for her Christmas boutique, carting kids here and there, and barely making it into bed each night before my eyes close of their own will, I am grateful for my busy-ness. Most people complain about the holiday season being so crazy that they can't enjoy it. I feel the opposite way.
A reason to rise each morning is a blessing for sure.
And while I am so busy these days that I missed my scheduled blog two days ago, I have a feeling you all will forgive me once you know that instead of writing, I was scurrying to help my daughter finish her science fair project. (Who decided it was a good idea to have a science fair in December?) My daughter needed me and it was my pleasure to help her. It was a blessing to spread the cardboard tri-fold out on the sewing room floor and paste her hypothesis, research, tables, data charts and pictures all night long.
I have much more to say on the subject of being needed, and how being busy is a blessing, but you'll have to excuse me. You see, my sister is coming over to set up her homemade soap boutique in my dining room. The scents of Citrus Sage, Cinnamon Vanilla, and Hollyberry will soon permeate my entire home. Old and young will be braving the rain and walking into my sweet-smelling shop / abode. Can't put the pajamas on and sit in front of a movie with Chinese take-out just yet!
There is no rest for the grateful! - and I am grateful for it!
A reason to rise each morning is a blessing for sure.
To be needed is a gift.
Being busy keeps you young, despite what research into the frightening world of high blood-pressure and ulcers may show.
And while I am so busy these days that I missed my scheduled blog two days ago, I have a feeling you all will forgive me once you know that instead of writing, I was scurrying to help my daughter finish her science fair project. (Who decided it was a good idea to have a science fair in December?) My daughter needed me and it was my pleasure to help her. It was a blessing to spread the cardboard tri-fold out on the sewing room floor and paste her hypothesis, research, tables, data charts and pictures all night long.
Time well spent if you ask me.
I have much more to say on the subject of being needed, and how being busy is a blessing, but you'll have to excuse me. You see, my sister is coming over to set up her homemade soap boutique in my dining room. The scents of Citrus Sage, Cinnamon Vanilla, and Hollyberry will soon permeate my entire home. Old and young will be braving the rain and walking into my sweet-smelling shop / abode. Can't put the pajamas on and sit in front of a movie with Chinese take-out just yet!
There is no rest for the grateful! - and I am grateful for it!
-Sylva Leining
Monday, December 6, 2010
Water!
The biggest blessing in my life today has been running water!
Last week my kitchen faucet broke. Thank goodness for lifetime warranties (they are a blessing too, and deserve their own post...perhaps another time) and for companies who stand behind their products. One phone call later, and a brand new faucet - complete with sprayer and soap dispenser - was on its way.
It arrived today via UPS (whose praises will be sung in another post) and I called a neighbor friend who happened to be free to install it for me 15 minutes later.
This neighbor is a blessing too. He deserves a post all to himself, because while my husband is many things, handy is not one of them. This neighbor has bailed us out of many home improvement / repair issues over the years, is a blast to talk to, and takes payment in cookies and Sunday visits.
An hour and several stories later, I had water in my kitchen for the first time in seven days. My eyes flowed as freely as my new faucet.
How did we manage for seven days without water? Well, it was hard, I'll be honest. Not a fun week by any stretch of the imagination. We ate out a lot (which, now that I think about it was a blessing. Period. Panda Express and Cafe Rio need their own spot in the 'Tis A Blessing library of posts too).
Any water we actually used at the kitchen sink came from a two-liter Sprite bottle. And we used a lot of water, even on our water-restricted week. So much that we filled that Sprite bottle many times while doing dishes, lugging it back and forth from the laundry room sink. "Fetching water" is no fun. It felt like camping. I do not love to camp.
But now, at last, I can turn on my faucet and get hot or cold water at will. The sheer joy of it makes a girl cry.
Enjoy the little things,
Sylva Leining
Last week my kitchen faucet broke. Thank goodness for lifetime warranties (they are a blessing too, and deserve their own post...perhaps another time) and for companies who stand behind their products. One phone call later, and a brand new faucet - complete with sprayer and soap dispenser - was on its way.
It arrived today via UPS (whose praises will be sung in another post) and I called a neighbor friend who happened to be free to install it for me 15 minutes later.
This neighbor is a blessing too. He deserves a post all to himself, because while my husband is many things, handy is not one of them. This neighbor has bailed us out of many home improvement / repair issues over the years, is a blast to talk to, and takes payment in cookies and Sunday visits.
An hour and several stories later, I had water in my kitchen for the first time in seven days. My eyes flowed as freely as my new faucet.
How did we manage for seven days without water? Well, it was hard, I'll be honest. Not a fun week by any stretch of the imagination. We ate out a lot (which, now that I think about it was a blessing. Period. Panda Express and Cafe Rio need their own spot in the 'Tis A Blessing library of posts too).
Any water we actually used at the kitchen sink came from a two-liter Sprite bottle. And we used a lot of water, even on our water-restricted week. So much that we filled that Sprite bottle many times while doing dishes, lugging it back and forth from the laundry room sink. "Fetching water" is no fun. It felt like camping. I do not love to camp.
But now, at last, I can turn on my faucet and get hot or cold water at will. The sheer joy of it makes a girl cry.
Enjoy the little things,
Sylva Leining
Friday, December 3, 2010
An Unbelievable Shift
Anyone who knows me will fall out of their chairs when they read what blessing I am thankful for today. Either that or they'll think I'm smoking something good and am therefore not in possession of my right mind. But I don't care. I have to be honest...Wal-mart is a blessing!
This store - that I have avoided like a cancerous plague - really got it right today. This store - that you can't drive five minutes without running into another one of them, anywhere in the U.S. - was exactly what I needed and I'll tell you why:
It is beside the point to say that I needed office supplies, Christmas wrapping paper, and groceries but didn't have time to go to three different stores. This often happens, and when it does, I grudgingly step across Wal-mart's automated threshold, and steel myself for thirty minutes of torture. Crying children, frazzled mothers, employees who speak any language but English; these are just a few of the charms Wal-mart possesses, and to say I dread going in would be a gross understatement.
Today was no different. While wandering around putting rubber bands and orange juice in my cart, I couldn't block out the entitled children whining about how they needed Cheetos right now. And I'll admit, I felt disgust. Loathing. Even anxiety cropped up; and I found I couldn't get out fast enough.
So I wheeled my over-full cart up to the check-out lines. And this always happens to me; I get in a line that moves great until I step into it, then price checks are called for, or credit cards have been misplaced, and the once free-moving line grinds to a sickening halt. It's either that or I pick the line that no one is in, thinking I've caught a break for once, only to find that the checker is new and has to look up codes for everything.
This is what happened to me today. My checker was new. It might have even been her first day working the register solo. She moved slowly and had to look up produce codes on everything from asparagus to sweet potatoes. She commented on the things I was buying, too, and this usually bugs me.
But something different happened today. Instead of huffing and secretly rolling my eyes (mature, I know), I started chatting with her. We struck up a great conversation about Swiffer Sweeper cloths and husbands who attempt housework. We laughed about movies and games we loved, and by the end of my order, I felt like I had made a friend!
As I was walking away, she said to me, "It was fun to talk to you."
My eyes misted over. In Wal-mart, of all places!
I replied, "It was fun to talk to you, too," and meant it.
Wal-mart, you really got it right today and I thank you for my new friend.
I love it when a lump of coal becomes a diamond. There's nothing better in the world than when a tulip sprouts up healthy and proud from a pile of manure. A perception shift is always a blessing!
Love to you, and to my new Wal-mart friend,
Sylva
This store - that I have avoided like a cancerous plague - really got it right today. This store - that you can't drive five minutes without running into another one of them, anywhere in the U.S. - was exactly what I needed and I'll tell you why:
It is beside the point to say that I needed office supplies, Christmas wrapping paper, and groceries but didn't have time to go to three different stores. This often happens, and when it does, I grudgingly step across Wal-mart's automated threshold, and steel myself for thirty minutes of torture. Crying children, frazzled mothers, employees who speak any language but English; these are just a few of the charms Wal-mart possesses, and to say I dread going in would be a gross understatement.
Today was no different. While wandering around putting rubber bands and orange juice in my cart, I couldn't block out the entitled children whining about how they needed Cheetos right now. And I'll admit, I felt disgust. Loathing. Even anxiety cropped up; and I found I couldn't get out fast enough.
So I wheeled my over-full cart up to the check-out lines. And this always happens to me; I get in a line that moves great until I step into it, then price checks are called for, or credit cards have been misplaced, and the once free-moving line grinds to a sickening halt. It's either that or I pick the line that no one is in, thinking I've caught a break for once, only to find that the checker is new and has to look up codes for everything.
This is what happened to me today. My checker was new. It might have even been her first day working the register solo. She moved slowly and had to look up produce codes on everything from asparagus to sweet potatoes. She commented on the things I was buying, too, and this usually bugs me.
But something different happened today. Instead of huffing and secretly rolling my eyes (mature, I know), I started chatting with her. We struck up a great conversation about Swiffer Sweeper cloths and husbands who attempt housework. We laughed about movies and games we loved, and by the end of my order, I felt like I had made a friend!
As I was walking away, she said to me, "It was fun to talk to you."
My eyes misted over. In Wal-mart, of all places!
I replied, "It was fun to talk to you, too," and meant it.
Wal-mart, you really got it right today and I thank you for my new friend.
I love it when a lump of coal becomes a diamond. There's nothing better in the world than when a tulip sprouts up healthy and proud from a pile of manure. A perception shift is always a blessing!
Love to you, and to my new Wal-mart friend,
Sylva
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Duly Grateful
Welcome, Gentle Reader,
Although the song Grateful by John Bucchino is not technically a Christmas song, it is one of my favorites to listen to this time of year. The insightful and inspiring lyrics fully encompass what this blog has been set up to accomplish.
Allow me to share:
And the only thing I can add to that profound wisdom is my emphatic "AMEN!"
Count your blessings, and see what joys you didn't even know you had!
-Sylva Leining
Although the song Grateful by John Bucchino is not technically a Christmas song, it is one of my favorites to listen to this time of year. The insightful and inspiring lyrics fully encompass what this blog has been set up to accomplish.
Allow me to share:
I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep
I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remeber how I'm blessed
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
In a city of strangers
I've got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay in the end
I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me so much happier than keeping score
In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
And the only thing I can add to that profound wisdom is my emphatic "AMEN!"
Count your blessings, and see what joys you didn't even know you had!
-Sylva Leining
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)