Wednesday
Aug042004
Isms
Wednesday, August 4, 2004 at 11:37PM
Enthusiasm. Optimism. Idealism. These are good things, right? I've always thought so; but lately, I'm not so sure. In fact, it seems over the last couple of weeks, my isms have nearly been the death of me. That's death by choking, having bitten off more than I can chew...okay, no whining, I promise--we are devoted to "snappy, sexy, funny!" here, so bitching and bellyaching are not allowed...well, unless it's funny...
I have been working on an article about potty-training--from the dogs' point of view, because I don't want it to be just another Mommy article about potty-training (yawn)...I'll get back to that and roll it out in the next couple of weeks. Potty-training is just one of my mad-cap summer challenges. The child just turned three--it's about time, don't you think? But that's a whole 'nother article...
Enthusiasm: A generally happy little attitude, curiosity, excitement. I love new things. I'm open to all kinds of new ideas. I'm always reading, researching, learning. I start along one path, with a question, usually somewhat related to what I'm doing, trying to find a way to do something better, be it husband, kids, home or other pursuits (which should be limited to The Rebel Housewife at this point)...and then I find something wonderful, kind of related, in a six-degrees-of-separation kind of way, that is SO fun and fascinating--such a great idea!--and I'm off and running with this new NEW thing. That's enthusiasm.
Optimism: The ability to find the silver lining in every cloud; absolute confidence that everything will all work out, somehow, all the time. It IS a good thing, certainly in comparison to raging, complaining, thunder-cloud pessimism. With my personality, I would have driven the SUV off a steep cliff long ago if I didn't have a little optimism (and low-dosage anti-depressants) to get me out of bed every morning. But it's also the optimism that lets the enthusiasm run rampant and gets me into trouble; because I'm so sure I can do anything and everything I set my mind to--that it will all work out--that the little tiny bites I think I'm taking in so many different areas end up growing much larger than I anticipated, and there I am with more than a mouthful, unable to spit or swallow. (Was that too much?)
Idealism: That perfect picture of what life should be like, in all its many facets: how children should get along and love each other and respect their parents; how there should be time in the day to take care of everything and everybody, and still have a few quiet minutes to oneself; how every event, all of our family-time should be "quality time": fun and free of bickering, tantrums and screaming gimmes; how I should look and feel and weigh the same as I did ten years ago...(yes, I know--that last bit was definitely too much!)
You have to understand, we're at the midpoint of the long, hot summer here. The point of no return. As much as we looked forward to the summer and having time off, as much as we tried not to "over-camp" the kids so they could just have fun and enjoy being kids without a dayplanner schedule and social calendar...we're all pretty much sick of each other now! Add to that two big July birthdays (Haleigh's and Tiger's), and the annual "Caldwell July Birthday Fiesta" for 40, complete with margaritas, snow cones, Mexican food, and a jumper for the kids. My mother is not speaking to me. Add to that a full-blown Discovery Toys fundraiser for Tiger's pre-school, which sounded like a great idea back in May, and turned out very well, but truth-be-told was a heck of a lot more work than I admitted to myself, my husband or my fellow Rebel Housewife (and why this column and the Weekly Update are late this week--my fault!).
I've wondered about idealism for a while. It may be good to try and look at the bright side of things, hope and plan for the best possible scenario...that's what I've always done; but by the time you turn 35, you have to acknowledge that reality sometimes, quite often, sucks. Okay, not to be so harsh: reality (usually) doesn't always turn out quite the ideal way in which we might have imagined. And if you are always carrying around this IDEAL of the way things should be, versus the reality of how they really are--even with enthusiasm and optimism, it's hard not to see the little failures and disappointments and get all stressed out. Nothing is ever perfect, and that's okay--I've finally come to understand, and appreciate, that that is exactly the way life is supposed to be.
Just watch out for those isms--they'll get you if you don't watch out!
© 2003 Sherri L. Caldwell and The Rebel Housewife, LLC.
All rights reserved.
I have been working on an article about potty-training--from the dogs' point of view, because I don't want it to be just another Mommy article about potty-training (yawn)...I'll get back to that and roll it out in the next couple of weeks. Potty-training is just one of my mad-cap summer challenges. The child just turned three--it's about time, don't you think? But that's a whole 'nother article...
Enthusiasm: A generally happy little attitude, curiosity, excitement. I love new things. I'm open to all kinds of new ideas. I'm always reading, researching, learning. I start along one path, with a question, usually somewhat related to what I'm doing, trying to find a way to do something better, be it husband, kids, home or other pursuits (which should be limited to The Rebel Housewife at this point)...and then I find something wonderful, kind of related, in a six-degrees-of-separation kind of way, that is SO fun and fascinating--such a great idea!--and I'm off and running with this new NEW thing. That's enthusiasm.
Optimism: The ability to find the silver lining in every cloud; absolute confidence that everything will all work out, somehow, all the time. It IS a good thing, certainly in comparison to raging, complaining, thunder-cloud pessimism. With my personality, I would have driven the SUV off a steep cliff long ago if I didn't have a little optimism (and low-dosage anti-depressants) to get me out of bed every morning. But it's also the optimism that lets the enthusiasm run rampant and gets me into trouble; because I'm so sure I can do anything and everything I set my mind to--that it will all work out--that the little tiny bites I think I'm taking in so many different areas end up growing much larger than I anticipated, and there I am with more than a mouthful, unable to spit or swallow. (Was that too much?)
Idealism: That perfect picture of what life should be like, in all its many facets: how children should get along and love each other and respect their parents; how there should be time in the day to take care of everything and everybody, and still have a few quiet minutes to oneself; how every event, all of our family-time should be "quality time": fun and free of bickering, tantrums and screaming gimmes; how I should look and feel and weigh the same as I did ten years ago...(yes, I know--that last bit was definitely too much!)
You have to understand, we're at the midpoint of the long, hot summer here. The point of no return. As much as we looked forward to the summer and having time off, as much as we tried not to "over-camp" the kids so they could just have fun and enjoy being kids without a dayplanner schedule and social calendar...we're all pretty much sick of each other now! Add to that two big July birthdays (Haleigh's and Tiger's), and the annual "Caldwell July Birthday Fiesta" for 40, complete with margaritas, snow cones, Mexican food, and a jumper for the kids. My mother is not speaking to me. Add to that a full-blown Discovery Toys fundraiser for Tiger's pre-school, which sounded like a great idea back in May, and turned out very well, but truth-be-told was a heck of a lot more work than I admitted to myself, my husband or my fellow Rebel Housewife (and why this column and the Weekly Update are late this week--my fault!).
I've wondered about idealism for a while. It may be good to try and look at the bright side of things, hope and plan for the best possible scenario...that's what I've always done; but by the time you turn 35, you have to acknowledge that reality sometimes, quite often, sucks. Okay, not to be so harsh: reality (usually) doesn't always turn out quite the ideal way in which we might have imagined. And if you are always carrying around this IDEAL of the way things should be, versus the reality of how they really are--even with enthusiasm and optimism, it's hard not to see the little failures and disappointments and get all stressed out. Nothing is ever perfect, and that's okay--I've finally come to understand, and appreciate, that that is exactly the way life is supposed to be.
Just watch out for those isms--they'll get you if you don't watch out!
All rights reserved.