Listening

One of my sons, "Missionary Guy," enjoyed talking...A LOT...when he was young. From the minute he got up every day until he went to sleep at night, he had lots of stories and things to say. The fact that he was competing with three older brothers may have had something to do with it, but I'm pretty sure he just loved hearing himself talk.

Sadly, I did not always pay attention to what he was saying...I know it was wrong. In my defense, if you constantly hear something, sometimes you tune it out so you can hear something else. I developed the habit of saying, "Uh-huh" while he told his stories so it sounded like I was listening. (I know, your opinion of me is getting worse by the minute. Stay with the story...there's a point.)

One day we were in the grocery store, and he was talking away. I was intent on getting the shopping done. I was walking along pushing the cart, Missionary Guy was talking continually, and I was saying, "Uh-huh" over and over. You get the picture, right? You can probably guess what happened next...

A lady walked up behind me and said, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."

Was she JOKING? I felt like saying, "Mind your own business, lady. You have no idea how long I've been listening to this story." But I just smiled, and then...

Missionary Guy put his precious little hands on my cheeks, turned my face towards his and said, "Listen to my words." I probably don't need to write anything else, but...

In this busy world with lots of things vying for our attention, sometimes we need to take time to stop what we're doing, look at our most important people, and listen to their words.

Here's a picture of Missionary Guy telling Ganmama, "Listen to my words." (I feel a little better knowing that sometimes even she needed a reminder!)

Time management...the myth...

I know everyone thinks their grandchildren are the cutest children alive...but mine really are. You will agree if you keep reading, because I'm going to tell you a story about "Goldilocks," and after the story I'll post a picture so you can see for yourself!

Goldilocks and I were sitting at my table talking about nonsensical things with her mother (who is pretty cute herself.) Goldilocks is two, and she's figuring lots of things out...like who I really am.

It's not possible that I'm her Daddy's mother because her mother is also his mother...(not to say her mother is bossy or ever tells her daddy what to do...I'm sure it's just that in her mind, mothers live with their children.) Anyway, after a little banter back and forth about that, I asked...

"How old are you anyway?"

Goldilocks: "One."

Her mother: "You're two now, remember?"

Goldilocks: "Oh, yeah...I six!"

Me: "I think you're two."

Goldilocks: "No, I six."

Me: "I thought you were two."

Goldilocks: "I six," then pointing to her mother..."You forty."

We all laughed, but I'm pretty sure her mother was just being a good sport. Me, too, for that matter. Need I say, I am not old enough to have a son married to a forty-year-old girl!

Now, every story should have a point, right? Here's the point. I've spent lots of time preparing for a presentation I'm doing for city employees on "time management." (Sounds like the management is experiencing a bit of frustration with some of their employees, doesn't it?) Here's the thing...time management is a myth. You cannot manage time. I read a great book called "Time Traps" by Todd Duncan that delves deeply into this subject. What can you really manage?

You can manage the tasks and things you do with your time. Time is both unchanging and fixed. So don't frustrate yourself trying to manage it. Smile a lot...even let yourself laugh...enjoy the time you've been given. Spend it wisely...don't wish away your life. Enjoy your twenties...because before you know it, you'll be forty!

A book without pictures is sometimes boring, so here's a picture of me making good use of my time in the hammock with Goldilocks!

Smiling

People have told me for years, "You should write a book. You have so many funny experiences to share." I don't know that I could write a book worth reading, but I continue to have experiences that make me laugh. My hope is that reading one of the posts on this blog will make you smile and help you remember the fun times in your life.

Let me start with a few disclaimers:

1. The stories I write may have a point, but it is NEVER my point to offend or criticize anyone.
2. This blog isn't just about my children and grandchildren. If I know you well and have a funny experience with you or your children, I may write about it...unless you ask me not to...names will be changed randomly.
3. The things I write are just my take on things...I'm often wrong...you don't need to tell me!

And now, here's a sample of what's to come...

My sister had an important trip to take, so I flew to her town to keep her four children for a little over a week. Now, I was a little concerned about how things would go, since it has been many years since I had four kids in the house...not to mention the fact that her almost-tw0-year-old son ran and hid every time he saw me when I came to visit. But you can do anything for a week, right? So off I went.

Can I just say that things have changed since my boys were young? I did my best to keep up. Every time we got in the car the youngest two started begging me to turn on the DVD. All the while the older two are talking to me and to each other. I was intent on making sure everyone was safely buckled in, learning to operate my sister's car and getting the right address to pop up on the GPS...hoping we'd get to where we were going on time. Maybe words can't properly convey that I was a little stressed...

Enough of the explanations. Here's how the conversation went...Mister: "Turn on the DVD." Other Mister: "Onnnnnnn!" Me: "We're not going to turn it on right now. We're only going to the school" Mister: "But I want to watch a movie. (To sister) "Will you turn it on?" Me: "No, we're not going to turn it on. I'm old. I really enjoy peace and quiet sometimes." Mister: "I like peace and noisy!" Me: "The Lord can't speak to us if it's noisy all the time. Sometimes we need to be quiet and listen."

I talk to the girls until we arrive at the school. I drop them off and we're on our way home. 10 minutes have probably passed. Mister has been very quiet, but finally he can take it no longer. He says, "Aunt Martha, I've been quiet for 30 minutes and the Lord hasn't said anything yet!!!"

I know...it's funny. But I ask you, have you ever felt like that?