It's a pretty cool "thing" to be reading a story to your child and find that YOU are learning the lesson from the story. This happened to me tonight, while reading Katie a new book we just received from our September Scholastic Book Club order. The book is called "Wemberly Worried" and if you aren't familar with it, take a look at it here. It is a lovely little story about Wemberly the Mouse, who worries about EVERYTHING - things she can't control, things that don't really matter, big things, little things, EVERYTHING.The story goes on that her newest and biggest worry was starting school. OH. . . the worries that encompass poor Wemberly with that one. "What if no one else has spots? What if no one else wears stripes? What if no one else brings a doll? What if the teacher is mean? What if the room smells bad?" As Wemberly experiences her first moments in the school, she meets Jewel, who wears stripes, brings a doll, and seems to be a kindred spirit for Wemberly. The two become fast friends and even though Wemberly still worries . . . she "worries sometimes even less" now that she has her friend Jewel. So sweet.
Reading this story to Katie made me realize that I, too, am a bit of a worry wart. Always have been, I think. But it has really manifested since becoming a homeowner, and then MAGNIFIED 1,000 x's when becoming a Mom. I am a worrier. Phil is constantly trying to put my mind at ease, but it's not always an easy task. My worries this week: Will I do well in a presentation I have at work? Will I get to Katie's soccer practice on time? Will I finish that "30 Random photos" Scrapbook project I started (yes, seriously, worrying about it)? Will the antibiotics start to kick in and finally help Ellie feel better? Will Phil get his proposal done for work on time? When am I going to get the girls fall clothes out? When am I going to get Ellie potty trained? and on and on and on. . .
What is most interesting to me is that when I really sit and write down what I am worrying about - I realize that only 1 item is something that really warrants a "worry" (Ellie feeling better). All the others . . . . truthfully . . . . are things that either are completely out of my control, are things that I have absolutely nothing to do with, or are things that honestly just don't matter (I mean, seriously, will the Soccer coach yell at me if we are 5 minutes LATE? Really? Of course not. So, WHY am I worrying?) All the time and energy I am putting into these worries, would be much better spent on something else. My mom actually told me something last week that has been stuck in my head since she said it. She said that when faced with a challenging time in life, you should think about what it is that is bothering you and do three things: 1) Ask yourself if you can change it and 2)If you can, then do it (make the change) and 3) If you can't, then walk away from it.
I think this is a good time to sit down and really evaluate where my energy is going, and do some major "Worry Clean-Up". I'm going to turn this into a "Worry Free" zone. Join me, will you? Together, let's get the worry OUT!
Reading this story to Katie made me realize that I, too, am a bit of a worry wart. Always have been, I think. But it has really manifested since becoming a homeowner, and then MAGNIFIED 1,000 x's when becoming a Mom. I am a worrier. Phil is constantly trying to put my mind at ease, but it's not always an easy task. My worries this week: Will I do well in a presentation I have at work? Will I get to Katie's soccer practice on time? Will I finish that "30 Random photos" Scrapbook project I started (yes, seriously, worrying about it)? Will the antibiotics start to kick in and finally help Ellie feel better? Will Phil get his proposal done for work on time? When am I going to get the girls fall clothes out? When am I going to get Ellie potty trained? and on and on and on. . .
What is most interesting to me is that when I really sit and write down what I am worrying about - I realize that only 1 item is something that really warrants a "worry" (Ellie feeling better). All the others . . . . truthfully . . . . are things that either are completely out of my control, are things that I have absolutely nothing to do with, or are things that honestly just don't matter (I mean, seriously, will the Soccer coach yell at me if we are 5 minutes LATE? Really? Of course not. So, WHY am I worrying?) All the time and energy I am putting into these worries, would be much better spent on something else. My mom actually told me something last week that has been stuck in my head since she said it. She said that when faced with a challenging time in life, you should think about what it is that is bothering you and do three things: 1) Ask yourself if you can change it and 2)If you can, then do it (make the change) and 3) If you can't, then walk away from it.
I think this is a good time to sit down and really evaluate where my energy is going, and do some major "Worry Clean-Up". I'm going to turn this into a "Worry Free" zone. Join me, will you? Together, let's get the worry OUT!
Growing up, we had this prayer displayed in our home. I think all of us kids memorized it, just because it was up on the wall. Because my parents were involved with AA and Al-anon and seemed to spend more time at those meetings than what I deemed necessary (pretty cocky, eh???), I grew up resenting the prayer (it's my understanding the prayer is said at the beginning of every meeting). But as an adult, I came to realize how incredibly empowering it was. Helped me through quite a bit when my kids were younger, when I was going through a divorce, etc. The prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Simple but powerful.
ReplyDeleteMom's right on this one, Leanne. She just says it without the prayer!!