"I GET TO"

 I admit I am a blog lover! I love to be given a glimpse of other people's lives. Most of the time it makes me feel normal....because it is SO easy to not feel normal in this crazy world. This morning I was doing my daily blog roll reading and came across a post that reminded me that I need to have an "I Get To" attitude.

So often I see something on one of the blogs out there that can make me jealous, sad, happy, creative or any other adjective out there and I then compare myself to that Momma, or friend, or complete stranger. I wonder things like, "Wish I had furniture like that in my house", "Wonder where I can get THAT for my kid!", "If I only had one of those, that paint color, that much time on my hands, that organized craft room".....the list goes on and on.

Now, don't get me wrong. These feelings can lead to good, like, "I wonder who I can help in my community?" or "That's a great idea for a family night game!". I am just talking about how easy it is to have the "I Have To" attitude. You know this attitude: "I HAVE TO watch the kids, I HAVE TO fix dinner again, I HAVE TO do seventeen loads of laundry each week, WE HAVE TO go to church tomorrow, so no, I cant go shopping with you. Its a contagious way of thinking really and a lot of times it stems from discontent that is placed in our minds when we see things that others have.

So, in order to declutter this from my brain I have chosen to delete many blogs that I read. Blogs that made me jealous were first to go! Then blogs that were often negative were next....the authors of these blogs weren't setting out to discourage but negativity breeds the like and I can no longer be a part of that. I must say it was a wonderful feeling of freedom to let these things go. I recommend it to anyone really.

So, now I have room for a new attitude! The attitude of "I GET TO"...simply replace my earlier statements with this phrase and suddenly life has a whole new meaning. I practiced this today and this is what I can up with: I GET TO stay home with three children, all of whom have a fever and a terrible cold. I GET TO rummage around the pantry and come up with another meal to cook for these guys. I GET TO do laundry with a 3 year old and a one year old every night. I GET TO clean up the house for the one thousandth time tonight.

It can sound silly I know, but when you say it this way your brain, because it is not a normal way of thinking, automatically thinks of the inverse....what if I didn't GET TO do any of those things? What if I didn't have kids who longed for hugs and kisses when they had fevers? What if I didn't have food in my pantry to rummage through? You get the point. It's an attitude adjustment and I am thankful for it. It's going to take some work and some getting used to but I can do anything I put my mind to right? I GET TO make this change in my life and the lives of my children.

It's Back To The Keyboard For Me

Ok, it has been too long! Too long since I have poured my soul out onto "paper". It's been too long since I have had ONE place to share everything that is important to me. It's been too long since I journaled about the mundane and the extraordinary. But, now I can.....I have bravely scoured through templates for my blog and selected the one that personifies me the best. The Chevron...although wildly popular now I have always been fond of this "print". It reflects the ups and downs in my life and still shows that through them all there is a pattern and a plan and the road still goes the same way, one just might have to take a few turns to get there.

So, I bring you The Wogan Family Blog where The Rest Is Still Unwritten.....