Things I wish my mom should have told me

There comes a point in life that you look back and reevaluate everything that is happening to your life. It's so funny to think that we thought that we knew everything, we actually do not! Our moms knew more, and a lot of those I just wish she should have articulated more...
 

I wish my mom should have told me that breastfeeding sucks! and I didn't mean that in a literal way  :). As much as she said that it's an excellent choice for the baby. It is still hard. No wonder how most moms settled with the infant formula. Expensive yet E A S Y. Don't get me wrong though, my kid was fully breastfed for a year but it was, indeed,a challenge.

I wish she should have told me that TO DISCIPLINE A CHILD IS AN ART. If you scream at the kid, you tend to lower their self esteem. If you just talk to them, you feel that they don't seem to understand. If you hit them ( poor baby! :( ), you go to jail. I'm sure there are a lot of ways of how to discipline your child, you just have to pick which one works for you and stick with it.

I wish she should have told me that doing household chores is ain't fun at all. Thinking back, my life seemed to be so easy. Everything was provided for me. My mom was always there to cook, to make sure that everything that I need is ready. She used to iron our clothes, even the towels and bedsheets! Seriously, the towels and the bedsheets? Imagine, home cooked meals, a clean house, neatly pressed clothes (including towels and bedsheets, or curtains!). I remembered her finishing around 9 in the evening, but she still had a smile on her face. How did she do that?

I wish my mom should have told me that my kid will mean the whole world to me. That I would always miss everything that I do to my kid.. cooking for him, giving him a bath, hugging him, carrying him. No matter how tired we are, at the end of the day we are still longing for them.. to kiss them... to hug them.. Our kids are our world! Right now, I'm enjoying the moment that I feel that I'm the best in his own little world, that it's my face that he wanted to see as soon as he wakes up in the morning. There will come a time that somebody will mean the world to him.. will take good care of him. I dread those days to come, but I have to face it when the time comes.


I wish my mom should have told me that life is not easy. You have to work hard, even harder to survive. And at times that life kicks you hard, you have nobody to count on but yourself. Thank God that through the years, my mom taught me to believe in me. To believe that I can do anything, that I can survive anything. That's probably the reason why I can still keep my focus even when the going gets tough. Ciao!

Life's Handbook

This was an email that I received from Busymomstips. Busymomstips is a yahoo group moderated by Charlene Davis, she usually sends tips and recipes for busy moms like most of us. I thought this is actually a nice guide for everyday living.


Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.

5. Make time to pray and connect with GOD.

6. Play more games. Be silly.

7. Read more books than you did in 2008.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day, totally disconnect with noise.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile and BREATHE.



Personality:


11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive, present moment.

13. Don't over do. Keep your limits, learn to say I wish I could, but I will have to say next time.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does, you only think you always have the answers.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, refer to #11.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need, things are not nearly as important as you think they are.

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of His/Her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness; move forward.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating or plotting against anyone. Don't harbor hate and negativity towards others, learn to let it go.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present, stop the cycle today for a better tomorrow.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you...PERIOD! HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE, strive to make it every day.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more, learn to find joy in the everyday.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree, WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME, DIVERSITY MAKES THIS WORLD BEAUTIFUL!

25. When you find yourself in deep water- learn to seal your lips and be silent, otherwise you may drown.



Society:

25. Call your family often, truly connect with loved ones.

26. Each day make a sincere effort to give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything, it will set you free.

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6, they are your best Teachers.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day. Say the good things you are thinking out loud.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay deeply connected.



Life:

32. Do the right thing! You know what it is.

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful... simplify.

34. GOD heals everything.. in HIS time not yours, hand it over and move forward.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change and change will make you stronger, wiser and a better Teacher at 70.

36. No matter how you feel, get up, get dressed, show up and breathe.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Don't preach to people, they won't hear you. BE A LIVING EXAMPLE, your message will be heard loud and clear! Refer to #14.

40. Your inner most desire is always to be happy. So, be happy!!! You will live longer, better and your peers will always be by your side loving you till the end which is really just the beginning.