Five Lessons Learned in October
Can you believe it’s already November 1st? Where did October go? I think I blinked and missed it! October was a whirlwind of birthdays, school field trips, and general chaos. But as busy as I was, I still had time to learn a few things:
1) There’s a reason why it’s called a 31 day writing challenge. I am so happy that I decided to join in the 31 day writing challenge but I’m SO relieved that it’s done. When I made the decision to participate in the challenge, I figured it would be tough. But I didn’t realize how much discipline it would take to sit down every single day and try to write something that was even halfway worth reading. Yes, it was definitely a challenge. And it served as a reminder that when someone tells you something is going to be a challenge, you best believe them!
2) I really shouldn’t buy any Halloween candy until closer to the day of Halloween. I thought I was being smart when I waited until the week before Halloween to buy the Halloween candy. I thought I was being even smarter by putting it on the top shelf of our pantry closet, hidden in a Target bag…the whole “out of sight, out of mind” thing. I would like to tell you that I never opened a single bag until last night. I would like to tell you that I didn’t even remember it was there. I would like to tell you that I didn’t pick out and eat every single Peanut Butter Snickers bar from that really big variety bag. I would like to tell you all those things, but then I would be lying. Which leads me to lesson #3…
3) Peanut Butter Snickers Bars may just be my new favorite candy bar. Sorry Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but I think I have a new love. I know we have a long history and I feel a little guilty that I cheated on you with the PB Snickers. But now I think there’s no going back. (Okay, that’s not true since M and B both gave me all their Reese’s PB cups due to the fact that they don’t like peanut butter. Who doesn’t like peanut butter? It sort of makes me wonder if they really are my daughters….but I digress.) Okay Reese’s PB Cups and PB Snickers Bars, maybe there’s room enough in my heart for both of you.
4) Quozio is cool! As you may have figured out, I love quotes. I love reading them and I love sharing them. So I was excited to find out about Quozio! Quozio is a free site that takes your favorite quote and turns it into an image that you can share on Facebook, Pinterest, or anywhere else on the web (just like I did at the top of this post). You type in the quote on their site, then pick the style and image you like best. Then share it with your friends and followers. Quick, easy, and free! Love it!
5) I’m officially embarrassing to my 11-year-old son. I knew this day would come, but I still wasn’t quite prepared for it. My son is five years older than his sisters, which means that they were born the year he started Kindergarten. That made it nearly impossible for me to volunteer at his school or chaperone field trips. Until now. Now the girls are in Kindergarten, which means I have plenty of time to volunteer at school, chaperone field trips, and make myself generally more available to him and his teachers. He brought home a field trip letter a few weeks ago asking for chaperones. I was thrilled! I said, “D, your teacher is looking for chaperones for the field trip. I’m available and I thought I would volunteer.” D looked at me, paused, and then said, “No Mom, I don’t think so.” I was shocked! What?! How could he NOT want me to chaperone! Impossible! “D, maybe you misheard me. I said I can chaperone your field trip. I couldn’t go before because of your sisters, but now I can! I can chaperone!” He paused again, looked me right in the eyes, and said, “No Mom. You can’t chaperone my field trip. That would be embarrassing.” Yes, those were his exact words. He then went back to building his Lego ships and I was left to piece my broken ego back together. I guess I must face facts…I’m officially embarrassing. Guess I better volunteer and chaperone the heck out of the girls now, before I’m too embarrassing for them too!
So that’s what I learned in October. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to dig through the kids’ bowls of Halloween candy to see if they picked up any more Peanut Butter Snickers Bars while trick-or-treating last night. I think D might be hiding a few at the bottom of his candy bowl. I may be embarrassing, but I’m not stupid!
