Crazy Life

Ever hear a song that just catches you at the right moment, like you were meant to hear that song at that time?

On my Tuesday ride home from work, I was listening to the Prayer of a Common Man CD by Phil Vassar, one I've listened to many times before. Usually I just skip around to my favorite songs but this time, I let it play straight through to the last song, called Crazy Life. This song really struck me, and I found myself playing it over and over again, at least 1/2 dozen times. (I have a really long commute!)

It's a sweet ballad with a catchy melody and I wanted to share it here. It reminds me that even though life is hectic and crazy sometimes, it's all about choice... it's all about perspective... it's all about balance. This is my new theme song, I think!

I rise and stumble from the bed

It wakes the worries in my head

And I pour myself a bowl of Cheerios

I think about the good and the bad

The happiness outweighs the sad

And the balance evens out the highs and lows

Today, there's lessons to be learned

There's progress to be made

Tomorrow, I can say, "I'm a little older and wiser."

.

It's a crazy life, a crazy life

It keeps you on your toes

You never know what lies in store for you

Or where it's gonna go

Hellos, goodbyes, you laugh, you cry

You're free to pick and choose, you win and lose

You're either wrong or right

Yeah, it's a crazy life

.

I think of lovers come and gone

And people I've depended on

And I subtract the pleasure from the cost

Except for maybe two or three

They've drifted far away from me

Or maybe I'm the one who's gotten lost

But you can never go back home, no matter how hard you try

And once you've said, "goodbye."You've said it all and it's over

.

It's a crazy life, a crazy life

It keeps you on your toes

You never know what lies in store for you

Or where it's gonna go

Hellos, goodbyes, you laugh, you cry

You're free to pick and choose, you win and lose

You're either wrong or right

Yeah, it's a crazy life

.

Thanks for letting me share my crazy life with all of you!

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: Mom was right

She always told me, "You won't ever be able to understand until you have kids of your own." Was she right or what?!?

Today I dropped Rachel off at Kindergarten, her first day. She's been in daycare / pre-school for 3 years, but my husband always did the dropping off in the past.

She was a bit nervous, but no tears. I, on the other hand, am on my 2nd bag of chocolate, 3rd box of tissues, and I'm feverishly tearing apart my office building looking for a bottle of wine.

Rachel is ready for this, has been for years. I just wish I was...

Sometimes, though, we have to let go a little bit. We have to look at their smile and know they'll be OK. We have to trust that we did our Parent job. In my heart, I know I did... and here's my proof:

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

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Blessings,

Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: Quote of the Week

Don't worry, life is good... work is a thorn in my side this week, though. A friend of mine sent me a card with this quote on the front, sums up my week perfectly and brings a smile to my face:

"You know it was a good day if you didn't bite or hit anyone."
by Nathanial Parizek, age 4

Sometimes, it's the little things...

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: 7 Seconds

Recently, my husband, two daughters and I took a trip to New York to visit my family. My younger daughter did not have a ticket, she sat on my lap during the plane ride. I've flown close to 500 times (seriously!) and I've heard the "important announcements in the event of an emergency" so many times that I pretty much don't listen to them anymore. However, there's one that always sticks in my head.

"In the event that the cabin experiences a sudden change in pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. The bag will not inflate even though oxygen is flowing. Please secure your own mask before assisting others."

Once I had kids, this one always made me chuckle. Yeah, right, I'm going to put on my own mask before my kids'. Sure. I'm their MOTHER! Of course I'm going to put theirs on first, make sure they are OK, and then tend to mine. Silly flight attendant!

This time, though, one of the flight attendants made sure to point out that the baby and I should sit on the left side of the plane, there were 3 masks on that side (only 2 seats) so I should sit there since I may need one for the baby. He also proceeded to remind me that I should secure my own mask first, since it only takes 7 seconds without oxygen before an "altered state of consciousness" will begin, at which point I'd be less able to help my daughter.

Seven seconds. Wow. That's not very long. It got me to thinking....

I tend to go through life worrying about how to help everyone else. What can I do? What can I give? How can I help? How do I make sure that everyone else is taken care of? If there happens to be a little something left over for me, that's great, but certainly the "everyone elses" in my life come first. Always have. And hey, shouldn't they?

Seven seconds. That's not very long.

If I neglect myself, within 7 seconds I could start to become unable to help my baby girl. I want to believe that I can get her mask on first and then my own in those 7 seconds. But what if I can't? Then I've hurt both of us by not putting myself first. Wow. In this case, taking care of myself first is the only way to make sure I can take care of her as well as I want to, as well as I need to.

That's fine on an airplane, but what about the rest of my life? Though I'm sure he wasn't looking to instill a life lesson, that flight attendant made a big impact. I spend so much time and energy focusing on everyone else, that I may (unknowingly and unintentionally) be putting myself into an "altered state." Not enough sleep. Not enough time. Not enough energy. When I'm dragging, can I really help others the way I want to, the way I need to?

Putting my own mask on first only takes a few seconds, but it could make all the difference. Just like taking care of myself first doesn't have to take long, but could make a huge difference in my ability to be happy, healthy, and therefore, take care of others to the true best of my abilities.

No, I'm not planning a spa getaway or a shopping spree or lazy afternoon naps. But next time I want a pedicure, I'm not going to feel like I don't deserve it. Instead, I'll go to the local nail place, let them massage my feet and make my toes pretty for an hour, and come home a bit recharged, relaxed, and feeling good so I can be in a better mental place to do what I love to do best -- take care of others.

Mommy first, Mommy always, forever and ever, Amen. But I'm learning (slowly but surely!) that to the best I can be for others, I need to be the best I can be for me, first.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: Ladybugs' First Ever Bloggy Award!

Muchas gracias to my friend Julie over at The Surrendered Scribe, who just passed on to me my first ever bloggy award for Dancing with Ladybugs!

This is the Arte Y Pico award and it is given to those who inspire others with their creative energy and talents in writing, artwork, design or contributions to the blogging community. I'll be the first to look funny at Julie for considering me in any of these categories, but I'm honored nonetheless!

I've been asked to pass this on to 5 other bloggers that inspire me. Problem is, there are too many to choose from, I couldn't possibly narrow the list to five. Instead, I'm going to put my own twist on this. Instead of me picking five, I'd like each of you to pick one. Choose the blog which most inspires you with creative energy and talents. Point them over here and tell them that this award is for them. I want YOU to pass on this award, and please leave a post to tell me who you're awarding this to, so I can add them to my list of "must read" blogs.

Go on, now, brighten someone's day!

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: 5 Minutes for Special Needs

Every parent knows that raising children can be a challenge. Even the healthiest, most "by the book" kids require a lot of attention, care, patience and love. Every parent needs support from time to time, in one form or another. When you're the parent of a special needs child, sometimes the level of support or kind of support is a little bit different.

5 Minutes for Special Needs provides just such a forum for this kind of support, for parents of special needs children to share their stories, experiences, advice, heartbreaks and triumphs. For parents who don't have special needs kids, it's a site to learn more about some of the challenges that our family, friends, or kids' friends may be facing. No pity allowed over there -- they know that every kid is a kid and every parent is a parent, and "special needs" or not will never change that.

I encourage you to check out the site, to add the button to your sidebar, and to spread the word. Take a minute to leave a comment, let them know you're reading. There are lots of contributors on the site, so the content is fresh and different all the time. 5 minutes is all it takes to make a difference.

Support. Insight. Inspiration. You'll find it all there.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: Holly's Fund

I'm sure we've all been personally impacted in one way or another by "the big C" -- Cancer. We all know someone who has battled this vicious disease, and we know that many times, the outcome is not as we have prayed it to be. I've lost someone very close to me (pancreatic cancer) and during the illness and the fight, it's hard to know what to say, what to do, how to help.

Today's post is about a young man named Cody, who is going through the same thing right now. A friend of his mom's, Holly, is battling Stage 3 breast cancer. With no insurance to help her out with treatments and 2 sons to raise, the battle's that much harder.

Cody wanted to help, to make a difference. So he built a website, and he asked for support. He knows that we all have our own responsibilities and obligations and that we can't all make a monetary donation, but he also knows the power of community when it comes to bloggers, and so he offers other options to support Holly in her battle:

Your donation doesn't have to be much, and in fact does not have to be monetary at all. Prayer, moral support and your words of encouragement are greatly welcomed. We will make sure that she hears what you have to say. Spreading the word and sending this website to others around you is also a great way to help Holly get the support she needs in this time. And no donation is too small. Just think about it, the state of Missouri alone has a population over 5,000,000 people, if just 10 percent of them decided that they wanted to help Holly and donate a single dollar she would have more than enough to support her family, pay the medical bills, and help many others in a similar situation.

This blog is not about asking for money. In no way does it intend to say that Holly's battle is any harder than one you or a loved one may be going through. Instead, this post is to highlight an amazing young man named Cody, who did what he knew how to do to support a friend in need, and who's making a difference to Holly, to her family, and to the world with his big heart and many talents.

Go over and read about Holly, and say a little prayer for her while you're waiting for the page to load. Every one of them makes a difference. http://www.hollysfund.com/

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat

Wildcard Wednesday: Work will Wait

One of the (many) great things about my "day job" is the Work Hard, Play Hard mentality. I put in a lot of hours, face a lot of challenges, but when it comes to fun, there's plenty of that, too. It's been a crazy couple of weeks at work and when I remembered late on Monday afternoon that Tuesday afternoon was an offsite team-building event, I was a little ticked off to lose an entire afternoon when I had so much work to do and so many (already) impossible deadlines this week.

But , I'm a team player, I committed to going, so I went. And I'm soooooo glad I did!

I've lived in South Florida for over 7 years but "airboat ride" never struck me as something I felt the need to do. But, someone else picked it and someone else paid for it, so airboat ride it was!

We trolled around the Everglades for 2 hours. Sometimes slowly, sometimes as fast as 65mph. Did you know an airboat can do donuts? Wish I had video of that!

We found a nest of about 15 baby alligators, 1 & 2 years old, under 2 feet long. They were adorable! We only saw one big one, but she was gorgeous. I named her Allie:


According to our Captain, she's about 15-20 years old and about 8 feet long. I know this picture looks scary, but she was so beautiful floating through the water. It was all I could do not to reach down and pet her, actually! Our (much braver) boat captain gave her a pat on the nose, which is what made her open her mouth... she wasn't really snapping at us. In fact, I think she was enjoying all the attention!

Anyway... there is a point...

Even on the days that the to-do list seems longest, the deadlines the tightest, the chores the most daunting... we all need to take a break from time to time and just do something fun. Today, give yourself a break. Put your feet up. Visit a friend for tea. Better yet, have a tea party with your kids. Go to the park. Explore a new neighborhood. The emails will wait, so will the laundry. Getting the work out of the way feels good, but you never know when you might miss a moment like Allie.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~

Blessings,
Kat