Morning Madness....Interrupted!

In the frenzy of activity that I like to call my "morning routine," I simultaneously catch up on news while brushing my teeth and picking dog hair off the bathroom floor with my toes.  Zipping through the upstairs of my home, I make my bed, start a load of laundry, open the blinds, wipe down the bathroom sink and nag my children to "makeyourbedsbrushyourteeththrowyourclothesinthelaundryroomandhurrydownstairs!"

As I sip my coffee, and return a few emails on my handheld slavemaster, I begin with the dog food, cat food, children's breakfast routine.  My children think cold cereal is the equivalent of child abuse, so that's usually not an option.  When I was emulating June Cleaver, I conditioned them to expect a warm item from the whole grain group, a fresh fruit, a warm protein item such as eggs or vegetarian sausage, and organic skim milk; these expectations die hard, though I try my hardest.  "Want cold pizza?"

"No thanks," (in unison, no less!)

"How about a waffle with ice cream on it?"

"Can we have hot oatmeal with raisins and peanut butter and mini chocolate chips?"

"Sure," I say as I get out all the necessary items.  In all fairness, my children are right beside me, setting the table, brushing hair, making their own lunches, helping with the pets....they really are great.  They know I've been working my large squishy you-know-what off, and are very supportive.

They also know how to crack through my stress.  As I furrow my botoxed brow, running through my crazy busy day, my son comes up to me, holding our cat, Higgins, in the air toward me, cupped by his two hands.  In his absolute goofiest voice, he says, "Look, Mommy!  A stress ball!  And it's furry! Squeeze it!"
I laughed about that several times today, feeling very grateful to be surrounded with such love, warmth, humor and flat-out silliness.

And then I think, "I have to take at least some responsibility for what surrounds me."  Because I think who we are, how we act, our approach to life invites the same.  Being optimistic, positive, cheerful, finding the joy in the right now, attracts people who are similar.  And it molds the moldable ones.

We can't control other people.  We can't control the economy or the news.  We can control our reactions.  We can make a conscious effort to maintain perspective, and to remain positive.  Life is not always easy.  But the hardest parts usually deliver the most meaningful messages.  And learning to live with the discomfort, or even learning to find humor in the face of difficulty, makes right now much more bearable.  And right now is called The Present for a reason.