Why are these three words so difficult to utter?  Today I stumbled upon this short quip that got me to thinking.

A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone. His father came along just then. Noting the boy’s failure, he asked, “Are you using all your strength?”

“Yes, I am,” the little boy said impatiently.

“No, you are not,” the father answered. “I am right here just waiting, and you haven’t asked me to help you.”

Author Unknown

I am like this.  Most of us are.  Why is that?

“Birds fly, fish swim, man thinks and learns. Therefore, we do not need to motivate children into learning by wheedling, bribing or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can into the school and classroom (in our case, into their lives); give children as much help and guidance as they ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest.”

from John Holt in “How Children Learn”

So three weeks after we allowed ye ol’ curriculum to invade our philosophy I no longer feel like a traitor. We have in these 21 days (or so) made it all the way through Week 1 and only Week 1 of the prescribed plan. But oh what we have learned besides. These lesson plans have provided such wonderful jumping off points to other places. We’ve been introduced to interests we didn’t know we had and we’ve spent so much more time exploring together rather than just being together. I have mentioned before my love of lists. To me the lesson plan is a perpetual list that keeps me engaged and gets me motivated each morning. But though I love lists I also love skipping out on them altogether and letting some distraction lead me down a rabbit hole where who knows what will happen. For the most part I’m giving a big thumbs up to this new resource. There is more to tell but LiveWriter just ate my beautifully prepared post and I can’t bring myself to write it all again.

“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach for another is to risk involvement. To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To believe is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their servitude they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.”

William Arthur Ward

Here is to living a life free of fear.  To accepting and embracing each moment for what it is and moving on without regret.

*photo courtesy of Snoober

Elaine over at Blog In My Eye found this intriguing exercise.  Describe your life in exactly six words.  The idea comes from the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure which sprang from this story. 

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

We’re not nearly on par with Hemingway around here but I made an attempt all the same.

*Jumped off barn roof.  Bloody nose.

*Took best friend’s guy.  So sorry.

*Crashed car while naming seven dwarfs.

*Almost married the wrong person.  Oops.

*4 credits from graduating.  Left college.

*Found true love. Growing a family.

Then I realized the task required not a series of six word thoughts but only six words.  Hmm, my life in half a dozen….

“All things work for the good.”

*****************

I don’t know if you’re supposed to tag anyone for this but I would be interested to see what Leslie would come up with because, being the Queen of Haiku and all, she knows how to say more with less.

I’m also curious about Jenni’s perspective.  Someone who boldly uses words like “troglodyte” and “proclivity” will most certainly rock this vocabulary exercise.

And if you feel so inclined, please play along.  You could even go here and submit your entry. 

Who know’s you might get published.

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

Goethe

I saw this quote over at Ann Kroeker’s today. I’ve read it before. It’s one of my favorites. I suppose because I am by nature a list maker. There is something about a list that gives me focus. When I start to stray my lists draw me back to the task at hand. I derive great satisfaction from marking off each item completed and, on the rare occasion I actually finish everything, feel a twinge of regret that my list is empty.

In addition to the quote, Ann issued an invitation. Write your own version of Goethe’s words. The opportunity to create a list? How could I refuse?! Here’s mine.

One ought, every day at least, to receive a sticky kiss from a small child, give a passionate one away to a true love, enjoy a good meal in the company of a friend, smile at a stranger, and if it were possible, spend at least a few moments thinking with an open mind.

A simple quote for today:

It [giving birth] was easier than having a tatoo.

Nicole Appleton

I’ve not had a tatoo so I can’t vouch for the comparison… but this quote got me to thinking about other things that labor is easier than.  If anyone can think of more, please leave a comment.

Labor is easier than:

• having a migraine for 3 full days …. every month.
• sciatica
• running a marathon (I read this one here and it was told to me by a client because I have never run a marathon…yet.)
• losing weight after labor
• keeping your mouth shut when some well-meaning individual tells you for the thousandth time… “If that were my child..”
• being a mom… though not nearly so much fun.

Read more Birth-Day posts here.

but I am taking a bloggy hiatus.  I’ve been reading books like The 4-Hour Work Week, playing Candyland and Hi Ho Cherry-O!, considering the value of the Best Cities for Young Professionals and contemplating the meaning of life.  And let me tell you, all that busy-ness takes it out of a person.  I’ll be back sometime next week….. unless of course I find some answers before then.  Until that day - a quote to tide you over.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

–Albert Einstein

I have some really great Birth-Day posts rolling around in my head about labor and moving and another one about the chicken and the egg but no time to get them down on paper (Can you say “on paper” if the words are actually typed onto a screen?) so for today you get another great quote.  Whether birthing a baby, an idea or a company; Mark Twain knew the secret.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great.

Look ahead to your labor and plan on surrounding yourself with people who know your choices and will support them.  It will make a difference.

Read more Birth-Day posts here.

• For our anniversary date, Will and I drove all around Tulsa spewing carbon into the air, looking at way too big houses and talking about how “green” we are… ’cause we’re so consistent like that.
• While driving around the downtown area we saw a fox… let me repeat that for clarity - downtown!  A little dose of reality for any of you that thought Tulsa was “urban”. 
• We found a Farmer’s Market that runs from 4 to 8 each Thursday (around 6th & Peoria) and while visiting that discovered Centenial Park.  It’s gorgeous!  Besides scads of trees that are fully grown and even more that were recently planted there is an enormous pond with three fountains.  It is sunken down quite a way with canyon-like walls constructed of beautiful Tulsa stone.  The layout of the paths allows you to either walk around the rim of this canyon or descend and follow the perimeter of the pond.  Imagine our surprise when we discovered it’s very utiliarian function.  It is a drainage ditch.  You know, one of those ugly city “rivers” you usually see with sloped cement sides (If you need more imagery think of the car race in “Grease”)  Anyway, I was so pleased to see how Tulsa Parks has so creatively enhanced what could have been a tremendous eyesore that most people will never divine it’s purpose without being told.

For purposes of debt reduction, our dates have become less frequent than they used to be but are somehow more precious because of that.  The value of uninterrupted discussion in a family with little ones cannot be measured.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

from “Through The Looking Glass”

Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.

Henry Ford

I doubt Henry Ford knew a lot about birth but he seems to have inately understood the pursuit and capture of any goal.  Extenuating circumstances aside, YOU are the deciding factor for success.    Your attitude directly affects the outcome of any situation.  This is important to understand during pregnancy, labor and birth, and later as a parent.

Remember the Little Engine That Could?  The toys on the broken train asked three other engines to take them over the mountain before they finally approached the little blue one.  Any of the other three could have easily done it.  They were all quite strong but their poor attitudes kept them from even trying.  I imagine most of us about to give birth for the first time are very much like the little blue engine.  We are unsure of our own strength.  The mountain looks so very tall and having never seen over the summit before we are afraid of what we might find.  Have courage.  You must get over the mountain for the children are waiting.  Your child is waiting.  Gather up some steam and repeat this mantra to yourself, “I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.”

Read more Birth-Day posts here.