"Ah - Wendy. The checkbook is overdrawn!"
"Mom! I need pit stick - can you find the
green Twist-Up kind?"
"Lip balm! Mine are sore and cracked!"
"Game in Hackensack Saturday. Just scheduled."
"You put my sweatshirt in the dryer, didn't you? It shrunk. Can you get me a new one?"
Yes! Those "Oh, crap!" moments to which this mom rides the wave and replies:
"I've done the research and found the bank is still taking out $227.47 each month for a car loan that's been paid off since July. Now do you see why I was hesitant about an automatic with-drawl loan? I'll handle it..."
"Sure, I'll spend 10 minutes in the hygiene aisle ruling out the new Twist-Up body spray, gel and roll-on (all in deodorant form) until I finally locate the solid antiperspirant!"
"Ah, you lost the three lip balms I bought you last winter? Well... the local market carries a beeswax kind with the school logo on it for $2. What? You don't have two bucks? Well... I'll see what I can do when I run in to mail the seven bills I have to send out."
"Flag football THIS Saturday morning in a town an hour away?! That's NOT happenin'! Dad signed up the WHOLE family to work at the church Scandinavian supper all day!"
"Sweatshirt? Yes... I suppose I did put it in the dryer. Sorry. I only do five laundry loads a day, and with five people, it's hard to remember who's what gets dried and who's gets hung up. You'll have to hang on with the replacement, I just spent $30 getting you non-fishing-logo T-shirts last week to stop your friends' teasing."
"Sure, I'll spend 10 minutes in the hygiene aisle ruling out the new Twist-Up body spray, gel and roll-on (all in deodorant form) until I finally locate the solid antiperspirant!"
"Ah, you lost the three lip balms I bought you last winter? Well... the local market carries a beeswax kind with the school logo on it for $2. What? You don't have two bucks? Well... I'll see what I can do when I run in to mail the seven bills I have to send out."
"Flag football THIS Saturday morning in a town an hour away?! That's NOT happenin'! Dad signed up the WHOLE family to work at the church Scandinavian supper all day!"
"Sweatshirt? Yes... I suppose I did put it in the dryer. Sorry. I only do five laundry loads a day, and with five people, it's hard to remember who's what gets dried and who's gets hung up. You'll have to hang on with the replacement, I just spent $30 getting you non-fishing-logo T-shirts last week to stop your friends' teasing."
Sigh... One might say: I've suffered plenty when it comes to being good at ONE thing. In fact, those T-shirts I mentioned are ones I - just now - pulled out of the DRYER. I can hardly wait until Aaron gets home so I can say, "Sorry, honey. I shrunk your clothes again!"
If there's ONE Thing these lessons are teaching me, it's FORGIVENESS - of myself, my family and others!
Today I fully forgive my own mother for an "oops" moment that until this very moment I never understood. She washed, dried and shrunk the off-white virgin-wool v-neck sweater which I'd chosen after winning a gift certificate from a clothing store that offered the prize to the county 4-H member with the best conservation records. I wore the $30 sweater - maybe twice - before it became felted to toddler size.
I got over the loss but couldn't fathom why someone would stick a wool sweater in the dryer. Today,
I GET IT! (I'm constantly shrinking my kids' clothes.) We are all human and make mistakes.
Dan and I have just three!
I am hopeful.
Today I understand The ONE Thing I can work to be good at is FORGIVENESS, something that - by its very nature -
requires LETTING GO!
