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Life is a rollercoaster… you can close your eyes and scream or you can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride.
I truly think that this is the way that we should be living our lives… and teaching our kids to live their lives.
Every day, we wake up with the chance to have a great day. I was reading a book the other day that said when we overwhelm our schedules, we underwhelm our souls. I think this is true for so many things. When we overwhelm ourselves with worry, stress, impatience… we underwhelm our souls. We lose the chance to see happiness wherever it may lie.
When I feel like I see our kids starting to worry or when I feel my husband’s stress, I ask them “What is the worst thing that could happen?”
If you miss an answer on your test, what’s the worst that could happen? You learn what you missed and you study it again.
If you don’t change the oil in the car tonight, what’s the worse that could happen? You change it tomorrow.
If your child is late somewhere, what’s the worst that could happen? They apologize and accept the punishment (run a few laps at practice, read what they missed for homework)
Now I want you to think about the other side of things…
If you are stuck in traffic because of an accident…. be grateful that you weren’t involved in the accident.
If you are waiting at a doctor’s office because of another patient… be grateful that you aren’t so sick that you are causing the holdup.
If you find that you are struggling in some area… remember that you are still alive, so enjoy this ride that you are on.
Don’t let these days just slip away without seeing the good in them. Soon, our children will be grown and I will look back on these busy days and wish for them.
Make the most of your time – spend time with your kids. Put your hands up & enjoy the ride.
This summer, Mickey and I got season tickets to Carowinds, an amusement park near our house. We have been taking just one or two kids with us at a time and really trying to enjoy that time with them.
Last week, my mom and nephew came with myself and our oldest son. We all love rollercoasters, so this was a great group. Really all of our family can go – there are rides for everyone, so it doesn’t matter the age, but this time, it was just the “thrill-seekers!” 🙂 Our younger kids don’t like rollercoasters like our oldest son does.
However.. on every ride, I would scream while Jack and Dylan would throw their hands up and just enjoy every second of it.
They truly embrace what I want my life to be like… there’s not much you can do once you are on the ride, so just enjoy it. (I do love rollercoasters, even if I am scared at the top of the hill!) So, for now… we must choose our path and then pick to just enjoy the ride.