Frankie and the wonderfully awesome, fabulous, very good day!

“This is a really great day, Mom,” my son announced to me as we were driving home from the grocery store with a few odd grocery items we needed for our ‘date night’ project of baking cinnamon rolls. The words were music to my ears. For every great day my son has, there are five bad ones. There is a really great children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst (Author), Ray Cruz (Illustrator). I am reminded of this book when son is having one of what he calls his ‘worst days’.

Don’t get me wrong. My son has a GREAT LIFE! I have often worried that he just doesn’t have the perspective to realize it. “There are starving children in Africa who would love those (fill in the blank)” is a phrase that escapes my mouth more often than I would like to admit. There are many instances, when I hear my son utter the words, “This has been the worst day of my life” that I pray for God to grant him a little ‘perspective.’ Today, I was blessed enough to discover that his nine year-old mind is getting it.

As I mentioned, we were beginning our date night. It’s a tradition my husband and I began when our kids were two and three, and it has survived our busy chaotic schedules without interruption every Wednesday night since then. It’s a tradition that trumps even the biggest holidays like Christmas and Halloween in our family. We alternate children and let them choose the events of their special evening. It was my night with my son. He was in one of his chatty moods which usually indicates that things are going great.

I asked him why it was such a good day. “Well, I got to garden and cook on Runescape.com, I had a good day in school, my tomato plants finally sprouted, I got more plants to plant in my garden, and we’re going to make cinnamon roles on date night and watch the American Idol finals. It’s just a really great day!” he said.

I love the fact that his ‘perfect day’ involved the simple pleasures of life. When I really think about it, mine are too—breakfast in bed, a long walk in the morning with only my iPod and the dog, yoga, time with the family, an afternoon under an umbrella on a blanket at the beach with a good book, a simple dinner watching the sun set, and sitting by the campfire with my husband drinking a great glass of wine. That’s my perfect day. It’s true that the best things in life are free, and yet it took me 40+ years to discover what my son understands so clearly at nine. (And I thought he was the one who needed perspective).

Then, in a sort of nine year old encore, he said this in response to yet another piece of depressing news resounding from the radio about the state of the economy. “Mom, in some ways I think this bad economy was a gift from God. It’s making people more aware of the things that they do have. Its making them find ways to save money and scale back on stuff that they don’t need. When they have to take care of things themselves, and find simpler ways to do things, that’s good. Sometimes I think God wanted it… No, I know He made it happen that way so that we would all realize what is important. And I think some of the crazy stuff going on with the politicians is making people remember some of the important things about our country and the way our Founding Fathers wanted it to be. I mean, it’s bad because I know some people are really hurting and losing their jobs and stuff. But, if they can just stick it out, they’ll see that this is really a great thing. They’ll be happier when it’s all over.”

This is what he said, almost verbatim. And I was stunned…Stunned at his perception and interpretation of world events. Stunned that he could see such trying times as an opportunity from God. Stunned at his awareness of the gift of change. Stunned that at nine years old he understands that the simple pleasures are the most important things in life. And relieved, that in all his pessimism, he can recognize and appreciate a wonderfully awesome, fabulous, very good day!

Copywright, 2009: Kim Bauer, wife, mother, and writer
www.homeschoolin-mama.blogspot.com

Week 4 Wrap Up: Be like Wall-e and Find One Green Thing to Nurture.

These blogs usually come in a flood of inspiration, and when they do, they flow from my brain to my hands faster than I can type. This week I have struggled. How could I top last week’s wrap up on unconditional love? I’ve thought about it all week, and the fact that we didn’t make as much progress as I had hoped for on the second half of our “unconditional love studies” left me with very little to be inspired about. But, I have learned that given time, the inspiration always comes.

And there it was, right at the forefront of my emotions. My dear friend of 33 years, who was scheduled for a radical mastectomy today, provided the source of inspiration and reminded me that our treasured friendships which are so easily and often neglected are one of our most readily available sources of giving and receiving unconditional love.

She called me a few hours before the surgery with a last minute request pertaining to her daughter. It was a BIG ONE and it took approximately 5 seconds to respond to her with my one word response, “YES!” Although I did qualify my response by saying that I needed to discuss it with my better half. I called her back one minute later with his 2 word response, “of course”. Maybe husbands who love wives unconditionally, transfer that love to their wives’ “unconditionally loved friends”. Just a theory.

I am not making myself or my hubby a hero. The hero in this story spent 10 hours on the operating table today enduring what no woman should have to endure. I was, however, simply and profoundly reminded how effortless our decisions and actions are when it comes to those we love unconditionally.

Interestingly, our anger, resentment and judgment are often as effortless. We fly off the handle, over react, judge and criticize without a second thought, and we feel “justified” while unleashing our wrath. The tougher challenge for us human is transferring the same type of thoughtless, selfless love we so readily bestow on our loved ones to those who are unknown to us—the strangers we encounter who we judge instantaneously by the clothes they wear, the way they look, their social class, the neighborhood they live in or some other superficial quality like their culture, race, or religions. When we transfer anger and judgment instead of love and acceptance, we lower the energy vibration around us. What we all really want is to be loved.

Tonight, I was fortunate to have a few hours alone with my son to watch one of his favorite movies, Wall E. I highly recommend it. The main character, Wall-e, is a lonely robot left on an earth that has been abandoned by humans. Wall-e has a directive, to collect and compact junk into junk bricks which are used to build things on this forsaken planet formerly known as Earth.

As he moves through his daily routine, completely and utterly alone, he saves a few treasures from the trash for his own use and enjoyment. Interestingly, his favorite items are a video tape of the musical, Hello Dolly, and a single green seedling of a plant which he keeps in a boot. As far as we can tell, it’s the only plant left on earth and he nurtures it carefully. Every so often, he pauses from the routine of his day to be inspired as the stars of the musical sing his favorite lines from the theme song, “all we want is to be loved our whole life long”.

I don’t know how to solve this love problem. It is epidemic. I just know that one conscious move in a positive direction per day by each human being on this planet will add up to a big difference over time.

So, take inventory. If you are lucky enough to have a few priceless friends and loved ones in your life, surprise them with an outreach of your most heartfelt appreciation and gratitude. And then take it one step farther.

In every situation, with every person you meet, look for the “one green thing” to appreciate and nuture, and together, we can watch the world grow in unconditional love.