Perhaps it's a treat of ice cream at night after the kiddos are in bed. Maybe it's a girls night out every now and again, a bubble bath, a good book, a shopping spree, a Starbucks or....insert your own right here.
It could be so many little things, and trust me after 10 years, I've tried them all. And they can work to some degree. I used to indulge in junk food....give me that Jr. Whopper with cheese and bacon and the world was made right again. Give me that Butter Pecan icecream or Snicker's Blizzard and all was well in my mind. I'd sit with a bag of Doritos and let me tell you, I wasn't done until the last cheese had been licked off my fingers. But in the constant effort to put healthy eating as a priority, I've been searching for that same 'junk' to escape to, when the days are overwhelming, when I've heard 'Mommy, Can I?' just one too many times that my little bubble of peace and calm is at its bursting point.
Any mother will agree. We have great days...and we have bad days. How do you cope? How do you wake up the next day, knowing those same little eager faces will greet you and demand the world from you, even through exhaustion, sickness and stress.
They don't know any better, and we as the parent have to be that constant, consistent force in their lives, that tells them, with no words, "The world is okay. It will all be okay." The especially hard part, is to deliver this very important message even when our own personal world isn't okay, isn't easy, or isn't happy.
In comes coping strategies. Find yours. It can make each day a fresh start, forgetting yesterday's difficult temper tantrums and forging ahead with new patience, new energy and a new focus.
Take time for Mom.
How do I do it? With five kids under 10 years old? How do I keep sane? I've done the junk food, and now, I am determined to keep health a top priority, and so I've found a new one.....
I have one indulgence, I have one 'junk food', and it IS junk, junk for the mind. I readily admit that. And while, I know, for certain, that junk for the mind isn't helping me on the road to holiness....it does help in the path to sanity, which MUST be there to even have a glimpse of the road to holiness.
Yes, I admit it, I am an American Idol fan. I've watched every single episode from the very first season. I'd tape it, or now DVR it, and it was my unwinding time at the end of the day. I got to escape for just an hour, once a week, well, now it's twice a week....but it was my time to just let the day go.
I think it's almost a mental exercise. It's an act of will. I CAN say good-bye to the difficulties that I saw today. I WILL let this bad day go. I WON'T hold a grudge tomorrow. I WILL start fresh when my alarm goes off. I WILL treat a new day, just as it is, A NEW DAY.
I love my new 'junk food'. I cope with hard days and don't gain weight doing it.
On to American Idol. This year the judges were significantly changed, and I have to say, I miss the cold, hard, truth that Simon often delivered to the dismayed contestants and other judges. He said it how it is. He didn't hold back. And while I am sure he could have taken a lesson in how to deliver bad news.....he brought a dynamic to the table that was refreshing.
Often today, we hear what we want to hear. Or others praise and encourage minimal effort, and therefore, raise egos to new, lofty heights. The shock of some of these contestants, when told they should find a new career is a sign of our times.
We all have gifts, and they aren't the same gifts.
Getting honest feedback in our day and times is difficult. Some are so eager to please that exaggeration sets in. Some are so politically correct, relativism sets in and there truly isn't a rock solid truth. It's all perception. We are taught not to judge others....but then, we don't even judge the actions. You live your way, I'll live mine. It's okay for you to live this way, but not for me. RELATIVISM!
We have to be able to decipher what action is wrong, and what is right. We can set the person aside for moment, and see the action for what it is....not looking at the person, the whys of the action - but the action itself. Some are just wrong. And we as a society have lost that.....we've lost the ability to decipher between the two.
Our consciouses are dull, our emotions are sharp. We are quick to react, without looking even at the facts.
So while, I still have my 'junk food' at then end of a hard day, I must accept that even 'junk food' can sink to a new low. I can admit, it isn't representative of reality. And perhaps that is what makes it 'junk'. So do I still recommend Idol?.....Can you decipher between reality and a TV show? That's the question.
Will this show, in all its efforts to display reality, truly make you think it's real? Will it dull your conscious? Will it dull your ability to see what is wrong and right? Will it make you believe in relativism?
Perhaps all shows should have to measure up to these standards before we watch them. I for one, am looking for a new 'junk food' to unwind to......
Any suggestions?
Comments