Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends whom we choose. -Tehyi Hsieh
Happy Thursday morning, readers!! I hope you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as the weekend is in sight. I, for one, am ready for it! Then again, I could live in a perpetual state of weekends if it paid the bills. I’m on a high this morning after having a great night, surrounded by 7 of the loveliest ladies I have ever met. As a result, we will focus again today on those with whom we surround ourselves.
Several weeks ago, I was baby-sitting my friend’s adorable 3 year old. At bedtime, the routine consists of crawling into bed with him, reading a book, snuggling for a couple minutes, tucking him in, and turning out the light. Of course, this is the best part of the entire night (not that racing motorcycles or watching Blue’s Clue’s isn’t great, of course). The book we read that night was “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs.” It is the story we all know being told from the perspective of Mr. Wolf (not to be confused with Mr. Wulff—my father & uncles). The Wolf says that he was baking and needed a cup of sugar, so he headed to his neighbor’s house. While there, he felt his nose itch and he sneezed, knocking over the house of straw. As he doesn’t want to be wasteful, he eats the pig before heading to the next house, built of straw. Of course, the Wolf still needs his sugar, so he again asks for a cup of sugar, but then feels his nose itch and sneezes again, blowing over the house of sticks. He can’t allow this meat to go to waste, so he gobbles up this pig and then heads to the final house, made of brick. You know how the rest of the story goes—he “sneezes” again on the house of brick, and it does not fall over. He is upset by the rudeness of this pig, who won’t answer the door, and is arrested after trying to break down the door. I’m sure you all tuned in today to hear the story of the 3 little pigs again, right? The story really got me thinking, though. As a kid, I remember the “moral of the story” being that one should not use straw or sticks to build a house, and don’t take short cuts—just do the work. Rereading it with this little guy, however, I read it with an entirely new perspective. Without a strong foundation (brick house), anything will be able to knock me over. And I have definitely seen this to be true--because while I do have "one of those days," I can maneuver through those and I am still standing. I do have the strongest foundation I've ever had, and that is why nothing can knock me over. My foundation is filled with bricks from all over--
- New running buddies from running groups
- A sweet Mom who doesn't let an eyelid injury keep her down--from work or from caring for others
- A "Latina" who can shake it with a smile & ask for advice fearlessly
- An Island of Misfits--who welcomed me in and let me "Fit In" more than I have ever have
- A beautiful, perfectionist workaholic, considering scaling back to live and love life
- The best teammate & bruthuh ever, and bosses who always have my back
- A girl from a tiny Iowa town, now taking on Spain
- My college girls who have been there for me every day for the last 11 years
- My "Upstairs Family" who gave me the encouragement I needed to make my way to NC
- My 19 year old kid who stresses me out and makes me proud every day
- My SISTAH who is 9 years younger than me but can still be my BFF
- A friend who always ate her vegetables as a kid and is now teaching her own baby to do the same
- An English teacher who taught me not just how to write, but how to believe in and challenge myself
- An amazing family who has been there every day for me--have I mentioned that I have the cutest Grandma ever? It's true!!
- And so many more--including my readers out there in Blogland
What does your foundation do for you?
1 comment:
Have you ever read "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig"? It is another great revision, a favorite of the students in my class. Good children's literature is full of things for adults to ponder, too.
Xox, Mom
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