The immutable influence of mothers

By Melissa Lafsky

Here’s an agreeable way to usher in Mother’s Day: A study released by The University of Melbourne’s School of Behavioural Science shows that a significant number of college students consider their mothers to be the single most significant person in their lives. Out of a survey of university freshmen, 40% listed their moms as the most important and influential person they’d ever known, compared with 25% for fathers, 17% for romantic partners, 12% for friends, and 6% for siblings. According to U. Melbourne associate professor Jennifer Boldero:

Dads are important too, but for many generation Y people their mother remains the most important person …

Many parents think that once their children grow up and leave school, they do not have much of an influence.

This survey tells us that mothers are still clearly having an impact on their children well into adulthood.

On that note, Happy Mother’s Day to all the influential moms out there.

See the original article here.

 

All by myself

So… my brother is leaving me. Next weekend, he and his family are moving to the south part of Denver and I will be the only one of my parents’ six children in the north metro area. I’m sad. Really sad. Dammit.

I don’t recall being super-close to my brother as we were growing up. We had exactly two things in common during the time we lived in the same house: our love of music and our parents. That’s it. And, when puberty hit, man, he was a little bit of a bastard. [Of course, I was no Georgia peach myself, but I'll save those stories for another time.]

As we’ve grown older, and generally more appreciative of each other, I have been able to depend on him (and the rest of my siblings) to help me in my time of need. They are there to help when I need a sitter, they have helped when I needed a dime to get by…

Unfortunately, I know there’s a tinge of jealousy in my heart. Deep down, I know my brother and sister-in-law aren’t perfect, but it sure seems that they are after all that I’ve been through the past ten years. He’s been with the same girl for years (they’ve been married for eight years this coming December, and they dated for before that), they are both smart and likeable, they both work extremely hard, and they have two beautiful children. They are far from being well-off, but the only thing I can see that they don’t have is the house of their dreams.

I am twenty-nine years old and what do I have?

1. A failed marriage. What the hell was I thinking, anyway?!
2. Unmanageable debt. I wasn’t always a twit, really. I like to blame it on my ‘ex’, but I enabled the behavior, so I’m just as much to blame.
3. A crap job. Man, it sure sucks gi-normous donkey balls.
4. A larger waist. I haven’t seen a 32/34 waist pair of jeans in at least seven years.
5. Nothing to show for my hard work. No house - at 29? Good grief. Really.

Okay, enough of the pity-party. I need a time-out to reflect on the things and people I am thankful for in my life. In no particular order, they are:

1. My family’s good health. Seeing what D.P.’s family has gone through over the past several weeks has really put this into perspective for me.
2. My job. Yes, even though it sucks gi-normous donkey balls.
3. My ‘die-hard’ friends. I have a handful of friends that I have known since junior high. One friend I’ve had since I was 8. They are all very special to me… in their own ways.
4. My kids. E and M are freakin’ awesome - I’d be lost without them. Even when I have to use my ‘mom’ voice, they still rock my world.
5. My ‘honey’, D.P. Seriously. He’s my rock… my knight in shining armor. Just knowing him makes my life gobs better.

Thank God it’s Friday, is all that’s left to say.

 

SHOWDOWN!

I can’t believe I’ve neglected to mention that I had a showdown at work. I’m not going to go into detail, but the person I sparred with rhymes with hoss. I’m still wondering: what am I doing here?

Don’t mess with the bull, man, you’ll get the horns!

 

I was feeling a tad frisky, so I turned this place upside-down!

Sometimes I get a little frisky and decide I need a change… and that’s exactly what just happened. Welcome to the new layout for Writing to Sanity! If you aren’t seeing a two column layout, you might wanna hit the ‘refresh’ button. Enjoy!

 

Dealing with the burdens of life

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

• Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
• Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
• Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
• If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
• If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
• It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.
• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
• Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
• It’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.
• When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
• Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
• Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
• We could learn a lot from crayons… Some are sharp, some are pretty, and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.