Volunteer... Every Year

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from our rhubarb pie tasting experience. Surprisingly, Roxie gave the big thumb's up, and Mikie kept saying, "It's not so bad. It's not so bad." I feel I have the go-ahead to try to Sugar-Free Rhubarb Pie recipe I posted yesterday. We'll see if we can get Mikie's 100 percent approval.

RANDOMNESS - I hinted there would be a "Lizard From the Sky" story today. However, I'm running a little long again, so I'm going to save it for tomorrow. It will give you something to look forward to, I'm sure.

Q & A! Q & A! Q & A!

QUESTION - You and your family seem to live and enjoy life. How do you do it all and take care of everything?

ANSWER - On the blog it is very easy to come across "better" than we are. Because I don't dwell specifically on the negatives (sibling squabbles, spouse squabbles, piled up laundry, broken garage doors, cars breaking down, headaches, dishes in the sink, too much to do in one day, etc.), it always appears everything is going well over here.

In reality, not so much.

I think we do attempt to "live and enjoy life," but many times it doesn't come naturally. I have to do a lot of planning and preparation to pull some things off. With five people in the family, the odds of everyone being happy and cooperative ALL the time is impossible.

We've had camping trips which were not enjoyable, but they are definitely the minority. We've had days which were unbelievably bad, but there were moments in the day which were unbelievably good. We have taken the kids on dates which were very successful, and we have gone on some dates which were absolute DUDS.

There were times during Josh's first two years of illness when I was literally a robot, doing what had to be done to get through one more day. And I still find myself in that place a few days each month... having to fight to get to the place I enjoy life and my family again. (And it IS very much a fight.)

But I will say this. Because we started purposefully planning traditions, dates, activities, dinners, etc. with the family early on, when Josh became sick and taking care of him was a 20 hour-a-day job, in the middle of everything bad going on in our lives, we all knew, "It's Faulkner Family Movie Night. I'll tell Daddy to pick up a movie on the way home." And we would sit down, and try to do what we had always done.

During the Christmas season, we attended every family function we had always attended. We didn't always stay, but we kept going. Mike and I would look on the calendar, and written in ink we would see the words, "Roxie's Date Night," and one of us would pull it together long enough to take Roxie on her date.

Because of our traditions, we were able to keep going for those two years until we started to see a little light at the end of the tunnel as we began to understand Josh's illness more and more.

The very simple answer to your question is, "I don't take care of everything." We have learned (and are still learning) to live "one day at a time," and we try to do the best we can with the day we've been given... but some days are just not good. Not good at all.

Some days, I get a ton of things done and I think, "If I could have three more days just like today, I could get caught up with everything." It rarely, if ever, happens.

Now, more than ever (since Austin left for college), I know my days of "being behind" and struggling to keep up with the house and the kids and the hubby will get a little easier... because there will be less of us to keep up with, you see.

I don't write about all the failures and mistakes and struggles on the blog because I believe it would quickly become a whine-fest (because I'm a glass half-empty person). I have always wanted A Simple Life to be a place to come to share ideas, family stories (funny and sad) and leave feeling a little better than when you arrived. By setting the blog up in this fashion, I know I come across very "Pollyanna" sometimes. And I'm not!

I really should take a picture of my laundry room, and then everyone would feel so much better about themselves. But deep, deep down, we all know that ain't gonna happen!

Tomorrow I'll have another question and another answer!

SPECIAL GUEST - DONNIE RHODES - PART THREE I love having a man on A Simple Life. It just gives me a whole different perspective.

21. Movie lover or shopping lover?

Shopping.

22. What is one food you cannot force yourself to eat?

Olives. (Amen, brother. I can't imagine the person who ever said, "Let's try one of these on our salad!" Yuck.)

23. How many times have you moved in your life?

Too many to count... at least 20.

24. Name one thing you love about each season.

Winter in Alabama is just right. Spring is beautiful. Summer is a break. Fall is football.

25. Are you a "glass half-full" person or a "glass half-empty" person?

It depends on who you talk to, but I think it is half-full. (I think it's half-full, too.)

26. If you could be someone else (past or present, real or fictional) for a day, who would you be and why?

Mother Teresa because of her endless love for those who were hurting and the service and sacrifice she gave. (See. Now I feel shallow. I picked Christie Brinkley.)

27. If you were an animal, which animal would you be?

Giraffe. (Hmmm. Interesting. I would want to be a polar bear... white fur coat... access to a pool all year long... and being a little pear-shaped means you're a healthy bear.)

28. What is your favorite book of the Bible and why?

Romans because it has a lot of impact for all Christians.

29. What is your most difficult daily struggle (patience, time management, organization, road rage, etc.)?

Time management... always too much to do, and I always put too much on my plate. (I think time management must be a "people" struggle, and not a male/female struggle. The women guests usually say the same thing.)

30. What are reading right this minute?

These questions.

31. What is your favorite type of music (country, classical, rap)?

My favorite type of music would probably be old rock.

32. What is your favorite spouse date?

Dinner and a movie. (Mikie and I LOVE this date.)

33. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Smacking. (I agree with this answer, too. You don't want to be in the Faulkner household on Saturday morning when everyone is eating cereal at the same time. It's bad. Very, very bad.)

Wednesday Wisdom - I don't know a great deal about Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I have read some of his quotes here and there, and I like them very much.

A great man is always willing to be little. (Humility. What a great character trait to have.)

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.

A man is what he thinks about all day long. (If this is true, I am a M & M Blizzard from McDonald's... and that is sad.)

Volunteer... Every Year

Every December, I am totally overwhelmed by all the volunteer/charity projects which appear. Angel trees, Shoeboxes, blood banks, etc., etc. But during the remainder of the year, I don't hear about quite as many volunteer opportunities as I do during the holidays. I know there are things to be done ALL year long, and I know there are people who do them ALL year long, but while our family picks and chooses in November and December, I have to say we do not volunteer on a regular basis throughout the year.

I'm suggesting a Seasonal Tradition which involves the entire family helping in the community THIS season each year. Whether it is cooking a dinner for the Ronald McDonald House (which my friend, Tonya, and her family did several months ago), serving at the Jimmie Hale Mission, going on a Cancer Walk, etc., pick something meaningful for you and your family to do together right now.

I'm planning on our family cooking and serving at the Ronald McDonald House this summer... and the summer after that... and the summer after that. (That is my intention. Now, I just have to do the follow-through!) If all goes well, it could be something we do as our family grows larger over the years. We'll have to see.

Here are a few ideas of ways to get started.

You can go to www.volunteermatch.com and type in Birmingham, Alabama. It will pull up 133 volunteer activities you can research.

You can also go to your local church, and ask them about ministry/volunteer needs.

You can contact your local nursing home to see if they have volunteer opportunities.

If you and your family already do something annually (not counting the holidays), feel free to share your ideas in the next few days.

Have a beautiful Wednesday. Thursday I have Blog Linkage which will touch your heart and your funny bone, a fun and inexpensive date, more Q & A, more Donnie... more, more, more!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda