The Good Deed Jar

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery pics are from a late afternoon walk I took around the neighborhood yesterday. There is a lot of bloomin' going on around here!

RANDOMNESS #1 - This morning, Roxie and I are headed to the doctor's office to see if the "floating bone" in her finger has finally healed. Today marks the tenth week. When she had her surgery, the doctor told us it would take six to eight weeks. After looking at the X-ray at the six-week mark, he quickly changed the timeline to ten or 12 weeks.

It's a little thing, but with high school volleyball and basketball tryouts looming in the not-so-distant future, Roxie's ready for the pins to be removed. She wants to serve, set, dribble and shoot.

Although she has been running and doing crunches galore, that's not going to get the ball over the net OR in the basket.

Today I am praying for proper bone placement, pin removal and good sedation... for me AND Roxie.

RANDOMNESS #2 - After hearing what a bad job I did nursing Mikie back to health after we got married, I'm sure you're wondering if I'm any better when it comes to the children.

I think I am.

However, I'm not a very calming influence. I'm still working on that one.

When Austin was in first grade, I dropped him off at school. I then went on my way to take Josh to preschool before returning home with 18 month-old Roxie in tow.

Before I pulled into the preschool parking lot, I received a phone call from Mikie. The school had called him, told him Austin had been involved in a little running accident and would probably need a stitch or two.

I think the fact they called the Daddy first is HUGE. They knew I had to be told in a very gentle way they had broken my child.

I dropped Josh off at the preschool, and Roxie and I headed back to Austin's school to assess the damage.

We had never had stitches before, so I prepared myself for a gash, a little blood and a few tears. Let's just say I was a little unprepared.

As I walked into the school with Roxie on my hip, a teacher met me at the door. "Austin is FINE. Anytime there is a cut on the head it bleeds a little more than other places."

"Oh. It's on his head? What happened?" At this point, I was VERY calm, and I walked with the teacher toward the office with Roxie still on my hip.

"He ran around the teacher's desk, slipped and hit the corner of a metal filing cabinet."

Ouch!

"Well, he shouldn't have been running in the classroom, but boys run everywhere. Am I right?" I asked, still calm... still smiling.

"Oh, yes. Austin didn't do anything wrong. They were all hurrying to their desks because the bell rang."

As we turned the corner, I saw Austin sitting in a chair holding a dressing over the right side of his face. A dressing covered in BLOOD! When he saw me, he stood up and immediately removed the dressing so I could see the little cut that might need a little stitch.

Let's just say his face was still bleeding enough I couldn't even tell where the cut was.

"You said his head! He cut his face? Where is all this blood coming from?" I asked. "Calm" was quickly leaving my body.

"He has a little cut on the corner of his eyelid. Can you see?" the teacher asked, as she pulled me toward the bloody little boy.

Keep in mind, Austin was not crying or upset. Well, not yet.

When "calm" starts to leave the body, your hearing may or may not be affected. My hearing was definitely affected.

"HIS EYE? HIS EYE? HE CUT HIS EYE?! DO THEY PUT STITCHES IN EYES?" Hysteria was quickly taking over my body.

"MY EYE? MY EYE? I HAVE TO HAVE A STITCH IN MY EYE?" Austin totally reacted to my BAD reaction. (NOTE - Roxie remained totally calm. She may be the nurse in our family.)

One teacher comforted Austin and another teacher began rubbing my arm... and talking very loudly. "Eyelid," she said slowly. "Eyelid."

"Oh. Okay. Eyelid," I repeated, once again breathing.

I stooped down and comforted the now-panicked Austin, and we headed to the Emergency Room... which is another story for another day.

Tomorrow, I think.

Wednesday Wisdom - For some reason I don't recall, Melia and Austin were talking about Mark Twain last weekend, so I thought, "Hmmm. I may use him for Wednesday Wisdom." And I did.

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."

"A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation." (I love adjectives... even more than nouns, I think. I'm going to have to listen to what I say... which would probably be a good thing for a lot of reasons.)

"Action speaks louder than words, but not nearly as often."

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." (This is SO true.)

There are over 11 more pages of Mark Twain quotes. He may be a Wednesday Wisdom guest again... and again. (He loved adjectives, too!)

The Good Deed Jar

As always, Family Fun Magazine delivers. I love this tradition!

This idea comes from Mary Purpura who lives in California with her husband and NINE kiddos. The following is an explanation of the tradition in her words.

This tradition reminds us of a simple truth... You never have control over whether someone does something nice for you, but you always have control over whether you do something kind for someone else.

Every year on Ash Wednesday, we put a jar on the kitchen counter next to a bowl of dried black-eyed peas. Between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, any family member who performs a good deed (folding someone else's laundry or making their bed, etc.) moves a pea into the jar. On Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny replaces the peas with jelly beans, and all of us get to enjoy the sweet rewards of being kind.

The Good Deed Jar encourages us to act kindly in a genuine way without any fanfare. The focus is on giving, rather than the reward.

During Easter dinner, everyone is invited to talk about one of the nice things they did for someone else.

We just learned that several years ago during the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, one of our sons forgot to make dinner both times it was his turn. But his lapses went thoroughly undetected by his parents because his sisters covered for him. (Quietly and cheerfully.)

It's heartwarming to hear that the children actually enjoy doing things for their brothers, sisters, parents, neighbors and friends.

Teaching kids to think about acts of kindness they can perform for others using a little colored jelly bean... BRILLIANT!

NOTE - As always, if you want more Spring or Easter recipes, traditions, ideas, dates, etc., spend a little time in the Archives. Click on 2009 and/or 2010. You can then click on the months March and April of those years. Those months are FULL of ideas for you and your family during this wonderful season.

Have a wonderful, wet Wednesday. Stay dry if at all possible. Thursday's Date and Blog Linkage is looking pretty good... and you never know what else I might throw in the Randomness section. I'll have pictures from Roxie's doctor visit in the Gallery. (The amount of pictures will depend on how long I'm able to stay in the exam room with her without causing a scene.)

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

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda