The story of the Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

So have a nice day and struggle a little and teach well.

Staying Sane and Feeling Good (TIPS)

Keep you nails painted.  I know this can be hard because polish chips and wears, and you end up looking like a 14 year old girl, but I have found something that works wonders. It is called Shellac http://www.cnd.com/Consumer.aspx

Learn the side swept bun. I do this as least twice a week, when I don’t have time to shower before an appointment or just don’t feel like “getting ready” this is so easy but still cute. Check out directions on how to do this on a friend of mines site http://saraduffeyartistry.com/beautycentral.aspx

Dress nice at least once a week. Even if it is just to take your child to a therapy appointment, looking cute always makes me feel confident, and I just feel happier.

Wear perfume. If you or your child can’t handle the smells, find a really gentle mist. Just smell good!  I found a perfume I love that is really light, most people think its my soap. I FREAKED OUT when I found out they discontinued it. Thank goodness we have Ebay!

Get a pair of shape-ups. They may not be the cutest shoe but they sure do keep a mom’s back, hips, knees from hurting. I love my new pair. I wear my really long jeans with them so you can’t even tell and even if you could they are totally worth it.

Read books.  Find something that interests you, even if you can only read 5 or 10 pages a day. It is fun to get wrapped up in something that is outside of your world for a while.

Workout. Even if you can only take a 10 minute walk, try to do it everyday. I have found I cope with life in general so much better when I am working out on a regular basis.  I like to lift weights because it builds muscle and that helps out with having to carry Zach so much.

Try to get at least 2 massages a year. I am really bad at this but I recommend it to myself all the time. Every time I get a massage I say “I am going to get one once a month from now on” ... that doesn’t end up happening, but it would be wonderful if it did.

Burn natural soy candles. I like to burn them all over the house, but if that’s too much, get at least one for your bedroom. It is so nice to have your house smell yummy. Smell is our strongest sense tied to memory. (I still hate the smell of the soap they have at Children’s Hospital).

Have adult conversation. At least once a day, even if you have to call someone or chat online. I thank God for the internet for the times Nathan is out of town for work.

Hang out with friends. At least once a month, even if they have to come over after your kiddos are asleep. If we can’t find a babysitter we have friends come to our house so that Zach can still go to bed and we can keep hanging out.

Have a glass of wine. If you don’t like wine, drink something (even juice) from a wine glass! It just makes you feel good, not drinking from a kiddie cup. A friend of mine got me a handmade wine glass for my 30th Bday!

Get your Vitamin D. When the weather is nice, sit in the sun for 10-15 mins a day.  When it starts to get too cold outside, I like to sit on the floor by my sliding glass door and feel the warmth from the sun.

Jeans. Own one pair of jeans you think look AMAZING on you!

Take a nap. Even if its only 10-15 mins it will help if you are struggling through the day.

Be healthy but cheat. As a general rule with food, be healthy, but take one day a week or one thing a day that you eat because you love it.

Laugh. As much as you can laugh with those in your life. Laughing burns calories and makes you feel happy.

"The days are long, but the years are short." Always remember if you are having a bad day that everything passes and you will look back and wonder how it all went by so fast.