Craftbug

A Woman's Roles

A woman's roles in her lifetime are many.  Have you ever stopped to think about what you do or who you are?  There is a reason we are tired at the end of the day.  We don't start out that way, though.

When we are born, we are someone's daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, sister, cousin and niece.  As we get older and attend school we become someone's friend and a student.  We participate in sports or clubs so we are team members.  Eventually, we are a girlfriend, aunt, wife, housekeeper, financial manager, household manager, employee or employer, co-worker.

So then comes the part of being a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law.  Soon, or sometimes not so soon, we become a mother and a caregiver.  That's when we really get busy with the many roles we play.  With motherhood comes the roles of chauffeur, nurse, mediator (if you have more than one child), event planner, soccer mom, baseball mom, football mom, etc.  Any or all sports could be involved.  Sometimes we have to be the dictator to make our children practice piano lessons or drum lessons.  We are always a teacher to our children or we should be.  These are the very busiest times.  That's why we are so tired at the end of the day.

Eventually, we become a grandmother.  This is when all these things that we have done and become pay off.  We may still have to do many of these things for our grandchildren, too, but it was well worth the many roles we had to take on.  If we stop to think about what all we do and have done in our lives, we can be overwhelmed.  That's why we do it without thinking about it.  It has to be done.

I'm not taking anything away from the men in our lives.  They do many things, also.  I'm just trying to get you to stop and think about what we do as women and the responsibility that goes with all of it. I have probably left out some of the roles we take on.  They are many.

Attitude is Everything

Have you ever wondered why your day isn't going like you want it to?  Things just don't seem to be working out the way you planned.  Things go wrong or in a different direction and then you start to get mad or irritated about it.  If your let yourself get upset about things, then everything will go wrong.

We are not always in control of what happens.  We know how we want things to turn out and strive for that but sometimes it just doesn't happen.  Did you know that it really doesn't matter most of the time that your day goes differently than planned?  Barring something really terrible happening, in the grand scheme of things nothing is really so bad.

The way you handle situations makes a difference in how your day turns out.  You can get up in the morning and be cranky and let it take over.  See how your day goes with that attitude.  Or you can wake up and make the decision to make this a really good day no matter what.  Now see how your day goes with that attitude.

The way society and the economy is right now, we could all be in really bad moods all the time.  We can't let it rule our lives.  We have no control over any of that except what we are directly involved with (and even that control is iffy).  We have to make the best of what we have and who we have in our lives.  Surely there is something good in everyone's life that would make it all worth getting up in the mornings with an attitude of making it a wonderful day. 

Try this...Smile!!!  The next time you go to work or to the store just smile at someone.  See if they smile back.  Most of the time they will.  Sometimes you could be the one that makes their day better.  If you can make someone's day better, wouldn't you?

Getting Older

We all know that we will get older.  When we are young it seems so far away.  We also think that we will be able to do the same things we did when we were young with the same gusto and vigor. 

My mother just turned 70 years old this month.  She is still pretty spunky.  She does all her own housework and cooking and shopping and helping with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, etc., etc., etc....but she is slowing down a bit.  She has her ailments and health issues.  She knows her limitations, however, and does rest in between all this as she sees fit.  I know the day will come when she won't be able to do all she does and will need help.  I am preparing myself for that day.  I know she won't ask for help until she needs it.  I'm ready.  It will be her turn to be taken care of.  She has taken care of so many of us over the years.

On the other hand, my mother-in-law is 71 years chronologically.  Physically, she's probably about 90 years old.  She has been in the hospital for 4 days now and just came home this afternoon.  She is very frail and until now was doing almost everything for herself.  She does not want to give up her freedom or independence.  She is somewhat stubborn in that area.  She has "stuff" that she doesn't want to part with.  She doesn't need this "stuff" as it has been in boxes and unused for years.  Still, I can understand where she's coming from.

I'm sure that neither my mother or mother-in-law expected things to turn out the way they did.  No one knows how old-age will be for them.  I think we assume that we will be able to carry on as usual.  I know from watching my family members that this will not be the case.  I'm sure you all have the same experience in your lives.  We just have to be ready to take care of the ones that took care of us for so many years...and do it with love and no bitterness and no complaining.  That's what you do for family.