Thursday again! Time to do a little "pondering" with Brenda from Ponderings of an Author.
Her rules are really easy:
1. Grab the Pondering with a Purpose Badge (in her sidebar)
2. Look at the week's prompt
3.
Post something on your blog that relates to the prompt - it can be a
story, a poem, a picture -- anything you want it to be.
4. Go back here and add the URL from your post to the linky list on Brenda's.
5. Go check out the other bloggers who have added their links to the list.
6. AND most of all.... Have fun!
Do I have balance in my life? My best answer to this is "sometimes." Do I do anything besides work? Rarely. When is the last time I did something for me? I can't remember. Even my vacation last fall got turned into the vacation my daughter wanted - but I'm not complaining - I did enjoy it. But the choices were not mine - we did what she wanted to do and I was kind of just along for the ride.
I got my diploma in the mail last night and just looked at it for a while. There really wasn't any sense of accomplishment. I don't really believe that it's going to do anything for me. The job audit I was promised still has not happened and truthfully, I'm not real confident that it ever will.
But I'm not going to stop - can't. I may not have the perfect life but it's not that bad either. I had a conversation with a friend this morning that made me realize that. Things are not going so well for her right now. She's working two minimum wage jobs, husband hasn't worked for two years and refuses to look for work, she's close to divorcing, her son is "in trouble", and her house needs major repairs. Compared to that - my life is great.
There are some major differences between me and this friend. We both lost our jobs due to a company closing three years ago.
I went back to school and kept trying until I got on here. She refused to go to school (this was free due to the company closing).
She got married. Said she'd found a man that would take care of her (see how that worked out). I take care of myself.
She likes to complain about how hard things are. I listen.
I don't want to sound like I have no compassion because I do. I really wish there was some way I could help her. I tried to talk her into taking the school option three years ago and she wouldn't do it. This morning I told her to come and take the Civil Service tests to try to get a job. I don't think she will. I wish her life was more balanced.
Sorry about the rant but sometimes it frustrates me when people won't do anything to help themselves. Back to the question - No my life is not really balanced but it's what I have and I intend to keep on striving to make it better.
Unfortunately you can't always help another person make their choices. I commend you for picking yourslef off and growing. I think we are better off than a lot of other people.
ReplyDeleteTami.... that diploma you received certainly should bring you pride... you didn't lay down and let life run you over... you took the bull by the horns and did something about it.
ReplyDeleteI too dont remember the last time I went on a vacation I wanted.... my last two trips (and the upcoming one) to Germany have been all about my daughter... and as you said, that's okay.
I think the key here is never giving up on yourself.
Thanks for pondering with me
I like your attitude - - sometimes we CAN'T control what happens in our lives, but we CAN control how we react and act! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely should be proud of that diploma!! Major accomplishment...and I know the work that goes into it because I have a BA too. And getting it never was about scoring a great job and making a lot of money: I wanted to do it for me. To prove to myself that I could. To this day, I am still proud of it - and you should be too. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteAs for your friend, you can't help people who don't want to help themselves. Some people only know the state of misery and they seem to revel in it. I've had friends where I have had to say, "listen, I'm sorry about your life, but I don't see you doing anything about it, and until then, I don't want to hear about it anymore." Tough love I guess.
We all have our own paths to choose. Some choose them more wisely than others.
ReplyDeleteI think you made a really good point here, some people are pro-active and look for solutions in their lives, other people get stuck in "victim" mode and look for excuses and easy answers and then complain when those don't work. We all struggle to find the right answers in our lives and things rarely work out like we plan, then it's time to go back to the chalkboard, just as you did, erase the plan and work on a a new one. There's always the potential for change! Relying on anyone else to take care of you in life is very risky and seldom works out as planned. We need to be able to take care of ourselves, and then share our lives with others rather than being dependent on them. Great post, I like how you think!
ReplyDelete