Wow! That is all I can say. I really would love to meet the Dr of whom she has referred to. Wow. MUST read!
TAM :)
SMWI*: It's simple. More in than out.
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BAZINGA!
I totally love Sheldon from Bing Bang Theory and really its probably because of his likeness to us as q family and as individuals! You see we are all OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and get a bit anal about certain things. We probably aren’t quitebas extreme as Sheldon…yet…but give us another few years. But boy is this guy an absolute crack up! What shows make you laugh so hard because they are just “wet your.pants” funny? And why? Press this post and add your own if you have a favourite comedy
Daily Prompt: Take Care
When you’re unwell, do you allow others to take care of you, or do you prefer to soldier on alone? What does it take for you to ask for help?
Hmmm…good question. I’m blessed that my days of being sick, catching colds or sniffling my way through winter are far and very few between. One school of thought say that it is because I am a nurse and have developed the immune system of an ox (not that I am an expert on the functioning of an Ox’s immune system – really!). Another school of thought is that its a direct reflection of where I live – on the coast near the beach – Australias beaches are just devine! Yet another school of thought is that it is due to me eating more spinach than the average Popeye-the-Sailor-Man. But really I think it is a mixture of all of the above. But there I do – leading you all down the garden path that is my mind!
On the rare occassion that I am sick, I do let people look after me. But I am selective in that. For instance I will let my husband do anything for me (ok except fold the washing because lets face it – I am the ONLY one that can do it right – so if I am sick the washing is in the basket kids…HA!) I will let my girls do little jobs around the house, but thats the status quo anyway with the recent enforcement of chores – WINNING! And of course I will let them hug me, kiss me and pray for me until the cows come home. My mamma bear gets the obvious pleasure too of looking after me if she is nearby (now a 2hr drive away BOO!). But no one else. I have real trouble letting other people help or look after me or accepting offered help. But I will readily go help another sick person. Yes I know the whole accepting a gift speak but I feel a burden – probably comes from the many years I spent really sick.
Mostly though I soldier on. The house doesnt clean itself. My responsibilities dont go on holiday. My children dont go on auto pilot. So sometimes all there is to do is to take a spoonful of concrete and harden the * up. Yeah I said it. Sometimes you have to get out of your own way and end the pity party in boo-hoo-me street. Most of the time you feel better for having done the big girl pants dance anyway.
What would it take for me to ask for help? Well that would be if me being sick impacted on other people that relied on me for something – period – thats it. Now lets hope talking about all this illness doesnt summon the wrath of the bug fairies. A little affirmation to close maybe?
I AM WELL. I AM INFINITELY HEALTHY. I HAVE AN AMAZING IMMUNE SYSTEM. MURPHYS LAWS ARE NOT REAL.
Everybody Be Well and AWEOSME!!!
TAM 
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DREAMING DARING DOING
Hello there,
I know. Its been a long time since I have posted regularly, but seriously this life stuff truly does get in the way of my writing time *giggle*. Although I feel totally overwhelmed about all the EPIC stuff that has been going on in my life of late, I am really quite excited too. Everyone says “If someone had told me years ago that I…” but really If someone had told me years ago that I would be dreaming, daring, doing what I am embarking on at this moment I would have tossed them a few valium to settle their obviously traumatised nerves!
I never used to dream about much. Not because I didnt have a wish for an amazing life – but because little insignificant me thought that I was either selfish or unworthy of such a life. My mother was and is an amazing mother, but as the youngest of three and the second daughter I kinda had my own thunder stolen by my very over the top sister. She was the first daughter, granddaughter and niece and thus got all the attention and praise. She could do no wrong despite her rebel ways. Dont get me wrong. I was loved, very very loved. But my mum was everyones mum and she was so down to earth I didnt feel the pull to dream big. Boy has times changed. My dream now is to work towards changing theway that health care is structured and delivered in Australia! Wow…big huh?
I never would have dared either. I was never a daring child, nor a daring adult. Safe. Yes that is exactly how I would have described myself up until a few years ago. Safe. Comfort zone. Predictability. Now however I would call my younger self a great big fraidy cat with no big girl pants! Now though I feel like I lead a daring life. Sure enough that daring life has landed me with a few injuries (ahem…fractured spine…ahem – who? what? dont know what you’re talking about lol), but it has taken me to amazing places. I moved to the Sunshine Coast – away from my friends and family. I completed my first triathlon and 10km run. I changed my health and thus my life. I climb mountains. I try a gazillion new things.
Then we come to doing. This is probably what I am most excited about. I am doing. I am doing some pretty awesome (although completely terrifying) stuff. My career as a nurse is taking me to places I really didnt have the gusto to dream about. I am implementing some real and significant change in areas of healthcare, and although I get some challengers and some naysayers (really all that is, is a thumbs up that I am headed in the right direction), it is becoming very exciting and I cannot wait to share it all with you. When it goes to media then I can share that with you.
Now tell me about what you are DREAMING DARING DOING? I love hearing about you all and your adventures – check in and bring me up to date on your adventures too
Everybody Be AWESOME!!!
TAM
Know Your Dark Side
We all get tied up and held down by our to do lists, and our endless mountains of goals. Its ok though to let that go for a while and give yourself a time out to reflect on and nourish ourselves. We were always meant to follow our heart (of course not fogetting about our brain once in a while too)…because that is where our passions lie. Our heart and soul need just as much attention as any other part of ourselves.
Check out this blog post by “Read My Fingers – Tales of a Wannabe Counselor” – she is an excellent writer with such amazing insight. Worth the read and certainly worth keeping an eye on
MAMMA MELTDOWNS AND M.I.A.
It’s only Thursday. It’s not Friday, so my nerves shouldn’t be completely frazzled yet. It’s not Saturday – the day when all my sadly neglected chores from the week just gone are groaning at my from just beyond the early morning training session. It’s not Sunday – the day that I ponder the week just gone as I think to myself “where the hell did that week just go”, whilst at the same time ensuring that I am as prepared as I can be for the week looming before me. NO. It’s only Thursday. ONLY. I should by all means have at least a few stray nerves left. Something with which my sanity can grasp to in an attempt to avoid the stampede of my mind as it propels itself into the weeks end. ONLY Thursday. Famous last words I would say.
Stressed out chicken goes M.I.A. (Photo credit: Dave-F)
If you haven’t already guessed, I am in the middle of my own adult-style meltdown. No I can assure you that I am also not lying on the floor in a ball of tears and tantrums pounding my fists and screaming. Dont get me wrong, if there wasn’t that single cell of sanity tightly holding grip to me then I dare say it could have been a very different post, but I assure you I havent melted to that extent – yet. So what does one do when one has one’s own hot chocolate style meltdown? One runs away. Yes you heard it. I ran away! I’m glad my sanity had the good sense to ignore the rational thoughts of “running away isn’t the answer”, because today that is precisely the answer! Because today is ONLY Thursday, and I still have to keep that single cell of sanity alive and intact.
Alot of people – those who do and do not know me – look at me and think that my life is blissfully easy. I know this because they have either directly told me so, I have overheard it, or their behaviour or comments have said all that needs to be said. They think that my joy is something that comes easy. They think my schedule works because I obviously have a far easier life than theirs, and that I fit in what I do because I must have so much more time than them. They think my childrens’ behaviour and mannerisms are a direct product of luck and that at anytime in the future they are going to turn into the boy-obsessed, frivolous, attitude filled teenager that many others kids are. They think that being motivated and dedicated to my health and fitness is either easy, or luck, or totally obsessive. They think that my husband and I have the great relationship we have because we are lucky. Right? WRONG!
Let me tell you a little secret…shhhh dont tell anyone…my life isnt easy, nor is it luck, nor is it a direct outcome of magic, leprechauns or unicorns. I’m not a witch, a magician, or an illusionist. My life is in fact brutally real, just like everybody else. Lets look at joy. I’m not just naturally happy all of the time – that would be more an indication of too many happy pills don’t you think? The reality is that I make a conscious choice each and every day to emanate what I want my life to be. If you walk around with a permanent snarl on your face and in your voice, what good comes of it? None. Lets look at my schedule. Anyone who like me manages a career outside the home as well as managing home life, and anything above and beyond that knows exactly how I feel. Gone are the days for me to be a SAHM – oh yes I miss it. I miss being present at school for drop offs, pick ups, plays, special days and all the stuff in between. I miss doing dinner without trying to race the clock to bedtime because you don’t get home until late. However much I miss this stuff I also know that my career as a nurse gives something entirely different to my girls that they wouldnt otherwise get. My girls have seen within their own home from a very early age that we work for what we get in life, which by all accounts will be much harder for them by the time they reach my age.
They see that even mamma bears can have a successful career and a family, whilst showing them good work ethic and a role model for developing their own careers. When they are building their families it will certainly be far harder for them to be SAHM if they so desire – it is difficult to make that happen now. So I work hard at fitting in my career, my children, my husband, starting a business and preparing myself for that, my personal health and gitness, leisure time, friends and family…and it’s freaking hard! You have two choices in how to deal with this, you can not bother to try saying it’s all too hard or you can get real with your schedule. We watch very little television and the couch isn’t closely related to our butts.
Thanks Mr Stork for this well behaved child. (Photo credit: Mediocre2010)
Now when it comes to my children I am very passionate, it’s an area that people just shouldn’t mess with no matter how brave they are. I have never and will never subscribe to the idea that well behaved children are delivered that way by a stork. How utterly laughable. Sure enough some children are born with different temperaments and personalities but that is where the ‘luck’ ends. My children are the way they are because of the standards I set in place when they were wee little ones, probably even before they were born, and because of the consistency in which they are enforced and taught. Of course we have loads of fun, we laugh alot, but my girls know where they stand and there is no guessing. Imagine a hard core super nanny…hi nice to meet you! Now when it comes to health and fitness I get it. I really do understand out of personal experience, why/how it would be far easier to think that fit people just bounce out of bed in the morning, throw back a grapefruit with a smile, and run like the wind. Sorry to burst your bubble though because reality is that it’s more like me hauling my backside out of my nice warm cosy bed at some rediculous hour, kiss my husband and my sleeping babies goodbye, eat a banana or apple on the way out so I can huff and puff by guts out whilst feeling like a super sweaty hippo in pretty joggers as I run. But you do it because for once in your life you realise that you are in fact a grown adult capable of being the example to the children you want to live long enough to see grow up. Now look at my Mr Omni-Awesome. Well I will tell you like it is…marraige is hard! Terribly hard work! It is hard work to overcome the most horrendous obstacles. It’s hard work to stay strong when other people want nothing but to see your marraige fail. It’s hard work ever single day. But it is worth every tear, every sigh, every tough moment. We are open, honest, realistic, and dedicated to living an awesome life together and that is how we have a great marraige- however imperfect it is.
See – nothing is luck! We created this life we call bliss. Imperfect, irritating, hardworking bliss. Joyful, rewarding happy-ever-after bliss. Real, raw, honest bliss. Its not important to know why I had a meltdown – just that it is ok once in a while. How did I deal with it? As I said before, I ran away.
I ran away straight after school drop off to one of my favourite places on the Sunshine Coast – Lot 104 at Mooloolaba. They are a great “Lot” (pun totally intended because that’s how I roll) who look after me very well, not to mention I always feel very welcome and unhurried. I drank coffee, superb coffee. I at an entire MASSIVE hot breakfast all to myself. I drank hot chocolate for a little while with another run-away mum who sussed out where I was. I drank juice – fresh squeezed and totally delish. I listened to the roar of the ocean and the calming music playing overhead as I sit writing this. Now I will sit and read a book as I eat wedges with sour cream. Naughty I know – but what happens when I am M.I.A. stays M.I.A.
Lot 104 (Photo credit: Google images)
Although I had a meltdown today I am still purely and utterly in love with my bliss-filled life – because I choose to be.
And because today is ONLY Thursday.
Everybody Be AWESOME!!!
TAM - M.I.A.
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DO YOU NEED A HAND?
How profound! My 6yo says it to a tea…”do you need a hand to turn things around?” She had been talking about stuff on the beach but it resonates as a question that so many long to hear in those tough moments. Did you ever have a moment you wished someone asked you this question?
