Ahh... it has been been a long time coming. I am feeling more like the normal me. We have been so sick around here with colds and strep throat and fevers, I can't remember the last time I felt so awful! To put it in perspective, I would rather give birth to Emme again than go through that one more time. Yuck!! And there were two things that made it sooo much worse. 1. Being pregnant (Did you know I am pregnant? Most of you probably do. Due in September!) So all I could take was Tylenol, until I went to the Urgent Care and got penicillin for the strep. 2. This thing lasted FOREVER!!! Not a one or two day and you start feeling better. No, this was weeks of feeling yucky. But, now I am past the first three months of pregnancy and don't feel so much like throwing up if I think about making dinner or grocery shopping and, though I still have major sinus pressure if I bend over more than 75 degrees, I still feel so much better!! And it is great!!
If there is a plus side to being sick, here are the few I have thought of-
1. There is nothing like being sick to make you realize what a blessing you health is!
2. It makes you realize how wonderful acts of service are! When one of our neighbors came over collecting money for scouting, somehow as he talked to Danny it came up that I had been sick. So there he was, busy with what he was already doing, and so do you know what he did? Two minutes later he was back over at our house snowblowing the sidewalks and driveway. I almost wanted to cry.
3. It reminds me once again that we should never judge others, because maybe they feel sick like that a lot and we don't know it. I wouldn't ever get anything done!! Or they may be having mental or emotional problems that are overwhelming to them. You just can't be healthy and feeling well and pass judgment on anyone else. Just love others and serve them.
So, with feeling better I am still overly tired alot- a possible combination of pregnancy, being slightly out-of-shape, and laziness. I am hoping and blaming mostly pregnancy. :) But I have been thinking a lot today about what makes a "good" mother and simultaneously feeling guilty for not being able to help everyone who needs something. What makes a good mother? A kind voice? Having your children excel in many areas? What about the Mom who can't afford lessons? Or who goes to church every week by herself, without a husband who will come? We just can't all accomplish the same things. So how do you know if you are doing a good job?
Well, I don't have any answers, but I did pull out my book "Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley", which is one of my favorite books. And I found this quote that was from a talk on mothering and homemaking that she gave to a group of women.
"We have to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove anything, to be what we are."
Such wonderful, simple advice. I love the way she puts everything.
She also would gently tease President Hinckley when he would adjust the microphone for her at meetings as she addressed the congregation, "That's why I bring him along."
And when her oldest daughter cried in despair when her first baby was 6 weeks old that, "I've had it! I'm not cut out to be a mother! I can't do this for the rest of my life!" she started to laugh. "Well, guess what, dear," she said through her laughter. "It's too late!"
I just love Sister Hinckley and her no-nonsense way of approaching life, always with such a sense of humor. It really changes everything!!
So, that's all of my thoughts for now. Someday the computer will cooperate and download my pictures of our trip to Salt Lake! We had so much fun! But until then, I am curious, what do you think describes a great mother? And how in the world are we supposed to know how we are doing??
