I have decided to skip the rest of the month of January for all entries. There was nothing terribly exciting in the two notes sections. As for the journal section, it was mostly complaints about work and other people. I will note that in that month I learned about the passing of a friend and mentor, Benjamin Hoke.
***February 4, 2004 JOURNAL: First Day of No Work
I can't say that I'm not happy. I was feeling like some old person that just retired. Now I have a lot of "extra time" to do things I want to do. Among which includes taking better care of myself, cleaning up the house, catching up on church stuff and catching up on reading.
Sunday I had a birthday interview with the branch president. He started talking about going on a mission. Then he asked me what would happen if I were to get married first. I blanked. I didn't what to say. Then I told him my decision was that I should go. He said that was good and reminded me the final decision was up to me. I told him this was not helpful. With difficult decisions it's easier to be told what to do. Then, if it doesn't work out, someone else takes the blame. But being questioned that like makes me wonder what I should do.
2 November 2012
That lesson about being told what to do is easier that deciding for myself is one of those lesser known truths about growing up. The older I get the more I have to rely on my own decisions that the decisions of others. That ties in with another lesson about growing up I learned, which is: If decide you want to accomplish something then you need to do the work!
I was once taught (although I can't remember the source) that if I couldn't keep my own room clean, how could I possibly keep a whole house clean? While I was not good at keeping my room clean as a child ... I shared a small room with my three siblings, and if they didn't clean up their stuff, why should I clean up my stuff? ... I was much better as a teen when we moved and I we each had our own room space. What they didn't teach me was that cleaning a house, with young children, takes work. If something is dropped on the ground, it will not magically re-appear in the place to which it belongs. If the dishes are left in the sink over-night, they will not be cleaned and put away in the morning when I wake up. If a child goes to sleep dirty, without a bath, they will still be dirty in the morning, but will still give you smiles. Life takes work, little by little, day by day until the whole house is clean (which is yet to be realized since the birth of Lloyd).
I can't say that I'm not happy. I was feeling like some old person that just retired. Now I have a lot of "extra time" to do things I want to do. Among which includes taking better care of myself, cleaning up the house, catching up on church stuff and catching up on reading.
Sunday I had a birthday interview with the branch president. He started talking about going on a mission. Then he asked me what would happen if I were to get married first. I blanked. I didn't what to say. Then I told him my decision was that I should go. He said that was good and reminded me the final decision was up to me. I told him this was not helpful. With difficult decisions it's easier to be told what to do. Then, if it doesn't work out, someone else takes the blame. But being questioned that like makes me wonder what I should do.
2 November 2012
That lesson about being told what to do is easier that deciding for myself is one of those lesser known truths about growing up. The older I get the more I have to rely on my own decisions that the decisions of others. That ties in with another lesson about growing up I learned, which is: If decide you want to accomplish something then you need to do the work!
I was once taught (although I can't remember the source) that if I couldn't keep my own room clean, how could I possibly keep a whole house clean? While I was not good at keeping my room clean as a child ... I shared a small room with my three siblings, and if they didn't clean up their stuff, why should I clean up my stuff? ... I was much better as a teen when we moved and I we each had our own room space. What they didn't teach me was that cleaning a house, with young children, takes work. If something is dropped on the ground, it will not magically re-appear in the place to which it belongs. If the dishes are left in the sink over-night, they will not be cleaned and put away in the morning when I wake up. If a child goes to sleep dirty, without a bath, they will still be dirty in the morning, but will still give you smiles. Life takes work, little by little, day by day until the whole house is clean (which is yet to be realized since the birth of Lloyd).
No comments:
Post a Comment