Stream of Consciousness Sunday ~ Soccer Mom

It's Week 13 of my Stream of Consciousness Sunday posts. It was a good sports day.  The MN Vikings pulled themselves up out of the toilet coming into today's game 0-3 & actually played 4 pretty good quarters of football in their win against Arizona.

Today was also Munchkin's final soccer practice of a very short 5 week session.  He started out the first day in tears, hiding behind my hubby & I, refusing to participate. Today he scored two goals in their game, & loved every minute of it.

I'm sure there will be more experiences like this where he is apprehensive at first & we wonder whether we've made the right choice. Thank goodness we know he will settle in & prove us wrong - thriving.

My hubby who was a "Doubting Thomas" after that 1st soccer practice, stayed home (my suggestion) for session number two. That bit of space & no pressure I'm sure did wonders for Munchkin's confidence.  He was so excited to come back & tell his Daddy he participated. The next 3 sessions, he wanted his Daddy there to see how good he could do.

So much of what we go through & ultimately what we teach our kids is about the mental game, pushing forward when we don't think we have what it takes to succeed.  

Just like our Mn Vikings who finally put their heads into the game, stopped doubting themselves & finally they saw the pieces of the game plan come together. I'm thrilled Munchkin figured out what he was capable of & made a success out of this first soccer experience. I am officially a soccer mom.

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.

§         Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.

§         Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.

§         Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.

§         Link up your post at all.things.fadra

§         Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy: Stream of Consciousness Sunday - The Pieces That Make Us Whole  or The Stranger

Inner Struggles

Fall, much like Spring, is a time when people are spending time cleaning house & purging to make room for the holidays & the year to come. It's a mental exercise as much as it is physical.  2011 will be here before we know it & so many, including me, still have 2010 goals yet to be accomplish.

These past several months being back at work have been a struggle for me.  In life, there are wishes, hopes and expectations, but sometimes the universe has other plans for us & we get sidetracked from the path we feel we should be on.

I've been reading tweets & posts lately where people are having their own battles with life - whether it's trying to fit into a new work environment, struggling with exercise, balancing desire with the motivation to lose weight, relationship ups & downs, meeting deadlines, or for the unemployed, just finding leads on opportunities - we all have our worries.  

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

The grass is always greener on the other side & that peer that appears to have it all together can't possible have the same concerns as the rest of us or at least that's our perception.  Their lives always appear so effortless & so perfect. Most likely their journey was not a seamless one either.  They pushed through their own struggles.

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. - Eleanor Roosevelt

What connects us to each other in these online communities is that we find people on a similar journey to that of our own. We observe & we learn, we listen & we contribute.  We read about each other in our triumphs, along with the disappointments, the joys & the pain. We attempt to offer words of wisdom or strength and at times just offer support and reinforcement. 
 

"The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little." -Thomas Merton

 
None of us really set out to settle - I certainly don't. It's not enough to just be a survivor. Most want & need to thrive.  We call on patience ~ allowing courage and focus to move us forward.

"I am in limbo of not knowing...My life is not suspended: it continues as before.  The Spirit is undimmed. We cannot expect perfection. We can only hope to continue...The spirit leases a beautiful house in the earthquake zone.  Thanks to the Divine for the strength to be patient." - excerpts from a modern prayer from Mexico City, USA

Here's to digging way deeper than you imagined you could. Make the journey worth the struggle it takes to get to the desired end result.  Remember the angst & stress you feel along the way, so that when you finally do reach your goal, you'll appreciate, value & respect it that much more.

 

A New Chapter

Well starting late next week, a new chapter will unfold as I start work at a contract position for the next several months.  I tossed the idea back in forth in my head, discussed it with family & a couple of close friends.  I've also heard in the past several days that more people in my personal circle would be losing their jobs. 

Everyone should learn to stretch beyond their comfort zone. 
- Harvey Mackay  

It's such a sobering reality. Things just may get worse for so many before they get better. There are no promises to be made - no guarantees - only what life dishes out day by day.  It's a matter of how you choose to play the cards you've been dealt and where you continue your journey from there. My prayers go out to them. I also said a little prayer of thanks that some good fortune has found it's way back to our family. It will mean some big changes for how we manage our lives, but we all will adjust.

"Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." - Calvin Coolidge

It's amazing how small victories give a person strength & courage. Only you can work to make sure you are in a better situation the next time a major challenge tests your will to survive. Only you can decide to thrive. I am empowered to write a new chapter.

The search goes on for a permanent career opportunity - still a work in progress. I never imagined a plot twist such as this, but I'm willing to take it and see how my character develops - in more ways than one.