soccer season is rolling here on north america's southern great plains. all 3 of my foster kids (ages 4, 7 and 9) are playing and 3 team rosters have me staggering. just keeping up with which player needs to be at which field on which day at which time has me spinning circles. ya mean they can't drive themselves? kids today are so dependent. . . knowing i have to keep this pace until the end of may has me pulling out the self-motivational whip with encouragement like, "suck it up and just do the do, ya whiney old hag!"

methinks i'm holding steady through the chaos. today's read from "courage to change" is resonating like a bell worthy of further exploration. typing and/or reading these meditations helps me remember them better. peer group discussion develops them. just hoping. . .

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i have heard that the time to be especially gentle with myself is not when i'm doing well, but when i'm doing poorly. i may be able to push myself hard when things are going my way, but i invite trouble if i try this when i'm already struggling with the basic activities of my life. i used to worry that if i didn't push myself all the time, i would turn into a slug and nothing would get done. but my psychotherapy showed me the opposite is true. i tend to be very hard on myself, so hard at times that i make my own life unmanageable. as a result, i often accomplish less than i would if i took a more gentle approach. for me, the best antidote is the slogan, "easy does it."

when i notice that i'm having trouble with my day, i try to slow down. and instead of automatically assuming i am wrong, i try to consider the possibility that i might be right on schedule.

today's reminder

"easy does it" suggests not only that i learn to slow down, but also that i learn to lighten up. today i will strive to take a more accepting attitude toward myself and to enjoy the day, regardless of what i achieve.

"improving our own attitudes and our own state of mind, takes time. haste and impatience can only defeat our purposes." ~this is alanon

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do ya reckon "easy does it" might also apply to slowing down enough to suck up some dinner after i deliver a four year old girl to the 9 year old boy practice field?