Go in peace. The presence of the Lord be with you on your way. Judges 18:6 NKJV
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| Many years ago: Zachary, Brandon, Destinee |
~ Hello all you bloggy WINners out there! Have you begun celebrating Autumn yet? I decorated the house other day, then dusted off my DVD's that have a touch of Autumn's theme: You Got Mail, Mona Lisa Smile, Sweet November. Yesterday, instead of taking a power nap, I watched Stepmom (love the fall colors). And this is where I get a little serious, because again, the message came to haunt me: You are a lousy stepmom, and you're also a crummy mother-in-law. Stop! I told myself. I've been through this too many times--I'm not going there again.
~ Dang! Why do I watch movies that force me to take such inward looks at myself? Am I the only woman in Bloggsville that goes through this? I talked to some fellow-stepmoms the other day and they were ready to form the Stepmom's Unite Club!
~ As women, we try to be perfect, especially in the younger years. I was on the threshold of perfection when I was in my thrilling thirties. Didn't last long.
~ Twenty-two years ago my daughter married, and I became a mother-in-law. Then Rob and I married, and voila! I was a stepmom. A few years later, my son married. Yep, mom-in-law again.
~ I love all my children, step, in-law, and otherwise, but sometimes this love doesn't come across the way I want it to. I fumble; probably say the wrong words; to this day, I sometimes feel distant. I ask myself questions about this, but I don't dare go to the source in fear that I might open a can of worms. I might politely be told, You're right, I don't like you! or I don't like what you stand for. So for now, I leave the can unopened. Besides, I figure if my step-kids or in-laws have a bone to pick with me, they are welcome to ring me up anytime. Hmmm, now I'm asking myself, are you really that brave? I don't know.
~ A few years ago, I was talking to my Auntie Eunice about being a mother-in-law and a stepmom. She smiled. "Honey, I can't give you any advice because I've never been one of those." Smart words, Auntie. Unless you've been a stepmom or a mother-in-law yourself, it's hard to give such profound advice.
~ The Lord recently spoke to me regarding relationships. "You can't expect something from someone if they don't have it to give." That's it--I was putting MY expectations on others. Those words freed me.
~ I'm doing much better in my savvy-sixties than I did in my fumbling-forties and my fungshway-fifties. We must focus on the positive. I'm having too much fun being a wife, a daughter, a sister, a mother, and a grandmom!
Have a WINning week, and go in peace.
Oceans of blessings.
Oceans of blessings.
p.s. I found my curtain rod!
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| Dad's 88th B'day in Zion, Utah |
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| In Istanbul |
