Do You Stay Calm During Stressful Situations?

"Mommy?"

"Yes....?"

"Can you and daddy make me a boy one -- just like my sweetie girl?"

How do you answer that?  Rochelle said she would talk to daddy.......

I adore watching how my 4-year-old grandson loves his new little sister.  Before she was born, William made it exquisitely clear that if mommy and daddy had a boy baby, to PUT HIM BACK.  He only wanted a sister.

Now, he wants another sibling.  He begs to hold her and cuddle with her.   How long do you think that will last?  We can hope....forever.

It is hard to believe that she is a month old already and in a moment I will be recalling at her high school graduation, "Seems like yesterday I held Aubrie in my arms, welcoming her into this world."

BEST EASTER PRESENT .......
              E V E R!

It was wonderful spending the first week of Aubrie's life with her.  I think we forget just how fast they grow and the changes that occur daily.

Learning to be Resilient

When I was asked to speak for a women's business group in the town where my friend lived I was thrilled to be able to stay at her home instead of a hotel.  We stayed up the night before into the wee hours catching up and sharing memories.

It was a breakfast meeting and about 35 minutes away.  I planned to rise early and give myself plenty of time.  At 4:30, I was awakened by howling winds and debris flying around the neighborhood banging on the side of the house.  The power was..... OUT.

For some of you gorgeous women who can get up in the morning and splash water on your face and are good to go, I envy you.  For me, that would take a miracle.  I hadn't washed my hair in two days knowing I would be traveling.  WHAT was I going to do?

I would have looked in the mirror to assess the situation but there were no windows in the bathrooms where light could filter in -- and it was still very dark outside. WHAT to do?

The first thing I did was call the hotel where the meeting was scheduled.  I had been informed the day before they had to find a bigger banquet room as the reservations were coming in by the dozens.  This was exciting.

"Pacific Inn, how may I help you?"

"I am wondering if you have power this morning.  I am the guest speaker at the breakfast meeting and I need a room to get myself ready."

"You are more than welcome to get ready here but I am sorry we do not have power.  However, the power company said we should have it by 7 this morning."

I was also concerned how they were going to make the food for a few hundred people in time for the breakfast.

"Doesn't the hotel have a backup generator?"

"What's that," she asked?  I had to use every ounce of restraint to not say what I was thinking.

I called back at 7:15 -- NO power.  Breakfast was at 8:45 and I still had not found a place to get myself ready.

STAY calm....

I looked in my little purse size mirror and saw my hair plastered to one side of my head and sticking straight up on the other.  The thought of trying to apply makeup holding that little mirror with one hand was out of the question.  

I considered driving around until I found a gas station with lights on but the news said that 85,000 homes were without power and the affected area was several miles in each direction.

Then I had a brainstorm.  I called the woman who had set up the meeting.  I had never met her but was hoping she would help.  

"Good morning.  This is Carol and I am your guest speaker today.  Do you have power?"

Long pause.

"Hello?  Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but that's okay.  I need to get up and get going."

I told her my dilemma.  Yes, they had power but were quite a distance away.

I got in the car assuming the trek to her house would be about 35 minutes.  It was rush hour and all the traffic lights were out.  Of course, THERE WAS NO POWER.  One car moved through the stop light in each direction.  It took forever but I got to her house.  

At this point, I was not concerned if I was late because the breakfast was first and then there was the first "act" to warm up the audience before I spoke.  

No, I did not need directions.  I had GPS.  

Laughing is better than crying!

My GPS program was outdated for this area and I got terribly lost. Should I laugh or cry? Laughing won.  If you have ever been lost, especially in a parking lot, have a good laugh on me by reading this story.  My hubby said that if he ever needed to get rid of me, he would take me to the woods and point me in a different direction.  He doubted I would ever find my way home.  

I used my powers of reasoning and was finally able to get there.  The hotel was massive and could be seen from quite a distance on the highway.  

The winds were still howling and the rain was torrential.  I was able to park by the service entrance making it easier to carry in several boxes of books.
  

The banquet room was at the far end of the hotel.  Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to carry my heels and wear flat shoes.  

The power had been restored about an hour earlier.  By the time I got the book table set up and grabbed some breakfast, the program had started.   

A group of international award-winning Irish dancers performed and this gave me time to relax and catch my breath.

Standing at the book table after the event, I always make a point of reading all the comment cards before leaving.  Often people will leave contact information and want me to connect with them and I would not want to miss that opportunity.

Hadn't seen her in over 30 years

As I went through the cards, a name jumped out at me.  It was a woman who I had known 30+ years earlier.  Our families had been close.  Her husband died suddenly in his early forties.  I couldn't believe that she would not have remembered my name and introduced herself.  But I wrote down her phone number - this was an opportunity I did not want to miss.

Only a moron gets lost twice on the same day, right?

Because I was in unfamiliar territory, I depended on my GPS to get me home.  But, once again the two new highway restorations were not in my program and YUP, I got lost.  Ended up in another part of the city -- now it was afternoon rush hour.  I called my husband to tell him I didn't think I could get there from here and he had the audacity to laugh at me.

I made it home.  It was late.  All in all, it was an awesome day.

Then the phone rang....

My daughter shared that when she was leaving the school grounds where she picked up William that morning, a drunk driver at racing speeds through the school zone flew off the highway and hit the right side of the playground, just a few feet from where the children were playing.  

He was too drunk to get out of the car -- at 11:30 IN THE MORNING.  I told her the angels had certainly been protecting those little ones and hopefully he will be going away for a long time.  

Between the flag poles and the large tree

Every day we wake up breathing is a good day.  We have no promise of tomorrow.  I did contact my friend from all those years earlier.  It was wonderful to hear about her family.  I remembered them well.  

She shared that 10 years after her husband died, she lost her oldest son.  Then a few years later, she lost the youngest son as well.  No mother should have to bury her children.  My heart went out to her and I was so glad we had reconnected.

This was our monthly Fly on the Wall post where several bloggers share what went on in their neck of the woods the previous month.  I hope you take the opportunity to see what some of my blogging friends have to say:

Baking in a Tornado
Juicebox Confession
Menopausal Mother
Someone Else's Genius
Spatulas on Parade
Searching for Sanity
Go Mama O
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
Not That Sarah Michelle
Southern Belle Charm