This is a quote taken from Love, Aubrey, a book I recently read:
"But really, anybody could die any day, whether you were ready or not. It could be your pet fish, or your sister, or you. Nothing is the same forever. Maybe all the people on Earth are God's little pet fish. God lives such a long time that people's lives probably seem really short to him. He watches them swim around for a little while, and then they stop swimming."
It's an interesting metaphor, really, to think that we are only fish swimming around in a bowl. I have also thought this, and I wrote a poem about it once. The quote made me think a little bit about life and death in general. It makes me realize that we will die, and could at any moment. Knowing this, what are we going to do with our lives? No one is too old or too young to make a difference. Many people feel that they don't have anything they want to change, or the right means to do it with. Surely that can't be true? We've all been given gifts: some people are musically inclined, some people have the gift for helping others, some people are the super extroverted types who are natural people-magnets (I am especially impressed by these folks since I am not one of them). All of these things can be used. As for change, is there anyone in the world who is completely happy with the way things are? I highly doubt this to be true. These are just excuses to not do anything. I don't want to sound condescending; I just feel that everyone has a purpose and if we don't use our gifts towards that purpose, then why did God even put us on Earth in the first place?
So, seeing as I could die at any moment, I want to live every day as if it were my last. I don't like holding grudges for this reason, I don't want anyone to be mad at me, I don't want to go to sleep knowing that I hurt someone. I want to make an effort to leave an impact on someone's life. It doesn't have to be something big. I just want to know that I changed someone's life for the better, and even if it's only one person, then I will be happy. I wish everyone had the same goal. Even if it may not seem like they changed the world, it makes a world of difference to that one person they impacted.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Key and Lock
She was a beautiful key: long and slender, the old-fashioned kind that was meant to fit in a keyhole, with three teeth at the end of her brazen shaft. She was only three inches long. Her head was a mass of delicate swirls and patterns that seemed too elaborate for practical use. She hung from a chain next to a window, and swung in the breeze when it was open. There was a blanket of cobwebs encasing her where she hung, for no one had reached up for her in years.
It had been so long since she had actually been used she wondered whether she went to anything at all. Everyone else may have forgotten what she unlocked, including herself, but she knew for certain that she belonged to something. She knew that for every key, there is a lock, and every lock has something behind it. That is why even as the days went by, the seasons turned, and years changed all into just memories, the key still swung from her chain by the window, waiting for the one day when someone would finally remember her and find where she belonged.
It had been so long since she had actually been used she wondered whether she went to anything at all. Everyone else may have forgotten what she unlocked, including herself, but she knew for certain that she belonged to something. She knew that for every key, there is a lock, and every lock has something behind it. That is why even as the days went by, the seasons turned, and years changed all into just memories, the key still swung from her chain by the window, waiting for the one day when someone would finally remember her and find where she belonged.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Babysitting Tip #1: Keep Eyes on Children ALWAYS
So... I had quite an eventful night babysitting this evening. Normally, the kids at this particular house are pretty good and pleasant to be around. Tonight was no different, but with a twist.
As I reached the door of the house and the mom had greeted me, she informed me that her niece had been there all day and that I would have to watch her for a few minutes until she was picked up. That was fine. What was one more kid, anyway? Instead of watching three kids, I was now watching four. Again, this didn't bother me until the next thing the mom said: "She's very stubborn. You may have to be firm with her, because she doesn't listen very well." Oh great, I thought to myself, now I have a difficult child to work with. Oh well, it couldn't be helped.
When the parents left, everyone was happily seated on the couch watching Barbie: A Mermaid Tale 2. (I found it quite disturbing how brightly colored everything was.) After about ten minutes, however, the two youngest children grew tired of the movie, and I can't blame them, so they went to play in one of the bedrooms. I could still hear them, so I assumed everything was fine, until five minutes later when I went to check on them. What did I find? In the time they had been left alone, they had succeeded in flooding the entire bathroom and the water was quickly working its way into the hall. I felt like I was the mermaid then. I could have slapped myself. This was not what I needed 15 minutes before bedtime. So this was what the mom meant by "stubborn".
I set straight to work cleaning: the two kids were totally soaked, so I had to get dry pajamas for the boy and wrap a towel around the girl (since she was the niece and didn't have a change of clothes); I tried to mop the water off the floor with towels until I could really mop; and of course, I drained the whole sink and wiped down the cupboards, which were literally sopping wet. Of course, right as I was in the middle of all this, the niece's mother walked in and took her home in a towel. That must have made a good first impression.
After the initial damage was dealt with, I got the youngest in bed and tried to have the middle child also get in bed. Of course, small children always want a snack at the least convenient times, so I ended up feeding everybody before they would go to bed. So, after the youngest was in bed a second time, I set to work on the middle child. She simply refused to sleep unless I read her a story, so I obliged in this while her sister took the mop and helped clean up the water that still remained. All I can say, is thank goodness for firstborn children.
Finally, after both of the girls were in bed and I was alone, I had to finish cleaning up. Thankfully, the mop did most of the dirty work, but I still had to make sure everything was dry. After everything was done, I finally wrung out all the towels and hung them up to dry, along with the clothing of the culprits, and I sat down on the couch to read until the parents came home.
It's funny because when I left the house before I arrived, I was just hoping the kids would go to bed without complaining tonight. Well, that's exactly what happened, except I had to flood the bathroom to get it. The moral of the story? I'm not sure. Maybe the moral is that you should never let two 3-year-olds out of your sight. Or you should never watch Barbie movies unless under torture. Or even that you should wear waterproof clothing every time you babysit. Regardless of the lesson learned, I know that when I go over next time, I will not be the one who turns mermaid trying to clean up messes gone haywire.
As I reached the door of the house and the mom had greeted me, she informed me that her niece had been there all day and that I would have to watch her for a few minutes until she was picked up. That was fine. What was one more kid, anyway? Instead of watching three kids, I was now watching four. Again, this didn't bother me until the next thing the mom said: "She's very stubborn. You may have to be firm with her, because she doesn't listen very well." Oh great, I thought to myself, now I have a difficult child to work with. Oh well, it couldn't be helped.
When the parents left, everyone was happily seated on the couch watching Barbie: A Mermaid Tale 2. (I found it quite disturbing how brightly colored everything was.) After about ten minutes, however, the two youngest children grew tired of the movie, and I can't blame them, so they went to play in one of the bedrooms. I could still hear them, so I assumed everything was fine, until five minutes later when I went to check on them. What did I find? In the time they had been left alone, they had succeeded in flooding the entire bathroom and the water was quickly working its way into the hall. I felt like I was the mermaid then. I could have slapped myself. This was not what I needed 15 minutes before bedtime. So this was what the mom meant by "stubborn".
I set straight to work cleaning: the two kids were totally soaked, so I had to get dry pajamas for the boy and wrap a towel around the girl (since she was the niece and didn't have a change of clothes); I tried to mop the water off the floor with towels until I could really mop; and of course, I drained the whole sink and wiped down the cupboards, which were literally sopping wet. Of course, right as I was in the middle of all this, the niece's mother walked in and took her home in a towel. That must have made a good first impression.
After the initial damage was dealt with, I got the youngest in bed and tried to have the middle child also get in bed. Of course, small children always want a snack at the least convenient times, so I ended up feeding everybody before they would go to bed. So, after the youngest was in bed a second time, I set to work on the middle child. She simply refused to sleep unless I read her a story, so I obliged in this while her sister took the mop and helped clean up the water that still remained. All I can say, is thank goodness for firstborn children.
Finally, after both of the girls were in bed and I was alone, I had to finish cleaning up. Thankfully, the mop did most of the dirty work, but I still had to make sure everything was dry. After everything was done, I finally wrung out all the towels and hung them up to dry, along with the clothing of the culprits, and I sat down on the couch to read until the parents came home.
It's funny because when I left the house before I arrived, I was just hoping the kids would go to bed without complaining tonight. Well, that's exactly what happened, except I had to flood the bathroom to get it. The moral of the story? I'm not sure. Maybe the moral is that you should never let two 3-year-olds out of your sight. Or you should never watch Barbie movies unless under torture. Or even that you should wear waterproof clothing every time you babysit. Regardless of the lesson learned, I know that when I go over next time, I will not be the one who turns mermaid trying to clean up messes gone haywire.
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