My life is a balance of negotiating priorities, which change as I do. While I have always cared deeply about my family of origin–my parents and brother, I also think that when I was young, my focus was on my friends, activities, and being included. Probably like any young girl and teenager, I assumed everyone I loved and who loved me would always be around. I took them for granted, plain and simple. As I have matured, I have prioritized my family (both my parents, sibling, and my own husband and children) in countless ways. In the midst of getting an education, raising children, and developing a career, maturity taught me that those whom I loved could be gone in a minute. Continue reading “Priorities”
Tag: Barbara Jaffe
What I Do Well…
As someone who is more comfortable focusing on what I need to improve, I force myself to go the other direction and think about what I do well. Focusing on my strengths is the main antidote for being too hard on myself. Here is my list, and believe me, it’s not easy to always give myself credit, but still I do and the more I write these lists, the easier it becomes to focus on my talents and let go of the darkness and negativity swirling within.
In so specific order, for today, here is what I do well: Continue reading “What I Do Well…”
My Sister-In-Law: No, My Sister!
I think in our culture, nouns with the hyphenated words ‘in-law,’ conjure up some negative feelings. Many times such emotions are warranted, as per the mother-in-law jokes that everyone seems to know and often relate to. But, what about the experiences where an ‘in-law’ is so special and so important in your life, that to call someone your sister-in-law (as in my case) seems to do a disservice to the same woman I love and honor? Continue reading “My Sister-In-Law: No, My Sister!”
Hoops
The older I get, the more sure I am that life really is just a series of hoops–hoops we choose to, or have to, jump through (or not). I’m not being pessimistic or minimizing so many of my decisions, just realizing that hoops are what I have encountered, sometimes like medicine that I have to swallow in order to get on with it all. Continue reading “Hoops”
Reflections on Waiting
It sometimes feels as if I have spent 50% of my life waiting–waiting for people, events, movies to begin…pretty much anything that requires time. The bottom line is, I am always early, and, thus, much of my waiting is self-inflicted. Being early or late likens to the comparison of being a Republican or a Democrat. Most people are one or the other (not including 3rd party, etc….). Being on time, in a sense, has become almost like a religion, as I practice it throughout my days. I can no sooner be late than become a gorilla. On the occasional time that I am running a little late (no more than 5 minutes), I begin to breathe heavily and panic. I know this is a problem and would love to be late once just so I could know that I won’t melt, but being on time comes from eons of programming from long ago and a genetic component. The ‘late gene’ in my family was completely missing. Continue reading “Reflections on Waiting”