Tag Archives: help

THAT Baby!

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THAT Baby!

I was excited when I first heard the news.  Visalus was paying for me to fly to Los Angeles, CA for the National Director experience!  As I checked the calendar, I realized it was Columbus Day weekend which meant that Milton and Maximus could join me. I instantly became nervous as I realized that it would be Maximus’ first time on a plane.  And leave it to us to make that first trip across the country to California.

As a parent, you’re always nervous that you’ll have “that baby” on a flight.  You know, the one nobody wants to sit next to? Our flight out was early on a Friday morning on Southwest.  There was a one hour flight to Chicago, then a four hour flight to LA.  And, although I was nervous.  Either my breast was Maximus’ best friend or sleep was his best friend.  He was good, I was good and Milton was good.  At the end of the flight people complimented him for being a good baby.  Life was good.

Or so we thought.  Milton had to fly back early for work, so he and Maximus flew back a day early.  Alone. Solo. By themselves. Without me.  Milton just knew that everything would be easy going again.  I said a prayer for safe and silent travel.  Um, let’s just say it was an interesting experience!

Immediately upon getting on the quiet early morning plane, Maximus took the opportunity to yell at the top of his lungs.  You know that yell when a swarm of bees are attacking you?  Yeah, that yell!  And he doesn’t stop. Nothing Milton did could calm our son down.  The flight attendant even asked the gentleman next to Milton if he wanted to change seats. Yeah, it was that bad!

Right before takeoff, the flight attendant walked up to Milton and said there were a group of ladies a few aisles ahead of him.  They wanted to know if they could take Maximus back there and they would pass him around to try to calm him down.  Milton said he thought about it for all of ten seconds and then passed our dear precious son off to the flight attendant.  He heard Maximus cry a little longer, then he calmed down and then there was silence.

After takeoff, and once the unfasten seatbelt light came on, Milton walked to the front of the plane to check on Maximus.  By this time, he was asleep.  Milton said he volunteered to take him back, but the ladies shooed him away and said they’d keep him the rest of the flight.  And they did.

Milton was extremely thankful for their helpfulness and generosity.  So often, others in that situation would have just turned up their nose.  I’m thankful that Milton got their contact information.  The women actually worked together and live in Texas.  I called them a week later, introduced myself as Maximus’ mother and shared my appreciation for their help with both my husband and my son.  We followed up by sending them a gift from Edible Arrangements. Angels come into your life at various times and Michelle, Taylor and Corrie were our angels that day.  Bless them!

An Unconcerned Society

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Now most of my time is spent in bed. But, I am able to get up to take a shower, use the bathroom, pour some water etc…. Yesterday, mid-afternoon, I got up and looked outside my scenic window which opens to the front of the hospital.  It was a Friday afternoon so I saw various people and cars moving around.  It was also a sunny day.I couldn’t tell you the temperature, though, because I haven’t been outside for a couple of days.

I was taken aback as I saw a man, laying between the curb and the sidewalk. I watched for a couple of minutes for someone to walk up and see if he was okay. But nobody did.  I watched at least 10 people walk right past him. Several of those people were hospital staff dressed in scrubs. Not one single person acknowledged him.

This disturbed me to a great extent.  I pressed my call button to have a nurse come in.  Although I was very worried about the man, I wasn’t trying to go into early labor by standing up for too long to keep looking out the window.  The nurse took a little longer than normal to come in my room.  By the time she came in and I told her what I saw, we looked out the window and the man was gone.

I don’t know if the man was homeless taking a nap. I don’t know if he was in need of medical attention and didn’t make it inside.  Regardless, why did not one person stop to make sure he was okay? As a society we have to do better.  Even if you don’t feel safe approaching the man yourself, ask some hospital staff to come out and make sure he’s okay. America, where’s our compassion and concern for others?!

Being There for Yourself

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30Date

 Being There For Yourself

I have a couple of friends that are the most amazing people.  Whenever you need them, they will drop any and everything they are doing to be there for you.  And even better, they expect nothing in return.  They demonstrate what a true family member or friend should do and find pride in being unsung heros who often save the day.

However, as much as I admire these people, I also fear for them. These people spend all of their time caring and supporting their spouses, children, parents and friends.  All of their money goes to these people, often times without receiving a simple thank you. But what ends up happening is that when these people need personal help in return – nobody is there.  Even worse, often these people don’t ask for help because they feel like they’ll be a burden on everyone else.

If you’re one of these people – please, please, please understand that you need to come first in your life.  The stress of the world and the pressure you feel bearing down on your shoulders does not get any relief if you don’t take care of yourself.

Just as you feel thankful and needed when others ask you for help, know that others around you would be more than eager to help you in your time of need.  You don’t expect others to do it alone, so why do you feel it’s acceptable for you to do it alone?

If the giver always stays the giver, at some point your basket will be empty.  Instead of waiting until you hit rock bottom and force yourself to become the receiver, why not start both giving and receiving now so that you’ll always have a basket that is full and ready to serve?!