Survival 101

OK so these past couple of days I think I have learned more about survival than I have before. I decided to do what most people would call a field excercise in Survival. Alright so here is my findings:

Survival 101 

• The hardest thing to survive through is not all the tests and all the probbing your doctor does to you. The hardest thing to survive is the wait for all the results!! 

• Solution: Most would say grab a giant bottle of wine, or box of wine (hey I'm not judging your budget here if you would see mine you would see even a box of wine is too much for me) and lull yourself until the day of reckoning comes. I don't drink though so my solution is to surround yourself with the positives in life. For me that was my family but I had to come to the realization that my family is human and so my husband had a couple of bad days, my children had a couple of bad days and even my dogs did too. Let me tell you something about dogs and bad days. This is what my new, sweet, demon-like dog of mine did. I was sitting contemplating my life (yeah right like I am that philosphical...LOL more like me trying to count the individual blinds on my windows but allowing any one who saw me to think that I was deep in thought) when the puppy comes up to me with those sweet and big old puppy eyes and when my heart was about to break for his sweet little face he squats down right in front of me to relieve himself. Oh man was that NOT one of the positives in my life. But I digressed as I tend to do a lot. The positives include taking your daughters clothes shopping, while you chat and giggle together. The positives include going out to eat as a family and talking about absolutely nothing but the funny things you all do and then listening to live music while you wait for the movie you are planning to watch to start. Positives are going to your church for Wednesday Night dinner and having Karaoke instead and having the time of your life chatting with a great friend and her husband while your daughters are part of the waitstaff at the church and your son is in a different room enjoying his pizza and friends and your husband becomes the funniest part of the night when he goes and dances alongside the Pastor to a rendition of MY GIRL and ALL THE SINGLE LADIES!! LOL

• Everyone deals with stress at the same time you do!

• Oh was this one a difficult one for me. What do you mean everyone else has things going on when I have things going on?!?! How fair is that?! Well I thought ok I am here stressing over what has been going on with me and I forgot one of the most fundamental things in life. The world does not revolve around me as I would love it to be. How could I have gone in for my ultrasound and found out that they needed to go in further with the scope and all and think that the rest of the world just stopped because of my issues? Well I did think that. I got out of the clinic and called my sister who has been going through the same thing and we compared notes. I than go and pick up lunch at a local restaurant here to pick up lunch for my wonderful children who I assumed had been hard at work doing their school while I was out and their chores. I get to the restaurant and order my kids meals and my own which I was looking forward to trying, a buffalo chicken sandwich since I was craving buffalo chicken for so long, and when they give it to me I rush out the door quickly to get home to my sweet angels who I knew were hungry and waiting patiently with all their school work done, an emaculate house and well behaved kids. I get home to find out the puppy had destroyed a plush toy, the dishes were a mile high in the sink and the kids were arguing about who should do what along with their work only half done in school. OMG like my daughters say I was ready to throttle them!! I give them their kids meals to only discover that my sandwich, the one I was practically salivating for was missing. I check my car in case I left a bag behind or something and nothing!! NO sandwich!! What is that about? Did I get mad and want to curse God when my doctor told me they found a growth? NO but I was feeling like I just might over a silly sandwich! I get online with my receipt and remember the girl telling me about the feedback they desperately were hoping I would give them and thought "OK I'll give you my feedback little girl!" I go online and give the restaurant a horrible review stating that they failed to give me the sandwich I ordered and PAID for and went on to how can they be so inconsiderate and so on and so forth. Just last night I get a reply to my review and the Manager apologizes for my inconvience and all and would like to give me three free sandwiches because of my "pain and suffering". Pain and suffering? Really is that how I came across in my email? Wow were my prespective all screwed up! When I was there all I saw were wives of military men working and I for one know how hard it is to be a military spouse and I had to get all riled up because they forgot to place my sandwich in the bag? Why could I just not have been a good Christian and let it go and think at least my kids food was all there and it was delicious for them? Then that night my husband comes home and he is PISSED to say the least. I had been so in my own head I completely forgot to get those dishes I complained to the kids about done, I did not have the kids ready to leave for church and we were running late, and I didn't take into consideration that he had a very bad day at work. He just came in with such a sour disposition that I allowed my hot latin roots to take over and I flipped out. I went into the "ME, ME, ME" talk and never once considered his feelings. I drove off with both my girls and did not look back to see if he was close behind with our son. I get to church and still upset but get over quickly when I am greeted by all the beautiful friends I have made in church. When my husband arrives he apologizes to me but I have to learn I needed to apologize too. Was my day hard? Yea but his was too. And even though there are days where I hate being a part of military life I have to realize if it wasn't for the Army I would not have the benefits I do today. Without the benefits I would not have found out about the condition I am going through right now. So I have to realize that just because I had a "woe is me moment" doesn't mean others aren't having it either. Wow why doesn't the world get to revolve around me? 

• And last but certainly never least it is hard to survive a house filled to rim with hormones!
• I am now the mom of two young ladies if you catch my drift and as the old wives tale states women who live in the same house tend to snychornize their cycles and we have begun doing that. Oh my poor husband and son! Well these past couple of days this house has been full of raging emotions, feelings and well lets just be honest here this house is full of psychotic chicks. One would think as a woman I would be able to understand, relate and even be sympathetic to my daughters emotions and hormones. OK word to the wise I AM NOT! I love my children, I think I can for the most part be my children's biggest fan but when my daughters are in their psychotic moods at the same time mom here is in hers I am not the patient, loving and supportive mom. I turn into what my son calls a Cthulhu! If you do not know what this is it is a fictional creature who is a cross between an octopus, dragon and demon! I feel like my dad who always says funny stories about how his mom would turn into a blood hungry vampire when he misbehaved and she would be clawing up the walls to get him. I now know that it is true and God does have a sense of humor to put three women under one roof and allow them all to deal with their hormones in a totally different way. I am one I deal by retreating, becoming a loner, and just being down right miserable with myself. My oldest becomes extremely talkative, wanting attention, and taking everything everyone says taking it personally. My younger daughter gets angry, gets annoyed and just seems to loathe her brother even more than usual. So how you do survive a house being overrun by hormones? Well in this instance the best way to survive is to breathe, take everything one step at a time and then just wait it out.

Proverbs 31 is a very known passage in the Bible. It tells us women how the perfect Godly women should be. And if you are anything like me you struggle with achieving even half of what she does. I do not want to be discouraged though. I think we need to try our best and realize we are human and we make mistakes. You know I read the passage over and over again in just the 13 years that we have been married and each time I end it thinking wow I am a total failure! Let me enlighten you as to what I have learned now about my experience with the Proverbs 31 woman. Guess what she is almost impossible to reach her standards and alone we can not but that is the great thing that we are not alone in this world. God did not ever intend to create us and leave us alone he created us and placed us in family units. When we lean on other woman like our mothers, our sisters and our friends we learn and we grow through them. When we lean on our husbands and our children and have them help us achieve who we are meant to be we learn and we grow through them. When we lean on God he gives us the strength we need to overcome and to be the Proverbs 31 women we all have strived to be like.

"She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
 Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
 “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31: 27-31 NIV

In closing, Survival is what you make of it. Are your children and your husband going to remember how you handle the circumstances life has thrown at you and call you blessed or are they going to call you cursed for your trials and tribulations. Lean on God. Lean on his strength and draw from him all that HE has to give. Survival is for the fittest and when we are running the good race if we run along with Christ we will finish the race strong when we meet him in the end and he will look us straight in the eyes and say: "Well done my GOOD AND FAITHFUL servant". Be strong and trust in the Lord for he is our rock, our fortress and our foundation.

Be blessed in HIM