Embracing 35...and BENDing Expectations

Yesterday when I picked my daughter up from school at 3:30 in a fog of cold and flu medicine with a sick baby in the stroller, I found myself among throngs of other parents all away from work at 3:30 on a Friday. I was away because I was genuinely ill and did not have another parent to pick-up my child (John is working nights these days), but I found myself wondering What Do People Do All Day? here in Bend. I am both impressed and perplexed as to how many people my age have created a niche for themselves in which they do not work regular hours. Now in our case, John CAN be there to pick up and drop off quite a bit because he works nights, so do all of these other people work nights? No...don't think so. They were too happy and bright for that. :) What I do think is that Bend attracts people that are innovative and savvy and have left some crazy, hectic city life in order to slow down, dig deeply into their lives and families and connect with their schools and communities. Well done Bend! I am both proud of you and a bit jealous. I must remind you that this is a sliver of the population, and that there are plenty of people here working hard 9-5, in the trenches, day-in, day-out and they are in the same boat that we are in...but...the latter population is what I have based my expectations on for our family. I am deeply saddened by the fact that I can't take my daughter to school each day, walk with her among other moms and dads and pick her up on a regular basis. Quite frankly...it sucks. I also love my job. I love being a teacher, I love working with kids from ALL different places and I love having a career...albeit a stressful one that doesn't pay much. So... how do we SHIFT? How do I shift my expectations and be grateful for the beautiful life we have? How do we dig in even if were exhausted on Saturday mornings, how do we balance the load of work and financial responsibility with the joy of love, spirituality and self-time...not to mention exercise?? How do we raise kids that are tuned into nature and others instead of the tube, the computer and "what others have"? These are my questions this year...and How to stay healthy? :). We have worked so hard to get back to this "place", but this place is actually very different than we "expected" now that we're here. The place we need to return to is the place inside our hearts, inside our selves...a place of balance, gratitude and love. Sad to report that we have strayed so far from that place in such a short amount of time...only five months. So 2014...Year of the Horse...here we go. Eyes open, hearts open...time to BEND our expectations back into healthy ones and love this life. Life is what you make of it...and we only have one. The first thirty-five years have been amazing, here's to the next 35...and 40 for John this year!