If I can't see it, it's not happening.

I had my first day of regional trainings for the year today which I absolutely love attending.  I choose to attend regionals in Katy each year as it is closest to home and I usually get to see friends that I've met along this journey.  I'm sure the staff gets sick of all of my questions but I love to learn and being well versed makes me more confidant in my job.  Maybe law school will be a possibility some day, I'm not ruling it out entirely just yet.

But this post wasn't supposed to be about my passion, this post is about what happened this evening.  After classes Joe and I headed to dinner and whenever we travel for my work we try to hit a particular pizza place that is located in nearly every city to which I travel. Tonight we got there just before the evening rush.  We ordered and then proceeded to have a seat and indulge in one of my favorite past times...people watching.  There was a mother and son directly behind us in line, followed by an older couple, a couple of college girls and then several families.  This is where our story takes a turn.  One particular family had what I assume was a husband and wife and then an additional adult female and they had three small children.  While their parents wound through the line, these kids ran amuck throughout the place.  They played tag, they hung off of the fixtures, at one point one of them nearly knocked over a little old lady who must have been close to eighty years old. With three adults and three children they should have been playing a man to man defense but they were clearly taking a zone approach or playing an intense game of "NOT IT!".  There was an additional group made up of three women and five kids.  At one point one their little darlings was LITERALLY climbing the wall.  This establishment has a wall much like the one seen below except that the gaps between the boards are larger, making it possible for unsupervised children to use them as steps.  Which one of them did, climbing nearly to the ceiling before coming down again.

I get it parents you're tired, you're overwhelmed, you've had a long, tough day.  And the kids need to unwind and burn off some steam after a full day at school where they were made to sit in a chair all day and be quiet.  I get it, I promise I do.  But here's the deal... take them to an establishment where this type of behavior is encouraged.  If you need suggestions, here are a few... McDonald's, Chuck E Cheese, one of those trampoline parks, heck try Chick Fil A, the kids can unwind and the staff will probably say a prayer for you.  What I am saying is PLEASE for the love of Pete don't ruin one of my favorite places, have some consideration for your fellow man, and teach your children some manners.


To explain the title of this entry...as a kid I used to play hide and seek with my neighbors.  And one of them had a younger brother that would stand in the middle of the yard and cover his eyes when it was his turn to hide because he thought that if he couldn't see us, that we couldn't see him.  This seemed to be the parenting style that I witnessed tonight.  I have been guilty of this type of parenting in the past, hopefully we can all do better going forward.

Indecision

I asked the Hubby for a topic to write about on the blog and after much back and forth, we settled on "Indecision".  It seemed fitting since we couldn't decide on a topic.

The past few years I have taken on the role of "Chief Decision Maker".  Did you know that there are about 4,000 decisions to be made Every. Single. Day?!  Ask me how I know.  I used to agonize about every decision...is it the right one? the wrong one? should I research more?  When Damon went missing I learned not to sweat the small stuff.  And recently when my world was turned upside down again I learned that most stuff is small stuff.  When I was a kid and my Dad would make a  decision about a course of action he used to say "right, wrong, or indifferent".  Meaning whatever the outcome, he had made a decision and that was the course that we would follow.  Which brings me to the following meme.

And this was so me for a long time, paralyzed by indecision, stuck in the "what if's".  Miraculously, my ability to make a decision came from a place of absolute despair.  It didn't matter what we ate for dinner, because I didn't feel like eating anyway.  it didn't matter where we went or what we did, because I just wanted to climb back into bed.  But eventually with time and a whole lot of therapy, I got better and the decisions remained easier.  Because at the end of the day, if the decision that I am making right now is not going to affect my life in five years time than it is not life altering, and it doesn't really matter what route I choose to take.

I encourage you to make whatever decision you've been avoiding. You'll be surprised by the weight that is lifted.  Go forth and conquer!  Or go forth and queso if the decision that needs to be made is what to eat.