Monday, April 16, 2012

About the thing I learned from opening my mouth when I shouldn't have

You've probably never noticed, but on the About Me section of my blog I've given myself a Grand Canyon-sized disclaimer about how I really can't (read: won't) blog about "the really good stuff." Truth is, I usually do write about the good stuff--at least most of the sort-of-interesting-to-people-who-know-me stuff. At very least my daughter is cute and my family can come here to see the latest pictures of her adorableness.

What I can't (i.e., won't) blog about so far has been much more personal. Stuff like, oh, I don't know, the fact that I haven't been to church since Norah was blessed. Yep, I just put that out there and, nope, still not ready to talk about it.

But I relearned something this weekend. And even though I can't really share, I still want to share. See, I thought that I knew how to be the bigger person. Ever heard the quote "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle"? I thought I was all over that shit. Like, "Oh, you don't think someone should be able to marry whomever they want? What if that person was your child? What if that person was you?" Or, "Who am I to say what I would do if I were destitute? I would probably do whatever it took to get into the U.S. too."

Bam! I'm so not judgmental.

And then I got offended.

And then I started judging.

And then Nic got involved.

And now more people are involved.

And now we have a family member who isn't speaking to any of us.

So that "hard battle" I was supposed to be aware that everyone is fighting, was just made a lot harder for a lot of people because I felt like I needed to make myself heard.

Now, I realize that family drama does not begin or end with me, but if I could just put this out there to anyone who has managed to read this far: Be kind, people! Everyone you know if fighting a hard battle.

...

And lest you get distracted by my little church disclosure there at the beginning, look! Adorable pictures of Norah!

My mom and dad were kind enough to watch the babe while Nic and I were in Las Vegas for the weekend. These are two of the pictures I was sent. See if you can tell which one was titled "Like Grandma" and which one is "Like Grandpa."

2 comments:

Siouxzy said...

This is a lesson I keep having to relearn too!

Julia M. said...

So I just participated in the landmark forum, and it was amazing. It taught me why I say things I regret (which happens far too often), and what to do about it. Seriously, phenomenal. Their website is landmarkeducation.com.

Norah makes my day: such an expressive child!