Balancing A Life

Today was one of those days that a working mum would dread.

First thing in the morning, my son hurt his leg while jumping up and down on the bed. I had to cancel all my appointments and went to the doctor with a limping child. The x-rays showed that no bones broken. We stopped at a drive thru McD and I was still thinking about all those work at the office, while ordering the burgers and coke.

I passed the fries and drinks to my son, who's sitting at the back seat, and pulled into the highway. My son was yelling that he spill his drink on the seat. I tightened my left hand on the steering while trying to hand him the tissues with the right hand and looking at road all at the same time. I was so busy that I did not notice the abandoned car at the side of the road.

Suddenly the world exploded with a loud sound of tearing metal. Then everything went still. My car had turned 180 degrees and I was looking through a broken windshield towards the oncoming traffic. Crying, hurting all over my body, and mouth full of blood, I crawled out of the car and search for my son. He was thrown far out from the car. I grabbed and hug him tightly. He was conscious and shocked.

We were lucky that we came away with our lives. Another mother who had driven at 90 km per hour last winter were not so lucky. She and her 2 out of 3 children would never see tomorrow.

There is no easy answer about what a driver should do when he/she has children fighting, screaming or yelling for food when he/she is driving. There is also no answer to how a working mother can meet all the demands and pressures on her. But I do know driving and tending children at the same time can be fatal ..unless you are very very lucky.

Drive safely, you are in charge with the safe keep of those who are in your car.

The Troubles Tree

A businessman hired his old carpenter to help him restore a farmhouse.
The carpenter had a rough first day on the job. A flat tire then made him lose an hour of work and now his ancient pick up truck refused to start.

While the businessman drove him home, the carpenter sat beside him in stony silence.
On arriving, he invited the businessman in to meet his family. As they walked to the front door, the carpenter paused briefly at a small tree, touching at the tips of the branches with his fingers.

When the carpenter opens the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was all in smiles as he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

At the end of dinner, the carpenter walked the businessman to his car. They passed the small tree again and the businessman's curiosity got the best of him. He asked the carpenter about what he had seen the carpenter did earlier.

'Oh that is what I called my 'Trouble Tree', the carpenter told him. 'I know I can't help having troubles when I am working and in my life'. But one thing that I am sure of: troubles do not belong in the house with my wife and kids. So, I just hang my problems up on the tree every night when I come home. Then, in the morning, I pick them up again as i left the house.'

'Funny thing is, ' the carpenter smiled as he explains, 'when I come out in the morning to pick my troubles up, there are not nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.'

11 Lessons from Bill Gates

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

**Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

**Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

**Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

**Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

**Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

**Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

**Rule 7**: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

**Rule 8**: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

**Rule 9**: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.
Do that on your own time.

**Rule 10**: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

**Rule 11**: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Shouts in Anger

Once a professor asked his students: 'Why do some people shout when in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'

The students thought for a while before one of them said 'We shout because we lose our calm.'

'But why shout when the other person is just next to you? Isn't it possible to speak with a soft voice?'

The students gave many answers but none of it satisfied the professor.

Finally, the professor explained:'When 2 people are angry with each other, their hearts became distanced. To cover that distance, they shout so that each can hear the other. The angrier they are, the louder they shout.'

Then the professor asked again 'What happens when 2 people fall in love? They do not shout but talk softly to each other. Because their hearts are too close to each other. The distance became very small'.

'What happens when they love each other even more? What happens? They do not speak. They only whisper. And in the end, finally, they do not even need to whisper. They only have to look at each other, that's all. '

So, when you argue, do not shout and let your hearts get distant. There will come a day when the distance is so great that you might not find the path back to each other.

Fail To Try

As you walk along life's path,

No matter how many times you stumble,

No matter how many obstacles you encounter,

You will realize that failure is never final

Because

the only time that you fail is

when you fail to try..

Give Your Best Shot

Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.

This is one of the earliest lessons my dad ever taught me.
He used to say this repeatedly to all of us :

"If you are not going to do it properly, then don't do it at all.
It's not a question of winning or being the No 1.
It's more about putting your heart and soul in what you are doing; making sure that you have given it your best shot."

What I Need

I thought I knew all the answers

The way My life should go

And when I say my prayers

I would tell God so..

At times, It seems like God did not listen

And I thought God did not care

But looking back at it now

It's plain to see that God has always been there...

I had prayed for strength

But I got pain instead to make me strong

I had prayed for courage

But I was given fear to overcome..

I had prayed for faith..

Until my empty heart brought me to my knees

I do not always get what I want

As God gives me only what I need

It's not as easy as it seems

And sometimes it hurts so much

Especially when nothing seems to go my way

Or when nothing seems to work

They tell me that to get better

I must go with the flow

Accepting that sometimes

The answer to a prayer is 'No'

 I had forgotten the lesson

That everytime I had a door slammed in my face

In time, a better one was opened in its place

Oh, I don't get what I want

But I get what I need....

Sometimes

Sometimes...

I do not do all the things that I should

Sometimes...

I do make a mess out of things

Sometimes..

I do get tied up with work and all my worries

But..

All the time..

I always think of you...