Thursday, February 21, 2008

Self Discipline

I coulda gone to a movie tonight.
And probably out for coffee afterwards too.
It woulda bin fun.
I was invited. But I said no.

I don't say no very often.

But, I've been out alot lately, you know?
And me 'n my kids are joining the rest of my family at Harrison for the weekend, so ... staying home tonight just seemed like the mature thing to do.

I mean, someone has to 'be on top' of things. And I'm not talking about all the never-ending cleaning that has to be tackled. It's that other stuff too. Like opening the mail. And then dealing with it. Ohhh the never ending job of dealing with mail. Paper. Bills. Announcements. Forms. What to file. What to throw away. What to save in that middle drawer so you can delay deciding til next time?

Tonight? I dealt with it all. ALL.
And every dirty dish has been washed.
And all my laundry is done.
And 327 pictures were added to the photo album. (Yeah, I'm that good.)

But going to a movie would've been more fun.
Sucks being all grown up.

Like, I'm the only real adult in the house - so it's up to me to do something about this hydro bill thing I noticed tonight. I did a quick comparison and didn't like what I saw. In 10 out of 12 months in 2007, our Hydro useage was up 70 - 100% higher than the corresponding month in 2006. For example, in June 2006, we consumed 36kWh of power. In June 2007? We used 70kWh! What's that all about? And how do I make the numbers go smaller? And why am I the only one who cares?

So, are you ready for more '1001 Things Every Teen Should Know"? Are these depressing you too?
553. They should know that vacuuming doesn't wear out a carpet.
558. They should know how to use a door mat. A pound of dirt is often found there.
561. They should know how to put everything back in the refrigerator. And not eat anything that's been lying out for three days.
586. They should know that volunteering cures loneliness.
639. They should know they won't look like a fool by walking into Home Depot and asking for help. They'll look like a customer.
643. They should know to regularly examine the shower floor to see if anything on it is mating. Clorex helps here. A year's worth is dirt cheap.
645. They should know how to turn the water off from behind the toilet. They'll want to know how to do this before it starts to back up.
861. They should know to do something wonderful for somebody every day - and not get found out.
878. They should remember who really owns their body. And to treat it accordingly.
926. They should know to not accept praise and rewards they haven't earned. Send them in the right direction.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Harrison Hot Springs for the weekend. Yay.
2. Max switched out of (easy, no brainer) Art and transferred into Psychology instead. He's (gulp) challenging himself?
3. It was hot enough to wear flip flops today. Truly, there is not a better place on earth than BC when it's sunny.

Shalom,

2 comments:

Shannon said...

hurray for flip flops and sunshine!!!!

Anonymous said...

It's depressing reading these tips when they're almost growed up -- where was this book when they were young? Now I only have 1 to try some of them on.
Have a GREAT weekend! (I'm jealous).
Lois