Archive for 'Peanut'
The Peanut on the Law of Attraction
Posted on 16. May, 2009 by Karen.
This weekend is my neighborhood garage sale. Everyone who was inspired to do spring cleaning has amassed a collection of this, that and the other for sale in their driveway or garage. My sister and I always share this task so our treasures are now on display waiting for someone to see and appreciate their bargain value.
While we were setting up this morning, my 5 year old niece – the Peanut – was sitting in an old rocker that my sister put out to sell. The Peanut was rocking away and looking off into space. I thought she was bored and asked her what she was thinking about. The Peanut said:
I’m imagining.
This got my full attention because I’m always intrigued by how effortlessly the Peanut uses her powers of imagination. So I asked her what she was imagining. The Peanut said:
I’m imagining that I’m swinging on a swing going really high!
So I told her keep working on it. And she kept rocking away. A little while later, the kids next door came out to play and invited the Peanut over. They have a swing set. So within 30 minutes of imagining herself on a swing, the Peanut was, in fact, swinging and going really high!
Take a lesson from the Peanut on imagination. I did:-)
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The Peanut’s First Story
Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by Karen.
In honor of the 5th birthday of my niece, the Peanut, I am publishing her first literary work here on Midlife’s A Trip:
The Story
Once there was a princess.
The giant stepped on the princess.
The king saved the princess and she went to the hospital.
Then she could go back home.
The End*
*If you can get past the princess thing (Peanut loves princesses, she’s a kid) and if you can live with the fact that the king is a hero (she doesn’t know yet that kings can be bad people) and if you can ignore the astronomical cost of the care for getting stomped by a giant, then there is a moral to this story. Simply put:
There will be big problems in life and you can get over them.
A great lesson for today’s tough times from the 5 year old who lights up my midlife.
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The Best of Peanut
Posted on 04. Mar, 2009 by Karen.
Tomorrow is my niece’s 5th birthday. Here in the blogosphere she’s know as the “Peanut“. From time to time I write about her and amazingly the life lessons I learn from this little person. So in honor of the big “5″, here’s a post from the best of Peanut . I love you sweetie!
Last spring on a great sunny Saturday afternoon, I went to the zoo with my sister and then 4 year old niece, “the Peanut”. The plan was to let the Peanut hang out at the play-scape for a while and then see the animals. Nice and simple. Not.
The Peanut didn’t want to leave the play-scape and went into full drama queen mode. You haven’t seen crying until you see her in action. Tears began to flow, wailing escalated and her arms hung at her sides in the most pitiful dejected fashion. According to the Peanut at that moment she not only didn’t want to see the animals — at that moment she hated the animals. You could almost feel sorry for her if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a complete crock.
Now mind you, I love my niece dearly but as someone on the back end of parenting (my son is 33) I know an act when I see it. So I stood by for a few minutes while my sister cajoled, explained and did her best to calm the Peanut down and move her towards the animals. But when it became clear that my sister’s tactics weren’t working, I stepped in.
I invited the Peanut into “my office” — a space next to a picnic table and away from her mom. The Peanut continued to cry. I reached in my purse and pulled out a Kleenex which I held out to her without saying anything. Her sobbing slowed down but I could tell I had her attention. Then I said:
Peanut, you can take this Kleenex, wipe your face and come with your mom and me to see the animals. Or if you don’t want the Kleenex, we’re going to the car right now and leaving. It’s your choice.
The Peanut didn’t hesitate. She reached out, took the tissue, wiped her face and within minutes we were headed off to see the hippo, which wasn’t the biggest attraction for me that day. What was really amazing was how the Peanut, when faced with two clear choices, set aside the drama and made a decision that got her the best outcome.
Watching the Peanut in action reminded me how far I’ve come. I used to agonize over life choices and hang out at the proverbial fork in the road. But now I too move pretty quickly past the drama to the best choice. I think it has something to do with a right turn I took on my midlife trip — and, more importantly having the Peanut as my role model.
How do you move past struggle to the best choices in your life?
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Peanut on Inauguration Day
Posted on 21. Jan, 2009 by Karen.
Yesterday we all gathered at my sister’s place to watch the inauguration of President Obama. From 10am until 6, we sat around the dining table and watched the amazing events of the day. My 4-year old niece, the “Peanut” spent the whole day with her own personal aura of excitement. First, she got to stay home from pre-school. And second, she had all of us adults at her beck and call. I think there were times when she thought we were there just to see her.
Although she was pretty lively throughout the day, even Peanut’s mood turned serious as we all joined in the Pledge of Allegiance after President Obama took his oath of office. Peanut pulled out her American flag and her stuffed elephant named “Wall” (he sits next to the wall on her bed) and joined us. I showed her how to put her hand over her heart and although she didn’t know the words, I think she got the point.
We’re proud to be Americans again.
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A Gift for Madeleine
Posted on 27. May, 2008 by Karen.
Have you ever had someone cheer you on in life — to let let know how great you are? If you have, you’ll remember what a great feeling it is. Acknowledgment isn’t just about recognizing someones success doing a task or taking some action. It’s about appreciating them for how they show up — with values, purpose and true intentions. So when you acknowledge someone for who they really are, it’s a gift.
The great thing about blogging is that you can write about whatever you want. So today’s post is in honor of Madeleine who will be celebrated and acknowledged by many others today at her retirement party. I’ve known Madeleine for over 15 years but it’s only over the last year that our friendship started to grow — here at Midlife’s A Trip. You see Madeleine became my first reader — almost literally. At this midlife moment I can’t recall when I told Madeleine that I had started a blog but as soon as I did she became a daily reader.
Blogging is so different from anything I’ve ever done. A year or so ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was. In fact the idea of putting my thoughts out there in the blogosphere for anyone to read was almost scary. But this was destined to be part of my midlife trip so I became a blogger in my 50s.
Most of the friends I told about my new skill of blogging said “that’s nice”. My techie son rolled his eyes at the idea. But Madeleine made time everyday on her lunch hour to read whatever I wrote — even my occasional liberal political rant. There were times when I’d think “what would Madeleine say” as I wrote a particular post. Her readership and support were a gift of acknowledgment to me and I can honestly say I think I’m a better blogger for it.
Recently Madeleine and I had the opportunity to sit down for lunch. We talked about her upcoming retirement and she shared her dreams for this next phase of her midlife trip. In the past, people approaching retirement didn’t have the kind of vision for the future that Madeleine has. There was a line in the sand — retire and you crossed over into a place where there were lower expectations of what life would offer from that point on. Not any more. Now baby boomers like Madeleine are looking at the next half of life as the better half.
So on this day when Madeleine embarks on the exciting next part of her midlife trip, I want to acknowledge her support and friendship. I truly appreciate the person she is and the way she shows up in the world – especially in my little corner of the blogosphere.
Congratulations Madeleine on your retirement and — this blog’s for you!
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