Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

By now I feel like I’m getting to be an expert.  This being my second layoff in seven months, I have to say that knowing that one is coming doesn’t make it any easier.

A layoff can be a difficult time—especially depending on how you take it and how well you have prepared.

Let’s take a brief look at how you can prepare yourself and your family for the possibility of a layoff.

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“From the bank.”

That was the answer that my oldest gave to the question in the title.  He knew that we drove up to the bank and that’s where I got the money to pay for things.

Kids notice things that are right in front of them.  They see that I go to work everyday—though they (obviously) have not made the connection that I do that so that we can have money to buy things that we need and want.

“God gives it to us,”  was the response of the second child

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So, here I am, late at night, oldest child on the couch with a head cold.  Some would blame it on the change in weather.  Others could blame it on not getting enough vitamins.  I blame it on my coworker.

That’s right.  About three weeks ago, my friend and coworker decided that he was going to be a tough guy and instead of staying home and getting over his cold there, he decided to come to work and share it with all of us.  His cold went on for what seemed like two weeks, and he came in every day, coughing with his voice almost gone.

Now, I have a healthy immune system, but even I felt a little of the effects.  And my middle son all of a sudden had a cough that sounded just like my coworker’s cough.

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I don’t know what it is about getting or looking at getting a newborn baby gift, but ladies seem to go crazy when it comes to these types of things.  The small shoes, the small socks—they are like something begging women to get all soft on the inside.

And the interesting thing is how short a period of time these kids are in their shoes.  I mean, I’m 90% positive that the only reason that ladies get these shoes are for their keepsake value!

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The Trip

Our summer plans this year include a major move!  We are preparing to embark on a 4700 mile move. Yes, 4700 miles! We are also driving (except for three days on a ferry). I often hear people with only a few children talk about the stress of traveling. They are usually much shorter distances too! I have been pitied and then asked how we keep our sanity on such trips. I will admit that we have not made a trip quite this long before, our longest was a year ago when we traveled 3300 miles (all by car). We did have a few bumps along the way too. Take a moment to read about our $400 Bee?

Here are a few statistics for our upcoming move:

• 4700 miles
• two vehicles driven
• eight children (plus being pregnant)
• two dogs, kennels, bed, and other supplies
• 1 month for travel
• luggage and necessities for living out of suitcases for about 3 months (plus what is needed for camp)
• 2 coolers

Sounds like fun right????? If you answered that with a resounding “NO!” let me tell you that you would already be doomed to have a not so fun trip! I thought that I would share some of our secrets for having a great trip even while driving 2 vehicles with a large family, 2 dogs, hundreds of pounds of luggage, months of living out of suitcases, and so many miles ahead of us.

• Sounds like fun right?? Your answer should be, “We cannot wait for this grand adventure!” If you look at it positively then things are more likely to go well for you. Even things like a $400 bee can be seen as an adventure. Look for the positive because getting angry, frazzled, and upset NEVER makes the miles any shorter and more often than not makes them seem longer.
• Plan some fun stops along the way. Give the children something to look forward to. Make it a mini vacation. You have to stop so why not stop somewhere fun?
• Take advantage of hotel pools. The children have been cooped up all day long let them have a way to exert some energy. It doesn’t take much, even a half an hour will do.
• Let the children stay up late and watch television and snack in bed. Yes, they may not want to wake up in the morning but they will often go back to sleep once you hit the road.
• Pack your coolers well. Make sure you have plenty of healthy snacks, as non-messy as possible, on hand. This keeps you from having to make more stops, spend more money, and keeps the little ones happy and distracted for a while.
• Take along some stories on cd. Long stories. One trip we listened to Focus on the Family’s theater version of the Chronicles of Narnia. On another trip we listened to some G.H. Henty stories on cd. All of the children were engrossed in them and often complained when we had to stop for gas. They didn’t want to stop, they wanted to hear more of the story!
• Enjoy your time in the hotel. Free breakfast and no beds to make. You can even leave the towels on the floor! It is like having a maid.
• Living out of suitcases isn’t so bad either. You have much less laundry to manage than you would if you had your entire wardrobes. Sure the laundromat isn’t all that fun but you get every load of laundry done at the same time!
• Get an early start (it doesn’t have to be super early), the day doesn’t seem as long if you arrive at your destination while it is still daylight and you have a few hours to move and let the littles wiggle a bit. It seems much longer and more tiring if you arrive in the dark only to go to bed and start over again in the morning.
• Take pillows, little blankets, and a favorite doll, toy, or book. Limit it to only one (you usually have more than enough stuff to keep track of)! Yes, it takes up more room but if your children are comfortable they will endure the long hours better.
• For us, smaller suitcases with handles and wheels for each child (or two littles per suitcase) works better than larger suitcases with several children sharing. They are responsible for their own things and are responsible for moving it to and from the van.
• Since we must take both of our vehicles when we move, walkie-talkies are great! Hubby and I can contact each other easily when one of us needs to make a pit stop or just chat about the scenery along the way.
• Keep in mind that children are children and not adults. They do not always endure hours in the car the way an adult does. Be prepared to have to make occasional stops to let the one year old out of the car seat to run. Treat them with a happy and loving tone, this always works better than getting angry with them. They may still cry and be upset but you are the adult and you can set a cheerful tone.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY- bathe your trip in prayer!!!

Hopefully it wasn’t last father’s day.  And yet telling your dad that you love him, for a son, is one of the most awkward things you can do if the father didn’t set out building that degree of transparency all the way up.

I can’t remember the first time I ever told my grandfather I loved him—but it was later on in life.  As his life started nearing its end, I made sure that a conversation did not go by where I let him know that I loved him.

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Yesterday on my blog we discussed California’s latest attempt to ban spanking, and the conversation naturally flowed to something that’s difficult for all parents– disciplining our children.

One of the most difficult things, I think, to remember to do is to always remember why you are disciplining your child– the end goal– and try your hardest not to get caught up “in the moment.” 

To that end, I suggested that you plan what the punishment for a particular “crime” will be before you get in the situation, and that you also enforce your requests.  The last thing that a child needs it to wonder if mom or dad “really mean it this time…”

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