January 26: My Days as a Mom are Numbered

It is January 26^th – The day after January 25th. So far you are obviously impressed with my superior manipulation of the obvious.

However, my days truly are numbered and the day after the 25^th suddenly becomes more weighted with emotion and consternation. Yesterday, my youngest child turned 18; a big achievement and a milestone for us all. However, while I was happy to hear that it was his best birthday ever, it brought reality crashing into the 26^th.

This best birthday had nothing to do with me. He is away at school and happy with his teachers, dorm mates and looking forward to bench pressing at the gym.

I brought him into the world and he is more than ready to fly. In fact, he would fly just about anywhere rather than home. No, I am not being maudlin or feeling sorry for myself, it is simply the truth.  His days of adventure and the freedom to travel, without permission slips as a minor, are stacking up like his collection of boxed basketball shoes.

My kids are more powerful and independent and I am more tired. This may be the cycle of things, but it is still scary to see the unknown third act.  Arthritis is setting into my joints as my son bench presses 900 pounds with his legs.  He cannot get his clothes tight enough and I cannot get mine loose.

He tells me that the ability to push off so much weight is all in the mind.  How did the 18 year old figure this out when I cannot? So, it is January 26^th, the first day of the rest of my life with “adult children”. Truly, a Mother’s oxymoron if I ever heard one.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/daily-prompt-numbers/

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Empathy in Film – “Funny Face” with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire

The RSA recently put out an animated video of Empathy vs. Sympathy that went viral. In fact, if you put the information in a Search Engine, you can find hundreds of links to it.

That put me on a search for Empathy in other videos and film shorts. There are some fascinating examples of animation from Cal Arts and short videos and excerpts.  Many Hollywood film productions go for the dramatic, exacting our sympathy with harsh tragedies and weeping grief and dying.  They pull out our tears with the obvious. Empathy can be a little more complex *like the Empathy Queen herself* and make you think some more about the topic.

This delightful short will explain Empathy and put a smile on your face (at least I hope it will). If you feel like I do, by all means, share or leave a comment.

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A good post reaches for your heart and remains on your mind.

Thanks for stopping by! It means more than you know.

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Cultivating Empathy ~ You are not Alone

Being a bully does not make you strong; surviving one does. Cultivate empathy and create a safe environment for others to grow and develop without fear, judgment, or shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1J5IXV6P54

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A good post reaches for your heart and remains on your mind.

Thank you for stopping by! It means more than you know.

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The Act of Compassion begins with Full Attention

“The act of compassion begins with full attention, just as rapport does. You have to really see the person. If you see the person, then naturally, empathy arises. If you tune into the other person, you feel with them. If empathy arises, and if that person is in dire need, then empathic concern can come. You want to help them, and then that begins a compassionate act. So I’d say that compassion begins with attention.”

– Daniel Goleman

I recommend reading Daniel Goleman’s other studies of Emotional Intelligence. With a little surfing online, you will find what he has to say quite interesting.

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A good post reaches for your heart and remains on your mind.

Thanks for stopping by! It means more than you know.