The Mayonnaise Jar

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 hours in a day is not enough;
remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and start to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again
if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded
With an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions
Things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued,
'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are
important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time
to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.

'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend..'

Maxine Again!

Maxine is pretty right-on here, isn't she? January is the month when many families look at their tattered budgets and resolve to change the way they "do Christmas!" This is my year to try to get rid of things around the house that have not been used in the past few years. Our basement seems to be the catch-all for everything we grow tired of and don't have the heart to throw away. The stuff of dozens of future garage sales lies patiently in the semi-darkness of the basement. The hard part is digging through all the boxes and storage bins to find and price all the "treasures" to be sold for a few cents on the dollar! Our community has a town-wide garage sale in April every year, so that gives me a few months to dig through it all and get ready. The more likely scenario will be that two nights before the garage sale, I frantically try to price as many items as I can, and then everything clutters the living room and kitchen until we haul it outside in the early morning darkness (and usually, rain) to put it some sort of "order" on tables.

My son and his family have been hit with strep throat (four of them at the same time!), so things have been hectic. The girls have missed some school, but fortunately Kale has not been infected with it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my husband, daughter and I don't come down with it.

Still not much to show for my rug hooking. Progress has been very slow this winter. I want an entire day to sit and hook. I may just do that on Monday. No school means I get a day off! My husband gets the day off from work, too, so I may have to work around his plans somewhat to get my hooking time in. :0(

Have a great weekend!

Birthdays!

The month of January is full of birthdays in our family. Mine, my Mother's, and the most fun of all Kale's first birthday come this month! My son and daughter-in-law are planning a large party for his 1st birthday, with lots of family and friends. This picture was taken at our house on Christmas Eve, when we open our family gifts. Kale wasn't interested in opening any more presents after he opened his first gift (a train) which he promptly began to push across the floor while making truck sounds. He does love trucks and trains!

Tomorrow I begin watching my grandchildren again. I had planned to get lots of rug hooking finished over the week and a half I was home, but, alas, that did not happen. I'm just going to try to get as much as possible finished whenever I can, so hopefully, I will have a completed rug (even if it is a Fall rug) sometime in the near future. I'm working on the background, so at least the end is within reach!

I hope you are accomplishing more than I am! Talk to you soon!