not so zen momma

I wrote this blog post yesterday, but Wi-Fi at the St. Louis airport was $7.95! So here you go:

Don’t you love how sometimes you hear the right thing at the right time? Perhaps it’s an encouraging word from another mom in the supermarket, or a nice thank you from your husband after not-so-easy-to-cook meal? And sometimes, the message comes from a book or article. (However, I’m still waiting for those Shape articles to provide some much-needed mental motivation.)

Right before I left for a not-so-easy business meeting in Florida, I picked up our book club book, How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill. I wasn’t so eager to read it. Why? On first glance, the riches to rags story just didn’t seem so original to me. And, it also is a little convenient to piggyback on the Starbucks brand to promote your book.

However, when I started reading I didn’t stop. I had the whole book devoured by the time I touched down in Tampa. It just had the right message at the right time. I’ll save my numerous personal reflections for the gal’s in my book club (shout out to Liz, Jessica, Emily, and Aubrey), but I just wanted to share a couple of passages that helped me through a difficult couple of days:

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. -a quote from Anne Morriss, a Starbucks Guest from New York City, published on the side of a Grande Caramel Macchiato”

“I realized I had spent most of my life trying not to fail. Trying to meet my parents’ high expectations. Terrified of letting my family down. It had all been, I felt now, a terrible burden for me. And so stupid of me!"

And lastly, as a continued shout out to Emily who “tagged me” several days ago, here are your requested 6 random things:

1. As much as I love the spirit of blogging, I’m not going to tag other people. Blame it on my laziness to link to more people and jump around to various blogs to see who else has been tagged.
   
2. I’m currently typing away from a Chili’s Too in the St. Louis airport. There are four other people clicking away their loneliness via their little black boxes (computers).
3. I prefer the aisle seat, rather than a window. I do like the view, but I would rather just be able to lean away from all the people in my row. Sorry other Southwest peeps, but I have space issues.
4. As much as I tell myself it won’t happen, when faced with disappointment or anger, I cry like a baby. Then, I get more angry, which I (in a logical state) acknowledge as counter-productive to the “no crying” rule.
5. I believe just about any food item can be improved by dipping it in full-fat ranch. However—ahem, people at the table next to me—I do not understand tainting delicious chips and salsa with double-dipping into ranch. I’m must be a Tex Mex purist.
6. I have been wanting to write a short story or screen play about this guy who walks around our neighborhood. He wears seventies-era shorts, a cut off muscle shirt, eighties-era FM headphones, hand weights and an eye-patch. He also is remarkably out of shape for such a routine exerciser. As someone who writes every day, not many things inspire me. But this guy, he must have a story…