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Friday Lesson

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Our week started on a lower than I would have liked note.

I mean, it wasn’t horrible, but summer colds make for sad little girls, and that is what we had in our home. Luckily it lasted exactly 48 hours and she was back to bouncing around the house and enjoying the warm weather again!

Speaking of the warm weather, Ash wrote a post on her blog with tips to get those 10,000 steps in each day… and I definitely needed each one of those tips. I’m trying really hard to step away from the computer as much as I can each day to get moving and she has some great ideas to help!

My favorite part of the week was getting our whole family together for my mom’s birthday!

We had a great dinner and then went shopping! My parents are coming with us to Europe this summer and my mom is in full-on prep mode. I love seeing her so excited! On this outing, she bought a new travel wallet and we all talked about everything we wanted to see and do when we are on the other side of the pond!

My mom and her grandkids! Ha! They are a silly bunch and they get humor from her!

One of the highlights of becoming an aunt has been to see my sister have a child JUST LIKE HER! This kid is so spirited. It is awesome. 

That brings me to today’s lesson. 

Every Friday I look back on the week and I go back over the lessons I’ve learned the past week. This week I decided to share the past week’s lesson here because it is applicable to so many people. 

My friend asked me a couple of weeks ago what has been the biggest cause of disappointment in my life? I had to really think long and hard about it before it occurred to me this week that it wasn’t a single situation that makes me disappointed.

What has caused the most disappointment in my life is when I have found myself in situations where I would have gone out of my way to help someone and that person wouldn’t even do the bare minimum for me.

This can be strangers or those I thought were friends. I’m not even talking anything big, although that counts too… but just everyday life.

I can remember one time we were flying and the airline moved Emmy a row behind us all in a middle seat next to two strangers when she was 5. I thought this would be an easy fix at the airport when a human looked at the situation, but none of the ground crew would help and just said the “computer” made the change for a reason. They couldn’t tell me the reason though. Then when we got on the plane, the flight crew also were not willing to help. I then had to ask the passengers to switch an aisle for an aisle so that I could sit next to Emmy and nobody would move. This was a 4+ hour flight too. 

My disappointment wasn’t just in the fact that I had to sit so far away from my barely 5-year-old, it was in all the people that could have easily helped and made a decision not to when I would have taken a middle seat next to the toilet to help a fellow parent be next to their child. Those situations are what cause me the most disappointment. 

The reason this has been such a big lesson for me this week is that since I identified it, and really thought it through when these situations happen, I immediately stop that sad feeling that washes over me. I turn it into an opportunity to really focus on my own actions and how I can make life better for someone else. That has made all the difference.

Also flowers. Pete bought me these this week and that too spiked the happy feeling!

Have a great weekend friends!

Heather Reese
the authorHeather Reese
Heather Delaney Reese is the storyteller and photographer behind the lifestyle and family travel blog, It's a Lovely Life®! For the past decade, she has vacationed over 150 days a year with her family. She is a vegan, and loves being by the water, spending time with her children, husband, 2 Shih Tzus and Cat.

2 Comments

  • I have been traveling across southern states with my oldest sister and once with my youngest grandchild. I usually am gone away from home a month. My granddaughter and theme was state capitals and presidential libraries. This year I am visiting African American civil rights museums. We also visit with my 84 year old aunt who takes care of her 89 year old husband who has Alzheimer’s. Thank this gives me to ideas on what to write about.

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