Encyclopedia Project

I'm having a blogging block. I tell myself that it's because I'm busy, and why wouldn't I be with all that's going on, but really, I can't think of much to write, and what I do doesn't come out as I'd hoped. All I've managed to do is build up my draft pile these past two weeks. So I was reading a post over at Ittybitty Frog Idea's and, I decided to try doing some blogs like this. I'll start at A and write down what comes to mind. Might be fun. Might be boring like she thought the book was. Either way, it's something.

So for A, the word that comes to my mind is Albatross. Yeah, that's a little random, I know. Bear with me. According to dictionary.com:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
al‧ba‧tross  /ˈælbəˌtrɔs, -ˌtrɒs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[al-buh-traws, -tros] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. any of several large, web-footed sea birds of the family Diomedeidae that have the ability to remain aloft for long periods. Compare wandering albatross.
2. a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility.
3. something burdensome that impedes action or progress.
4. Textiles.
a. a lightweight worsted fabric with a crepe or pebble finish.
b. a plain-weave cotton fabric with a soft nap surface.

I don't know much about birds, in fact, they kind of freak me out and I don't really like to be too close to them, unless they are chickens, then I don't mind as much. But the part about burden and impeded action, we might have something there.

What is it about being a mom that makes us guilt pros? We carry it around like an old coat. We heap it on the heads of our families. What a great tool Satan has in guilt. Sometimes, it can motivate us to action, but lets face it, usually, we just carry it around and let it drag us down to the murky depths. It allows us to dwell on what we haven't done, or haven't done well enough, or what we should have done, or what we could have done better. Often, it makes us dwell on things we shouldn't have done. What mother hasn't had at least a handful of days when she laid her head down at night and thought to herself, "all I did was yell and nag at my kids all.day.long." I think it is interesting that "impedes action or progress" comes right after the guilt and responsibility part. Does it always have to do that? Or can we find ways to use those feelings and turn it into something positive. Our lesson in Young Women today was about self esteem and feeling good about yourself. One of the classic exercises for this lesson is to list what you don't like about yourself and cross off what you can't change. We should do that with feelings of guilt. Fix what we can, and then quit beating ourselves up over it. I think I'll give that a try this week. What about you?