The discussion post this week is on
being an effective leader. We need to
have examples about our emotional intelligence and what skills we need to
improve on and how we would improve.
Roland is always coming up with ideas that I've never thought of. I don't see myself as a leader and I knew
that Roland would have some suggestions - one was my position in the family,
which of course I hadn't considered. I tried
writing a few paragraphs about that - but each paragraph felt too biography and
introductory and perhaps a little too horn-blowy - which is not what I
wanted. I don't know how many times I
changed it before I finally turned something in. Meanwhile I have come up with some more
thoughts for a blog post.
I remember going to a wedding
reception held outdoors. I don't even
recall what time of the year, but I remember the weather was cool but not
cold. There had been a few light breezes
joined by a more powerful wind. It had
knocked over the wedding cake onto the ground.
Now there are many (I'm thinking more from bridezilla's point of view) that
would be upset by it - but the wedding party - for the most part just smiled
and said, "Oh, well"
It could have been an act - but with
pleasure, they can honestly laugh about it now.
It really is a healthy thing to be able to laugh about a situation
rather than get angry about it. Our
family would have never gone on family vacation if we couldn't laugh at the
unexpected. What family vacation has
ever gone smooth? Our problems were
always with the car or the weather, sometimes both.
Our muffler fell off in
California. I think it was our engine
that died during our trip to Canada.
There'd been heavy rain during that trip but not like we had at
Universal here.
I remember having a rooftop cargo
carrier on our station wagon. I think it
was a wind that knocked it off. My dad,
normally calm and even tempered said in frustration, "Oh, just leave
it" but the rest of us somehow believed it was worth saving. Mom had a pair of panty hose that she cut
into strips and she and my brother Patrick used them to tie it down to the
roof, and three of us held it down while my dad continued to drive. We may not have seen the humor in it back
then, but it is hilarious to talk about it (or think about it) today.
And then there was the time we just
coming home - though I can't remember where.
My mom was driving our little orange Honda. The car threw a rod and she pulled over. She chose to walk to get help and the rest of
us stayed in the car. We were fortunate
as to where we broke down as we were entertained by watching hang gliders
soaring through the sky. It was
awesome. Had the car not stalled where
it did, we would have not even noticed the hang gliders - though I don't think
mom had the same positive experience as she chose to climb over some barb wire
fencing in search of assistance.
There was another time when we had
gone to the movies during a really cold season.
The doors had froze and wouldn't open - except for the hatchback. We sent Corey through the hatchback and asked
him if he could open the doors. We
weren't really surprised that he couldn't - I don't believe he was quite four
years old at the time. So Patrick and I
(both pre-teens) also climbed in through the hatchback. The doors wouldn't budge. Too bad mom didn't think of giving Patrick
the keys to the car to at least warm it up a little. Mom was 8 months pregnant with Kayla. She also climbed in through the
hatchback. What a memory.
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