Filling My Bucket

  In the wake of everything that is going on regarding my mother’s illness, I have been trying to deal with it in various ways.  During the last weeks of her life when she was very sick, one way I dealt with it was buying, the almost three year old, Mr. Man’s birthday presents online.  Then I moved on to buying Christmas presents online. Retail therapy felt good to me and I reasoned, I might not feel like doing it later.

  There is a certain temptation right now to go negative in my thinking.  I recognize that almost everyone I have interacted with in the past two weeks has been toward me and my family.  People have really gone out of their way to make things easier for us.  I hope that the next time someone I know is having a hard time, I can be as helpful and caring as others have been to me and my family.  It has been a true education for me in how to treat others who are going through a tough time.

  Still there are times when I fixate on the negative.  Perhaps it is an interaction that didn’t go quite as I planned or something slightly awkward that happened.  I think this kind of thinking can get addictive if you allow yourself to indulge in it too much.  In that spirit, I ordered a book for Mr. Man for his birthday, that is really a reminder for me in disguise.

  It is called   I purchased this book for the children’s department of my library when I was the children’s librarian at the request of a parent who recently lost their young child.  There are actually several versions for young children  but this is the most affordable and most accessible for a three year old.  When I originally read the book, it really clicked with me and the philosophy of it never really left my mind.

  This books is an analog to the original book written for adults called How Full Is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton.  I will admit I have never read adult version.  I just might check it out now.