My sister came up with a great new motto last week. Here it is.
I feel blessed, but stressed- and that is ok.
I think the first part of the motto pays homage to Josephine, our family's long time cleaning lady. Josephine is a saint. She has lost 3 children, she was in an abusive marriage, she finally got into a good marriage and her husband died soon after, she was recently diagnosed with cancer- she's seen all the bad that life has to offer. Yet, when you ask Josephine how she is, she always replies with an honest, "I'm blessed," and she means it.
My sister and I often talk about how stressed out we are. Between work, marriage, raising kids, keeping up the home, finances, things can get overwhelming. Yet, somehow, we always feel guilty because we really have good lives. Thank G-d, we are all healthy and happy. We truly are blessed.
However, that doesn't mean we aren't stressed. I might not be as stressed as someone who is taking care of a sick parent or child. I might not be as stressed as someone who has no income or family support. I might not be as stressed as someone who has children with major issues or who is a single parent. But that doesn't mean that I don't rightfully feel stress in my life.
Therefore, the motto came into existence. I feel blessed, but stressed- and that is ok.
Posted by peninah at February 6, 2006 07:16 PM | TrackBackI truly feel blessed (and at times stressed) but that's ok....love, mom
Posted by: blessed mom at February 6, 2006 10:45 PMKind of ties in nicely with my recent post
Posted by: Shtikler at February 7, 2006 12:51 AMWe love Josephine! Yehudit, very profound. Peninah, you are so right. I think people have to realize that it's OK to vent about YOUR stresses, even if other people have it worse. But there is a fine line between kvetching too much (this is not directed at you at all). Some people need to realize that, say, for example, telling someone with no kids how your kid kept you up all night is OK. But kvetching at every possible moment about your kids is insensitive.
Posted by: Sara at February 7, 2006 09:10 AMI'm definitely keeping this motto in mind this morning when I'm home AGAIN with sick JewBaby.
Posted by: Lanie at February 7, 2006 09:34 AMI'm stressed...and I'm pretty sure that God hates me.
Posted by: Greg at February 7, 2006 10:15 AMChas v'shalom that anyone would ever suffer, but often it is in those moments of loss and suffering that we are brought closer to G-d. If we have everything, we don't realize that we are lacking anything. (I really hope that this doesn't sound like a giant cliche.) In my own personal life, it was the loss of a loved one that set me on the path towards yidishkeit.
Posted by: Jack Davidov at February 7, 2006 12:49 PM