Ramble On

Hmmm...I think I should find a suitable blog title for my rambling posts 'coz it's getting harder and harder for me to find a title for it ha ha...

1. Hubby's Christmas present has just arrived. The postwoman rang our bell as the package couldn't be slid into the mailbox he he he...The company had definitely packed it VERY well. I'm SO pleased!!! But now here comes the thing that I don't particularly like...the bill!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

2. Hubby's pikkujoulua (office Christmas party) went like this:

a. Lunch at the nearby restaurant in Sodankylä.
b. Bowling and wall-climbing in Rovaniemi. There's only one woman among all the men and funny thing was that the woman was the only one who could reach the highest spot in wall-climbing hi hi hi hi hi...Hubby said that she was so athletic. ;-D GO, WOMAN, GO!!!
c. Sauna and swimming at the hotel.
d. More party: eating and drinking someplace and then they went to a disko. They came back to the hotel at around 2 am. Hubby slept in the same room as the boss. Two coworkers came back to Sodankylä already before it got too late as they had kids. One of the coworkers only came back to the hotel at 8 am, can you believe it? Hubby said that when they arrived back to Sodankylä, that guy was still drunk. Oh dearrrrr...
e. Breakfast at the hotel, and then they came back home. When hubby came home at around 2 pm, he collapsed in bed for a few hours ha ha ha ha ha...Then yesterday he started feeling pains on his legs hi hi hi hi hi...Poor boy! He must've been over-exerted himself by wall-climbing and swimming and everything 'coz he hasn't exercised in ages!!!

3. On Respect.

The other day my Brit friend and I talked about children upbringing. I don't have kids yet, so I can only share how my mother brought me up. When I was a kid, I used to be SO scared of my Mom. Whenever I did something naughty (and believe me, I WAS so naughty hi hi hi hi...), she would spank me (only once, not over and over again) with different tools. One time she spanked my leg with a sandal hi hi hi...I remember Dad spanking me only once, 'coz he doesn't actually like doing it. I don't remember why, though. I just remembered being shocked that he did it he he he...

The spanking didn't last forever. I don't remember when it stopped, but I think by the time I was 8 or 9 years old, I wasn't spanked anymore. Don't get me wrong. I was NEVER angry at them for spanking me 'coz I knew I had done something naughty. They never spanked me without any reason.

My Brit friend said something that really struck me. She said, "Respect is a big thing for sure...sadly it's missing these days...but sometimes people forget that it's a two-way street. I don't expect respect from my boys, as it has to be earned."

Indeed that's SO true.

Respect HAS to be earned!!!

She also said that she'd seen kids who were more in control than the parents. She said that the parents had to follow through on what they said, including the rules they had made for the kids.

This discussion reminds me of Super Nanny. I once saw her on Oprah Show and I could tell that what my Brit friend said was true. The parents in the show didn't know how to follow through their own rules, so the kids did anything they wanted and if they didn't get what they wanted, they could really be a handful!!!

When I was a kid, I never thought I could be close to my Mom, but now I know that her firm way of disciplining us was for the best of everybody. We grew to respect them even from such a young age, and then when we started growing up, we were given enough freedom and responsibility to choose our own lives while knowing for sure that they would be there to help us if we were ever confused. I'm glad to say that I've grown closer and closer to my Mom as time goes by. And I'm glad to say that my brother's also grown closer and closer to her, as well. ;-D

Let me share with you some quotations on respect:

Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.
Stacey Charter

Always try to see yourself through God’s eyes.
Stephen Levine

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.
Henri Frederic Amiel

A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.
Billy Graham

5. Today's Musings:

I found this enlightening passage here:

The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem UNIMPORTANT in human estimation but count as everything to God.

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. —James 2:8

Beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. —Luke 12:15