struggling thankful thursday

this week has been full of ups and downs.    this week i was hit with some info that i am something that i never considered myself.   usually, it's not too disturbing.   i have been called a good many things that others might consider not good.   this time, it bothered me.   earlier in the week, we were discussing german family, living in germany, etc.   our teacher put up some numbers that are considered poverty levels.   i have always struggled when it comes to money, that has never bothered me.   but when he threw those numbers up, i was surprised.   not fully prepared for it, just out of curiosity and almost a joke, i crunched the numbers per person for my family numbers. . . .
at first, it was just as i knew, we are struggling.   but then our teacher said something that struck me.   he said anyone that falls below the numbers is below poverty level.   i was way below those numbers, like a little over half maybe two thirds of those numbers.   those words started to sting for some reason.   i don't know why.   i consider poverty to be homeless, no computer, no cell phone, no food.   i may not have a laptop, or a modern cell phone, but i can still access the internet, call on the go and feed my family at a dining room table every night.    yes, we are struggling, but in poverty?!

after class, i cried most of the bike ride home.   i don't know why.

this has been klunking around in my head for the rest of the week.

but, life goes on, what do i care what someone labels me?   i had things to do.

i had treats for kids classes to make and a birthday party to plan.   oven is doing something weird . . . can't afford to fix or replace, working on fixing but until then  . . . .adapt!   so we made rice krispie treats, popcorn balls, anything that doesn't need baked.   no problem.

then, my klunking struggling question was halted today.   the tomboy princess came home and told me that the kids in her class think it's great that she always brings something different than everyone else.

that's it!   i get it!   my struggling makes me creative.   it makes me work outside the norms.   it makes me think, it makes me work, it makes me push my limits!

i realized as i was riding my bike to pick up the blonde curls because gas for the car is so expensive.   i realized again, i am being pushed to be stronger!  i am being pushed to be more independent!  i am being stretched in every way!   i would not do that to myself.   lack of monetary resources push me to be more!

today i am grateful for my struggling.   i do not accept the title of poverty.   i don't have to.   i don't have to feel myself a victim, or doing without.   i don't have to see my situation as hard and i don't have to accept anything that tells me otherwise.

seize the day, seize the struggle, take hold of anything that is in your way.   grab it, throttle it, then launch yourself from the crumbling heap.   take advantage of every struggle.   make it your hill top where you can see your world more clearly.

pinterest spammers beware.

seriously not trying to be negative.   i tried just uploading the pin but it wasn't working so i am posting it on my blog so i can pin it.   

now, that i think about it though, this gives me an opportunity to say a couple words.
courtesy, responsibility, unselfishness - i know, becoming endangered species.   pin what you want to pin but do it right.   a few pins of the same thing on different relevant boards, fine.   five, ten, more pins of the same thing all at once, especially on the same board -really guys?  is this even working?   who isn't so ticked off by this that they aren't ignoring you completely?

i think there are those few who ruin it for the rest of us everywhere and in every aspect of life.   stand up!   be polite, but stand up!   so often we just let things go, we don't want to make waves, and we get run over. we teach people how to treat us.   it's ok to ask questions.   it's ok to question authority.   it's ok to say you don't agree.   it's ok to say no!    other may not agree and you won't win every battle.   stand up and make your voice heard anyway.   if nothing else, others that feel the same way you do, will know they are not alone.   maybe next time, you will take the battle.
rush really hit me with, "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice".  i grew up with those words in my head and hear them to this day when something like this comes up.   if you choose to let others make your decisions, you may not like the decision, but you have chosen it by default.

so, stand up.  make your voice heard.   be kind, be polite, be truthful, be your own voice.

*update*

here is a new feature from pinterest to help fight spammers - 

http://pintalk.net/pinterest-introduces-new-feature-to-help-combat-spam/

biking thankful thursday

in honor of thankful thursday, today i am grateful for bicycles. i ride mine to school every day. it's cheaper on gas and better for my figure than driving. plus, no parking problems. 
here are a few more reasons i am grateful for bikes -
bicycle mechanics helped the inventors of the airplane which made travel really fast and brought my husband to me across the ocean. (how's that for a jump?)
mr. mcfeely would look silly on a horse.
bikes can be hooked up to power all kinds of things. i did that in school and just powering a light bulb takes some serious leg muscles. 
bike inspired motorcycles and i love those.
and just as an irony -oprah started my gratitude thing -i am grateful for bikes today - lance armstrong is a bike racer - he admitted to doping for his races to - - - -oprah! that's just a bizarre realization i made while typing. i am easily amused. 
have a great and grateful day!

just for fun -
6 person bike at faschings

another faschings bike - this one is technically a trike but it's all wooden!   ok, mostly wood, but still cool! 

  

a nine person bike in berlin that my son used to get around with his class.   nine people pedal and the rest stand in the middle for a free ride!   how funky is this?