"Shut Up!"

And no, I'm not talking about "Shut up!" meaning the new slang for "No Way!" ...

The biggest challenge of motherhood for me is finding enough of me to go around and keeping a balance between the needs of everyone and everything else, while still maintaining a little bit of an identity for just me -- things I do just for me ... which, as of late, is virtually nothing.

At times, the balancing act, can be just overwhelming -- especially when I am sick -- and all of the balls that I'm juggling get dropped and scatter, but with the grace of God I get through the hard times and am able to enjoy the good times when they come around again. And sometimes, the good is mixed right in with the bad ... the two are not mutually exclusive I've come to learn.

As I get older, I realize that these "good times" can pass right by, unnoticed and untouched, if you don't take the time to slow down and just enjoy the moment -- even if, at times, you wish that some of the hard moments would just fly by.

A friend of mine sent me a commentary on the process of aging and our changing perception of the passing of time as we age. The piece is by George Carlin?. It is a funny piece, but so true. I'll share it with you when I locate it again (see end of entry).

But I have a question for other moms out there: how do you handle relentless fighting among siblings? It has gotten really bad for my family lately, especially when I am driving. I mean, I have come to dread picking the kids up at school at the end of the day. They haven't seen each other all day and the first thing they do is get into the car and tear into one another? Where is this coming from?

The only way I seem to be able to get a word in edge-wise is use the commonly-used kid terminology of:"Shut Up!" Sounds terrible right? That's just what I used to think too until confronted with sheer and utter exasperation while driving -- and more importantly trying to drive safely which is hard to do when you are trying to referee an argument(s) and going on an average of 2-3 sleep hours each night.

"Shut Up!" gets their attention and it works -- probably because they are so surprised to hear it coming from Mom, who has previously told them that is wrong to say. I realize that "Shut Up!" isn't the best solution and only a short term solution at that. I need to come up with something better! Any suggestions?

I couldn not find my friend's email, so I looked on Google. Here's What Google had to say about the commentary on aging and our perceptions of time as we age:

"Thoughts on Aging from Comedian George Carlin-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: A humorous commentary on aging with some thoughtful suggestion about how to keep a youthful perspective while growing older and said to have been created by comedian George Carlin.

The Truth: We've not found any evidence that this is from George Carlin. It is a combination of two different collections of sayings about aging that have been put together and credited to him. They've circulated since late in 2003.The first one is all over the Internet without attribution and ends with the phrase "I'm one hundred and a half!"

The next one, titled "How to Stay Young" is also circulated widely by itself and is usually attributed to George Carlin, but we have not been able to find where it really came from.

Updated 6/9/06
A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

IF YOU DON'T READ THIS TO THE VERY END, YOU HAVE LOST A DAY IN YOUR LIFE. AND WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED, DO AS I AM DOING AND SEND IT ON.

George Carlin's Views on Aging Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to Get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so Excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump To the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey,you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you Become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you Sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! "

Funny (big smile : )- )! But so true? What stage are you at?

For more info please see: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/carlin-on-aging.htm