I have a critical eye.  This can be a good thing to have, and it can be a bad thing to have. I’ve often thought that I should have worked in the TV or movie industry because I am pretty quick to find the mistakes in the shows.  I could watch the completed product and then make notes of all the errors so that they could be corrected before release.

Anyway, it’s a good thing to have in my line of work as a nurse so I can spot things in people’s health, life or medications that need to be corrected.  It comes in handy when we are planning a get together with others and/or a bigger event as I can spot things that just don’t look very nice and fix it. It’s a really good thing to have when someone asks, “does this look okay” and, as long as they’re asking, I can tell them what I see. I tell them kindly, but honestly.

A critical eye can be hard to manage.  While I prefer to give good corrections or criticisms, I also see many negative things and it’s hard to know when I should, or should not, speak up.  A good example of this is our County Fair.  A couple of years ago I was at the Linn County Fair in Iowa and as Greg and I were walking into the Fair a young man passed us wearing an incredibly offensive tee shirt.  In the “heat of the moment” I stopped him and kindly, but firmly, told him that his shirt was offensive and that there are children at the Fair that should not have to see that.  I saw that young man later that day and he had his shirt turned inside out.  It worked out well that time, but, as I’m sure you’re probably thinking, that could have gone very bad.  There have been several other times that I have spoken out and ended up having words with people, but for the most part I think that people are more stunned that someone said something to them.

Family is a tough gig when it comes to not being too outspoken when I see something that needs to be corrected.  Especially as a mom.  My children vary greatly in their personalities and their temperaments.  There are times when I feel like I have to walk on eggshells around them and other times that I feel that, since I love them, I have to address potentially harmful directions or behaviors – at least things that I perceive could be harmful to them. Tiff and I had a good talk this morning and she talked with me about this very topic.  I will never be the type of person who always has something positive to say, but I need to continue working on looking at events with a more positive take.  As a little girl I recall my mom saying, “if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say anything at all”.  There may be more validity to that statement than I ever realized. 

We had another victory this morning.  Tiff and I decided to go to a park to walk as we are kind of tired of having to walk in the street around Hannah’s house.  We actually passed another walker for the first time!  Usually, we are stepping aside and letting people go by us since we don’t walk very fast.  The lady we passed certainly wasn’t power walking or anything, but we did pass her.  We had a great walk and plan to use that park more often. 

We plan to go to the Farmer’s Market again tomorrow.  It is a large market so we will get our walking, fresh air and sunshine while we are there.  We will begin the process of cleaning Hannah’s big living room.  She has two living areas, we’ve already completed the smaller one.  Her house is looking so good now!  It really is a cute house. 

Day 31 is done, and day 32 in on its way.  “When I, as your mother as you, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no, you’re going to get it anyway” – anonymous