Bucket

 "When you decide that you never want to live on empty again, you start paying more attention to the replenishment side of the equation."

Peanut and I listen to a lot of audio books. She listens to audio books while she plays in the sand table, draws/paints, takes a bath and even falls asleep.

On Monday this week I shared that we were going to begin Little Women. It's 12.5 hours as an audio book. I shared it was one of the Princess's favorite books and she once did an huge project on it in elementary school.

Peanut complained, "I don't want to listen to that one."

Even though she knew nothing about it.

I shared we were going to try it this week and if by the end of the week (so after listening to at least 1/3 of the book) she wasn't engaged in the story, then next week we could try a different story.

She begrudingly agreed.

By day two she was crying over Pip the canary. Mid week she begged me to listen to more chapters because she couldn't bear not knowing if Beth got better from scarlet fever. By the end of the day yesterday, Peanut and I had made it through 8 hours of Little Women in five days.

I've learned that Peanut would happily eat fast food chicken nuggets, Little Debbie treats, and Sonic slushies every single day if that's what I allowed.

Much like I insist she eat a much more balanced diet, I also insist she inhale balanced literature.

We listen to Judy Moody and Junie B Jones and a host of other audio books that are contempary and based on characters that are Peanut's age.

But we balance that consuming good literature as well.

I set the bar higher for what I allow to fill her mind.

I was thinking about that balance of what we allow our mind to consume this week.

I don't watch the news. I rarely click on current events posts I see online.

If it's an issue I feel passionately about, I chose my sources.

I try to inhale more Little Women quality information than Junie B. Jones.

I'm reading this book this week called Simplify. He talks about your life like it's a bucket. Some things you take on put holes in your bucket, deplete you. Other things pour into your bucket, filling you up.

We have to learn to discern what things are life draining and what things are life giving.

Sometimes I think the Junie B Jones quality information that we inhale is intereting to read, entertaining but the effect it has on us is life draining.

Junie B is sassy, rude and often ill behaved. If I allow that to be the only thing filling Peanut's bucket, then I should expect her to think that behavior is the norm.

I have to fill her bucket with Little Women level material so she knows she can also chose to be strong, determined, loyal, etc.

If I only fill my bucket with the negative, then I can expect my outlook to become negative as well.

Mama Warriors as you sip your coffee or tea this Saturday morning, think about what is life draining and life giving for you.

What is poking holes in your bucket that you can give up?

What fills your bucket that you should do more of?

Let's plug those holes, and fill our buckets, as we go into the end of this school year.