I'm positive that you're my only hope!

My blood type is B Positive.

Or, as I like to call it...the optimistic blood type. And I'm not sure it's the one I should have, due to my personality. You see, most days I feel like, 'I'm A Negative person. But I try to B Positive.'

Yeah, some scientist out there has a really, weird sense of humor.

Recently my mother had to get some blood before she has a surgical procedure. We were talking about our blood types and we were trying to figure out, on our own, which ones were the universal donors and which ones were rare, etc. Very fascinating stuff, I know! When I got her home, I went to Wikipedia and found some information on blood types.

Because that's the kind of geek I am!

I wanted more information. I wanted to know the facts. I wanted to have more control over a situation than I felt I had. Knowledge is power, and I felt a little powerless about how to help my Mom at the moment.

After I found the answers to the questions we were looking for (and I'm not going to bore you with those here, you can find the answers on your own!), I started to surf for something to watch on her tv.

And I came across Star Wars. The first movie. The one that all of us over the age of thirty refer to as "Star Wars".

It had just begun. And I stayed there a moment, watching R2D2 and C3PO get across the laser fire-filled hallway to the other side...you know, where they meet up with the princess.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

Don't know who Obi-Wan is? Don't understand why he's Princess Leia's only hope? Then I suggest you try Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki.

Because that's the kind of geek I am!

Wow...talk about pressure! Her 'only hope'. Princess Leia was trying to fix a situation, and put her hope into the one person she could think of that could help her. And if anyone could handle pressure like that, it was Obi-Wan.

So often, my friends, we will put our hope into things that really can't, in the long one, fix or control our situation. We rely on money, or jobs, or people that aren't Obi-Wan. And we end up disappointed. Disappointed when we lose that job, when the relationship ends, when we try to give blood and find out that our iron count is too low and so we can't give that day and we have to come back another day, but it's okay because at least now we know what our blood type is, right?

It's hard to be positive when you're in the midst of disappointment. When you're wanting to fix or control something that requires more than the resources you have available. Negativity can rush right in, can't it?

Don't give up. When you're down and disappointed, stay hopeful. There is One, my friends, who can handle things WAY BETTER than Obi-Wan. That's one thing I am positive about...! New hope may be just the thing you need!

Incidentally, when they came out with the newer Star Wars films, they began calling "Star Wars" something else. They began calling it "A New Hope".

I learned that from Wookieepedia.

Not just a job...but an adventure!

Babies are cute for a reason.

That's their hook. That's how they 'get' you. They use that cuteness to their advantage.

Babies are sneaky. You know why? Because they turn into teenagers...need I say more?

Yeah, okay. I'll say more. This past weekend, we just bought our daughter her first car. As we're signing the papers on it, I'm looking at her and thinking, "When did she get so old? Just yesterday, we were in KFC and she announced to the entire restaurant that she'd just 'gone potty like a big girl'. I wish I was Superman so I could turn back time because it's moving past me way too fast and...wait, how much did that salesman say registration costs? Wow! When did I get so old?"

As a mother of a driving teen, I am now aware of two things: 1) it won't be long before my daughter's out on her own. And b) she better be wearing clean underwear...in case she's in an accident.

Why can I say things like that? Because I'm the Mom...that's why!

Part of a Mom's job is to say things that seem to contradict themselves. Sit down! Sit up! Look at me when I'm talking to you! Don't look at me like that!

Motherhood is a continuous contradiction, isn't it? I can't tell you how many times I've tried to explain subtle differences to my children. Like how caterpillars and butterflies are the same but different and how sour cream and sour milk is different...but the same.

Motherhood is not an easy job. We have so much information to share and so little time to share it. Do my kids know that it's better to give than to receive? Do they know that a penny saved is a penny earned? Do they know who is in Grant's tomb and how to spell Mississippi the 'fun way'? Perhaps most importantly, do they know how to separate whites from colors in the laundry so that they don't end up with pink underwear?

I guess it doesn't really matter what color it is...so long as it's clean, right?

My friends, take a moment this week to thank your Mom for all of her hard work. And Moms, don't be too hard on yourselves. You've done the best you can with those cute babies.