Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Open Your Eyes To Reality Moments

This phase popped into my head today when I was making a comment on a post. I liked it and decided to write a post about it.

One moment that opened my eyes to reality was some 30 years ago when store-bought diapers were rarely used. I had 2 babies under 19 months, lived in a little college apartment with a husband who was gone all day and evening attending classes or working. I remember being extremely tired, probably suffering some postpartum depression while sitting on the side of the bathtub rinsing out a messy diaper before wringing it out and tossing into the smelly diaper pail. I thought to myself, (imagine a sob or two and a high-pitched groan) "This is what I've been dreaming about for the past 20 odd years? To become a wife and a mother?"

Sounds pretty trivial, I know, but it was definitely an "Open Your Eyes To Reality Moment". What is a moment that forced you to come out of fairyland and get-a-grip? Or a moment when you realized you needed to face life front on? Or a time when you got more than you bargained for? When you had to radically change your way of thinking because the old way wasn't working? I'd love to hear your "Open Your Eyes" moments. Sounds a little bit like Oprah's 'Aha Moments' but there is a noticeable difference in definition. An Aha moment is more like a cleansing breath, a refreshing breeze and an Open Your Eyes moment is more akin to a heart attack.

10 comments:

hellomelissa said...

hahahaha! the "oh, POOP!" moment is what you mean, no pun intended!

i know exactly what it is, but it's too long for a comment. maybe i'll post on it.

and it turned out to be a happy ending, just like yours :)

Alyson said...

I hope your's turned out to be a happy ending. :)

I'm trying to think of an "open your eyes" moment, and I know I've had some, but I'm going to have to give it a little more thought. I think I had a few just prior to leaving Texas, but I kept shutting my eyes in order to cope.

Framed said...

Mine was probably similar to Alyson's and I think "Oh, poop" pretty much sums that up. I try to avoid these moments as much as possible. Whenever I feel one coming on, I stick my nose in a book.

Unknown said...

Great post! I love the Scavenger hunt...thanks!!

thanks for signing up for the scavenger hunt...we are having a blast

Moviegirl20 said...

I had an open your eyes moment when my lovely fiance told me that he was in debt much more than he had let on. He hadn't hidden it from me, just neglected to mention it. I think I realized that our standard of living will not be what I thought it would and that maybe there was something I was doing that made him afraid to tell me. I was worried about money and how we were going to get by and had questioned him about that, wondering if we'd be okay. But now I trust that we'll be okay and I don't talk about maybe not being able to get by and trusting that we will.
I know I'm not like some star eyed brides, but I love him very much and know that we'll be alright even if we don't have much.

Moviegirl20 said...

I'm actually getting married on May 19th. :-}

julie said...

This is an interesting concept. I'll have to burrow into my head and think if I've had any of these moments. I'm sure I have, I just can't remember any right off the bat. Hmmmm.

Booklogged said...

Melissa, Oh, poop! The pun fit even if it wasn't intended. You always make me smile!

Aly, as you know it's kind of an up and down roller coaster, but HAPPY most of the time. As far as Texas goes, you may want to keep your eyes in squint position for awhile longer. That's definitely an Oh, poop situation.

Framed, I think I'll follow your advise and keep my nose in a book. Only right now the book I'm reading could be titled "Oh, poop"

Amy, I'm loving the scavenger hunt, although yesterday I begged for help over on my book blog.

Agapetospaidiske, gee, I hope I spelled that right. Where did you get that monomer? Glad to hear that trust issue is being resolved before the marriage. Best wishes to you.

Booklogged said...

Julie, you must have posted secondes before I did. I think we all have lots of those moments, but they just got forgotten as we go on with life. I don't know why this one hit me so hard.

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