I’ve started a blog entry a few times this week. Each time, after a few sentences, I’ve hit the “delete” key on the keyboard. Ever feel like you’d wish you could hit the “delete” key on a few things in your day?

A plethora of dental appointments … delete!

Raising my voice rather than taking a moment to breathe first … delete!

The long unmoving line of traffic … delete!

The list of errands I didn’t get to yesterday … delete!

My messy kitchen calling my name … delete!

The important papers I can’t find … delete!

As technology and our society advance, the distractions around us increase. I’ve always been a bit bold in resisting a trend, but when it comes to distractions, I buck fiercely. Life is chaotic enough without added demands and disruptions. The schedule of a parent is busy regardless.

When I fight the urge to hit the “delete” key during my day, I often take time out to think about our next vacation.  I lean back in my chair and close my eyes while I listen to soothing music. I imagine the ocean waves rhythmically splashing to the shoreline. The gentle breeze minimizing the heat from the day while swaying hammocks signal their sanctuary.

In moments, I’m there. I’ve never fallen asleep during these virtual vacations, but when I open my eyes a few minutes later, I feel like I’ve rested. It’s my temporary retreat from the day.

Whether it’s taking a walk, closing your eyes in a chair, or even a hot bubble bath — take a few minutes to retreat from your day or rest on a virtual vacation. It’s not a distraction, but a necessary appointment!

Some days I wonder if my husband and I are the only ones who struggle in a certain area as parents. Or I wonder if our approach on a topic is the best. Or if other parents experience the same ups and downs in this parental journey as we do.

It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one, isn’t it? Typically when we talk with other adults, we do not first swap stories of our child’s bad days, their attitude woes, or our parenting tactics.

Instead, we come to conclusions of our parenting skills by watching other children and compare them to our own. Junior doesn’t act like that, so we’re doing good. How come our daughter doesn’t sleep through the night yet? Suzie’s daughter did once she hit three-months old. Their son is so well-behaved, what are we doing wrong? Our daughter doesn’t care to go to college … but her friend is planning on graduate school. Where did we mess up?

We all have fallen into the compare trap. But the truth is, we all struggle as parents wondering if our skills and tactics are on the right track or if we could do better. Sometimes we find ourselves swimming in circles baffled in the seas of a difficult situation. We’re not alone.

My daughter recently asked how I can write for parents when I’m not a perfect parent. She was a little fearful of offending me. I wasn’t offended. I’ve never claimed to be a perfect parent and honestly, I don’t strive for flawlessness. It’s unachievable — I’m not God. However, I do strive to be the best parent I can be in every situation.

Sometimes being the best parent is teaching our children that we mess up too and it’s okay to pick ourselves back up and start again. Sometimes being the best parent is allowing our children to watch how we work through our own struggles. Sometimes being the best parent means we apologize for our wrong behavior and ask for forgiveness.

Our children watch what we do, and are less likely to listen to what we say. As they hit adolescence, that fact becomes even clearer. It’s shown me how important my actions are. How I can influence my daughter simply by how I live my life. And I recognize what life lessons I can teach her, by me living out those lessons each day.

No, I’m not a perfect parent. I mess up. I often apologize for raising my voice when I ask my daughter not to do the same. I get grouchy when I’m tired and hungry. I struggle.

I’m also relentless in my desire to teach our daughter the value of authenticity in everything we do. It’s a virtue too often overlooked.

Laughter. There is no replacement for a great laugh. You can’t conjure it up. You can’t fake it and it can’t be forced. I’ve found myself saying before, “That is too funny!” only I’m not laughing. It was a statement. How funny can it be then?

The experts say laughter is beneficial to our overall health, a great stress management reliever, and even a body and heart workout. Sounds good to me. But not every day do I feel like laughing. Sometimes life is overwhelming and I’m just trying to get through the day. Ever felt like that?

Jerry B. Jenkins said in a writer’s conference one year that our life is 5% of what life throws our way and 95% of how we respond to it. That stuck with me.

In the midst of stress, I can choose to think of the positive side. In the midst of difficulty, I can choose to look for the lesson to be learned. In the midst of the mundane, there is still a funny side. It’s all about perspective.

Our daughter has this thing she does daily, “Here is my random word of the day.” She says. Then she blurts her random word.

It cracks me up. We never know what it will be, what she’ll say, because of course it’s … random. But it’s funny to see what floats into her mind in that instant.

We have a quirky dog that acts like a trained seal when it comes to balloons. When I need a good laugh, I blow up a balloon and play volley-balloon with the dog. Never have I seen a dog so careful to not pop a balloon and still keep it up in the air. It’s funny!

My second trip to the dentist due to facial swelling isn’t funny, but how I look in the mirror right now with a half swollen face … is.

Choose to find laughter and humor in today’s events. In addition to gaining a new perspective, you’ll get a bonus workout without leaving your chair. What a value!

I’m not sure what happened to me Saturday, but a switch got flipped and I raced into spring cleaning mode with zeal. Corners untouched for a while, got scrubbed. Dust bunnies hidden were eradicated.

I didn’t tire, but continued looking for the next area to attack with vigilance.

Flower beds were raked of their winter droppings. Fall perennials were pruned. I even managed to give a mopping lesson to my daughter. By Saturday afternoon things glistened inside and out!

Cleaning was not something I enjoyed as a child. I had multi-colored carpet that constantly changed with the array of clothes on my floor. There were far more important things to do — play with my friends!

As I’ve gotten older, I don’t care for cleaning any more than I did as a child. My multi-colored carpet is gone, but I still feel there are far more important things to do than clean — spend time with my family!

I hope I never grow out that feeling. Even when I’m a grandparent, I don’t want cleaning to be the high point of my day.

Life is full of mini adventures waiting to be explored. Family activities waiting to be done together. Escapades waiting to be discovered.

I will always dislike cleaning. After all, there are more important things to do!

Yesterday afternoon, the wind kicked up and blew. The sky dressed itself in brown clouds of dust. The trees flapped wildly and littered the yard with their dead branches. However, today all is peaceful.

As I look out my window this morning, I’m reminded of the wind’s intensity just a mere twelve hours ago. How quickly it changed.

In parenting, I find things change fast too. What works for a while, suddenly doesn’t. So we shift gears. What motivates for a time, diminishes. Shift. An effective method to teach our children becomes old school as they get older. Shift. The fun activities we do together look different as time passes. Shift.

I used to hate change. I liked things predictable. But I learned early on, that parenting requires flexibility and willingness to be open to alterations in my plans.

I’ve also learned that not all change is dreadful. This weekend is a perfect example. Typically as a family, we decide together on our vacation destination, but the actual planning I do alone. My husband is game for anything. Our daughter didn’t care as long as we had family time and fun. So I planned the details.

Saturday, as we discussed our upcoming vacation, our daughter expressed her desire to help plan. She got excited over researching our destination, and hot spots we could see and do. I was thrilled to add a co-planner. My husband had one item on his wish list and she jumped at the chance to see how we could make that happen. This year, we will plan together!

There is no doubt that change is erratic and impulsive at times. But welcome to the adventures of parenting. Buckle yourself in. Sit back. Enjoy the ride!