Women who love too much ???

I am certainly a victim of this and I truly believe that in some cases  I love to the point of stupidity .. Just look at me night after night as I sleep pinned between two dogs, a white boxer on one side .. and as the evenings get colder she creeps closer and closer and on the other side is a Jack Russell .. stupid !!! Well its worse than that, as I get hay fever, so I often have to take a pill, just to make it through the night with my two hairy friends ... but.... I have seen statistics that say 60% of us sleep with our animals .. I wonder how many of those are women as opposed to men ??

Check out this image, it was a card that was given to me by a woman who was part of the audience at the last event I spoke at.
As I left the building I happened to be behind her and overheard her discussing with her friend in absolute amazement, that someone like me would sleep with my dogs .. ???
Hence the card  and I love it !

So lets translate this loving too much into other aspects of a woman's life, as I truly do believe that it is one of our intrinsic flaws .. When I think about my kids and perhaps as a single parent  how I may have parented a little differently. I certainly know that they had a much less lenient environment with their Dad, his expectations of contribution where a lot higher than mine ...  And this has only increased their respect of his rules and expectations and never ever diminished their love for him ???

I have learnt over the years that love is not about the flashy material gifts .. it is about one thing........

........................................................................TIME ............................................................................

This also applies to my business and the team that I employ, as well as the third parties that I endeavor to assist .. The most valuable thing that I have to give them is my time .. it is worth so much more than any money I could bestow on them  .. the money is a finite thing and  it will never enable growth or change in the way that my time and the experiences that I can now speak of, can  ... ( twenty years this Saturday)  the information I can share, is loaded with takeaways that utilized well should keep on yielding for the recipients .. I certainly know that in this over busy life that I lead, the only gift that I ever want from my kids and my partner is time ( this of course is hugely appealing to my forever poor  children )... but  I'm not sure if I want to keep on celebrating my birthday with a gift of shopping time from them i.e. my birthday and I take them shopping with my cheque book but at least we are together ???? .. arhhhh NO ! Anyway I am so... not a big shopping fan ! A long lunch at my favourite cafe is definitely a yes !

Then I must also consider the causes that I am so passionate ( to the point of obsessive ) about.
At the top of these has to be the animal ones.( I have even offered a food subsidy to convert the five boys in Edwards Dunedin flat to a free range lifestyle ).
I sat and watched SPCA rescue this week on TV-one, with tears in my eyes,  as they tended to a little puppy ( who someone had named  Pretty ) she had been shot with a slug gun three times .. incredible, what planet  are these perpetrators on .. I will never understand or forgive anyone that deals to an animal in this way .. hell I can't even imagine killing a chicken, let alone running over a bunny or a hedgehog!
I had an interesting conversation with a woman that visited me last week .. as we got around to my passion for the pigs and chickens and seeing them farmed differently, of which she whole heartily agreed, yep a big free range advocate was she .. except when eating out, she just made a natural assumption that any places she chose, given they where of a reputable standing and clever with food, would obviously be free range ..
Wrong !!! Never assume always ask and if you really want to make a change to the way we farm pigs and chickens, remember  you make a vote every time you purchase so exercise this not just when you are in the supermarket but also when you eat out,  at friends or a restaurant/cafe.
Once again.... Im just so passionate about this crusade that it truly does have an impact on my choices and my life .. I will simply not negotiate this principal to make a situation easier, as so may others do.

And finally there is this company of mine .. and yes in so many ways I do love it too much .. and given so many others have input into how we operate each day this in itself will have ongoing challenges for me.
I have however now come to the realization that no one will ever effect a task in the same way that I would and this is absolutely okay, in that in many instances they will do it so much better.
I hate to imagine how I would fare if I was ever to compete against some of our capable  retail girls and their huge love of the brand that translates into their strong selling ability.
The converse of this is that when the team stuff up, it is simply that and as long as the mistake is a new one it is all about the learning and growing process  that they will all need to go through ..
Even when I am steering down the barrel of a considerable price tag that attaches to the error, it is is simply time to breathe .. look at how we prevent this happening in the future .. and moving on .. As much as I love this brand of mine and want to protect it at the highest level .. the employment of people will alway be something that I have to factor into this love.

So with Mothers Day fast approaching,  I also reflect on the 24 years that I have been a Mum .. And as so many of us Mums would say, my kids truly are my greatest achievements, my biggest passion.. those two children of mine have been my greatest love affair as well as providing me with a total balance in my life and what more could a girl want ?