letting go

Who you might be

Last Saturday, Scott and Oakley had big plans to go explore in the creek while Noah and I were still asleep.  But first, Scott needed to make some plans in the backyard with a landscaper.  When I walked out to the front with my cup of tea, Oakley was patiently sitting in the jeep with the music on, just waiting.  He got out, we had our good morning hug and talked for a while.  He went inside to get some water and emerged with a mischievous smile on his face and Noah’s ghillie suit in his hand.

He wanted to play a prank on Dad. 

So I helped him get it all on, over the cast and all.  Then he quickly laid down on the concrete near the drivers side car door to wait, in hope to surprise Scott when he walked over.  We decided I would be the lookout and clear …

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The gift beyond your plans

My plan for the morning yesterday included donuts, kolaches and bribery.  Sadly, it didn’t work out quite the way I planned.  In fact, what I planned for an easy 15 minute chat, turned into an almost 3 hour ordeal that left me covered in a lovely white layer of drywall mud overspray.  Even my nose hairs were white.

I looked like Marv from Home Alone after he’s been tortured thoroughly by Kevin.  (Remember, this guy?)

It wasn’t really quite this bad, but it wasn’t the quick chat I was intending.  The story goes that we really wanted the texture on our walls to be lighter/less dramatic than usual (first world problem, I know) and I thought a load of goodies and a “pretty please” would be all it would take to make that happen.  Apparently there’s a lot I still don’t know about the building process that includes two different teams of …

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Lingering flurries

In Texas when the weather gets below freezing, it makes the news.  No, let’s be clear, it headlines the news.  Add to that, any slight chance of precipitation, and the kids are dressed in snow gear 24/7, waiting by the window with sleds in hand.  We’re immediately on alert for school closings due to “slick spots” on the roads and we’re posting everything that resembles the fluffy white magic on our social media feeds.  So naturally, when I woke this morning to news alerts of “lingering flurries”, I was expecting to peek out the window to encounter a winter wonderland like the scene above.

My view of our cold, dry street and brown grass was a bit of a let-down. 

Obviously that’s a stretch, but it’s not too far off in our world so driven by breaking news and social media.  If it’s not the urgent, right now news, it’s perfectly filtered …

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The dance of holding on and letting go

Today this boy, my first-born, turns eleven.  I’m usually all good with birthdays, mine or theirs.  I’m usually thrilled to celebrate all the memories, joy and growing of another year.  But this year, it’s hitting me a little differently.  He’s almost five feet tall and his interests are changing, if you know what I mean.  He’s working harder to get stronger and becoming extremely competitive in sports.  He just has a little more grit than he used to.

But he’s also becoming kinder, wiser, and more loving.  

Over the years, he’s faced his own set of challenges.  He’s learned a lot about owning his response to whatever is happening in the world around him, especially when he can’t change it.  This year, he’s grown by leaps and bounds in his compassion and ability to apologize and seek forgiveness quickly when he realizes he was wrong.

While his body is getting bigger and stronger, so …

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A bittersweet Christmas

It’s hard to believe I’m forty years old and this was my first Christmas morning with only my immediate family.  We’ve always shared Christmas morning with grandparents, siblings and cousins.  But this year, we wanted to be home, by our tree with the boys.  And that meant it would just be us.

Our first solo family Christmas.

It was really special to watch the boys run down the stairs to find their Santa gifts and stockings.  Then I popped Pillsbury cinnamon rolls into the oven (because we are healthy like that).  We had a quick bite before continuing with the gift opening celebration.  We shared some special moments around the tree before deciding it was time to eat our “Christmas lunch”.  But my role in both extended families has never centered around meal-planning.

It completely skipped my mind to plan or prepare any sort of meal for my family!  Oops.

Thankfully my sister Kim mentioned …

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Unexpected peace

My unexpected theme for the day seems to be “rest”.   I thought I would get all techie last night and try the new ‘bedtime’ function on my iPhone.  It seemed pretty self-explanatory.  I set my wake up time, it told me the bedtime that would give me the right amount of sleep.  I clicked “on” and the little alarm icon showed up on the top right.  I double checked, 5:30 AM.

The sun in the window woke me up at 7 o’clock.  

Perfect way to start the day, right?  Both boys were still asleep, so the morning rush began.  It began only to discover that Oakley’s little visit to the school nurse was warranted yesterday.  He had a fever and felt terrible.

Poor baby.

I got him in some warmer clothes, carried him downstairs and gave him Tylenol.  I got Noah off to school, ran by Kroger for Gatorade and made an appointment with …

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