The lady at the scout office was aggravated and insulted. I was confused and frustrated. How dare I suggest that on 'E-Trail to Eagle' my son's merit badges were all in there, all his advancements from Tenderfoot to Life Scout... complete! "E-Trail to Eagle is NOT an official scout website" she screamed into the phone. Then she managed to compose herself and apologize for her ruddiness.
You know when someone loves something. I mean really really loves it then it's offensive when they encounter another human who does not study it and give it the proper understanding it deserves. Welcome to the situation wherein you need to work with a scouting enthusiast.
In the past week I have had to deal with 6 of them. It's an interesting road trip met with many detours and dangerous curves ahead.
My second son had met (albeit just barely) all the requirements to earn his eagle scout award, and just needed a couple signatures from them. Now the scouters can smell a 'just barely' scout a mile away, and they don't appreciate the stench. Where as I was just pleased he still wanted his eagle and was semi-willing to do the work to get there, the enthusiast just saw him as the weakest link in their eagle chain of command.
I won't even go into the problems he ran into getting signatures from merit badge leaders. There were hurdles that he put there for himself and I don't like to rag on my own kids on the blog (at least I'm trying to repent of that). But just know that it had been a bumpy stress-inducing road to get us through the last month to get to the point where we needed to enter the scouting enthusiast lion's den. So we were already a bit frazzled.
Then came the day that my husband mistakenly decided to pick up the phone to call the book approval lady. I realize she has an official title but I'm too inexperienced to know it. And I am not ashamed of that fact either. See the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it? The first book approver could not be reached via email or phone. We just figured he was out of town. Middle Boy had been the one trying to reach him. We sorta did things hand in hand here. I'd make my son call people (which he hated) and when he'd done his emotional quota for the day, one of his parents would step in and do a step for him on his behalf. Like a good secretary would do for one's lazy boss. Sorta. On that day when T made the call, our son was actually out hunting down an elusive signature for a last minute blue card. Here's how the call went...
"Hi are you available to look over my son's eagle application and book this week so that he can make the board of review this Friday?"
.... silience.... "May I ask why it is that your son is not making this call for himself?" ...Sigh
"Well he should be, but he couldn't get through to the first guy and now he's out getting a signature, could you just let us know if you are the right person to call and we'll have him call you when he gets home or he'll get no supper tonight." (Just kidding).
By the time we got to see the book lady face to face, her radar was on high and she was hip to us slackers. It made no difference whatsoever that we fawned over her dog who looked just like ours and had the same name! She didn't care to see a photo.
She looked over his book like it smelled bad. She took out things it didn't need and flung them on the table like they were radioactive. She wondered why in world he had trouble on the computer with spacing the dates correctly (a problem no one had ever had before us). We didn't need both the white and blue cards. No extra photos besides the eagle project related ones. Our essay was too warm and fuzzy. Where was our list of accomplishments?! No letters of recommendation in hand seemed to be the biggest no no. Although when I pointed out to her that the website clearly stated that all the scout needed to do was provide names and information for people who could recommend you she acted like I was crazy. We looked it up later- guess what? Not crazy.
So we left her house signatureless, with our tails between our legs feeling like all was lost. No board of review for us. Leaving for college in 3 weeks and another board didn't meet until after our departure. Christmas break would not work because, she informed us as we were about to leave, "the board doesn't meet over the holidays." Too bad for us. Unless we wanted to foot the bill for a 500.00 plane ticket home just to meet with a board. That seemed crazy. Surely there had to be another way.
Well we found that other way... Oh yes, we found it alright. When you tell us no, we just figure well... we'll see about that.
To be continued
Stuff I write about.... How's that for creative?
July 28, 2014
July 23, 2014
July 16, 2014
Summer Luvin'
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| Big Girl in a Hammock |
Summer is well underway and quickly slipping though our fingers. I believe I am not alone when I confess that Summer is both anticipated and dreaded by the stay at home Mother. All our solitude goes out the window and we have to fill the fridge constantly. We're suddenly responsible for multiple social schedules and we dread those three little words "Mom, I'm bored."
I am happy to report that this Summer somehow has turned out to be different from Summers of the past. I can't quite figure out why. Perhaps I have wised up a bit about how quickly my chicks leave the nest. With one son out of the home and another just 4 weeks away from his own solo flight I am anxious to make the most of our time left. This has turned into a Summer of good memories. We took off our training wheels. We have joined swim team. We have hiked 50 miles along the Appalachian trail (not all of us). We've gone to the movies. We've enrolled in art camp. We've done girl scout day camp. We've been to a baseball game. We have enjoyed an outdoor movie night in our back yard with friends. We've made excellent food together. We've gown flowers and tomatoes. We've cleaned out closets and rediscovered forgotten loved toys. We have made mini crossbows that shoot matchsticks out of hair clips and popsicle sticks. We've eaten popsicles. We've taken music lessons (piano and violin). We have set goals like learn sign language, and fill the entire driveway with sidewalk chalk. We're getting there. A beach trip awaits with more good memories (one hopes). Then finally... a farewell trip to Utah where we will leave Middle Boy there to start college, fend for himself, and make his own dang quesa dillas. I hope he gets his Summer reading finished. I'm trying real hard not to remind him to do it. I'm trying not to be such a Momma to him anymore. But how will he ever finish his eagle if I do that completely?
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| Pondering the Nat's chances |
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| Aaaannd they're off |
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| our mico crossbows |
Today we actually bought school supplies for my soon to be 2nd grader. Don't laugh, in my area the supplies go fast! You gotta shop while the shopping's still good or it's total frustration. I suppose that is a sure sign that Summer is on the downhill slope. There's still enough muggy hot air around to justify Slurpees though. So I'll take all the warm lazy days I can get until the cool solitude of Fall comes around. And then I will welcome that too. I hope you are smart enough to catch a few fireflies, get some pedicures, lay in your hammock, grill outdoors, do slip and slides in the back yard, and make home-made ice cream for the next few weeks. That is my plan at least : )
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| 2nd place in the kick board popsicle meet! |
May 13, 2014
Busy Life!
Each year at this time I am reminded of how much I like Spring. Everything is blooming and beautiful and the weather is lovely. It is also the time of year that activities at school seem to be all happening at once! It gets so crazy that you are longing for lazy days of Summer to kick in. I compare it in my head to the last stages of pregnancy, where you will do anything to have that baby out and screaming at night to be fed, just to not have to be pregnant any longer.
We had the school science fair where we tested our hamster's speed in a large cardboard maze. That took some doing and at times had me wishing we had opted out since it was, after all, optional. Then there came the school's variety show performance where both of my girls participated. There was costume making, and drama, and lots of clear packing tape, and all that goes along with a big performance. The end pay off was big though. So although I'm glad it's over, it was worth it.
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| My Happy Girl back stage before her "Glow Bots" routine |
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My performers after the show was over- whew!
We had violin concerts and track meets and soccer games this Spring. Put a visitor in there while all of this is going on and it gets even crazier. It was fun to have my sister here helping me do all the stuff I do daily. She made dinners and watched kids overnight and we had fun seeing the DC sights.
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| My sister Dawn in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall at the Newseum |
My life is just nuts. No wonder I never blog anymore. Too busy! Oh I just remembered we also went on a fun trip to Palmyra NY and Niagra falls this spring. Maybe I will tackle that in another post. It was super fun! We rented an RV.
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| Wandering through the Sacred Grove in Palmyra NY, not looking busy at all! |
Then there is my missionary in Brazil who sometimes gives me panic attacks. I heard through my resources that he was in the middle of a big mob of police arresting bad guys the other day. Then there were whisperings about a robbery that he was directly involved in. He tells me nothing. We did get to see his face on Mother's Day through Skype. That was nice and he looked great. I'm proud of him.
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| Elder F and Elder Tagg *a unique pair* |
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| Skyping on the big screen with Elder Tagg |
April 06, 2014
Taking Care
When I was a young mother with smaller and less children I once had an encounter with a stranger in a hospital waiting room. This older woman admired my small boys and began a conversion with me as we waited for our appointments. "I can tell they are well taken care of" she commented. I thought this over. Yes I did take pretty good care of them. But if I was a horrible mother in private and just spit-combed their hair down in public, would anyone really know? So this thought prompted my next question to her. "How can you tell?" She said that she'd been watching me for some time and that she instinctively knew these were well-loved children. She assured me that she had ways of telling. She said it wasn't just that they were clean, but the interactions between parent and child that gave it away.
I remember I used to attend regular presidency meetings in a young mother's home where she would be frequently interrupted by her small children while we were trying to hammer out relevant things to our relief society callings. I was always impressed by her consistent reactions to her kids. Even after multiple interruptions, she would put on her "I'm so happy to see you face!" each time they'd enter the room. Her body would lower and she'd look them directly in the eyes. I was almost jealous of this great relationship she seemed to be having with her preschooler. Was I that happy when my kid interrupted me? The answer was no I'm afraid.
I've been sick this week. I am not complaining (much) but when a common cold goes through our house it always ends up being uncommonly bad for me. Everyone else in this house has recovered within 1-2 days. I'm on day 7 here with a postnasal gunk-filled/ sinusitis/ sore-throat trifecta of misery. I try to avoid antibiotics with a regimen of nasal rinsing, Afrin, Sudaphed, Mucinex, hot tea with honey, humidifier, and prayer. When the mucus turns yellow and the headaches are never ending I head for a Rx. It's a process. I'm almost there.
My teenager saw how sick I was yesterday and did something amazing. Up until this point he's complained that my fridge stocking has been below par lately. However yesterday, without being asked (and that is really it isn't it?) he washed a sink full of pans for me. As I was trying to nap I thought, who could that be? T was at the store (shopping for groceries). My son was not hesitant to tell me, and anyone else who walked through the kitchen in the next 30 min. "Who do you think washed all these pans? Me!" If I could have hung that dishes job on the fridge for all to see I would have. Earlier in the week he'd pulled a fast one, sleeping in, telling us he was 'sick' and just to take a senior half day off. I guess he figured if everyone else was gonna be getting this cold he may as well ride the train for a stop. It's hard to fake a cold though. Either he was faking or he had the shortest lived sniffles of all of us. Perhaps doing the dishes was his way of evening things up. Or maybe he just wanted the insure his chances of going out with his friends later. I am going to choose to believe that he just wanted to take care of someone he loved.
The joy in serving I saw on his face that afternoon was priceless. So today I will give him that look like I am so happy to see his face, I'll try to stretch up to his level and look him in the eyes and tell him how much I appreciate him.
I remember I used to attend regular presidency meetings in a young mother's home where she would be frequently interrupted by her small children while we were trying to hammer out relevant things to our relief society callings. I was always impressed by her consistent reactions to her kids. Even after multiple interruptions, she would put on her "I'm so happy to see you face!" each time they'd enter the room. Her body would lower and she'd look them directly in the eyes. I was almost jealous of this great relationship she seemed to be having with her preschooler. Was I that happy when my kid interrupted me? The answer was no I'm afraid.
I've been sick this week. I am not complaining (much) but when a common cold goes through our house it always ends up being uncommonly bad for me. Everyone else in this house has recovered within 1-2 days. I'm on day 7 here with a postnasal gunk-filled/ sinusitis/ sore-throat trifecta of misery. I try to avoid antibiotics with a regimen of nasal rinsing, Afrin, Sudaphed, Mucinex, hot tea with honey, humidifier, and prayer. When the mucus turns yellow and the headaches are never ending I head for a Rx. It's a process. I'm almost there.
My teenager saw how sick I was yesterday and did something amazing. Up until this point he's complained that my fridge stocking has been below par lately. However yesterday, without being asked (and that is really it isn't it?) he washed a sink full of pans for me. As I was trying to nap I thought, who could that be? T was at the store (shopping for groceries). My son was not hesitant to tell me, and anyone else who walked through the kitchen in the next 30 min. "Who do you think washed all these pans? Me!" If I could have hung that dishes job on the fridge for all to see I would have. Earlier in the week he'd pulled a fast one, sleeping in, telling us he was 'sick' and just to take a senior half day off. I guess he figured if everyone else was gonna be getting this cold he may as well ride the train for a stop. It's hard to fake a cold though. Either he was faking or he had the shortest lived sniffles of all of us. Perhaps doing the dishes was his way of evening things up. Or maybe he just wanted the insure his chances of going out with his friends later. I am going to choose to believe that he just wanted to take care of someone he loved.
The joy in serving I saw on his face that afternoon was priceless. So today I will give him that look like I am so happy to see his face, I'll try to stretch up to his level and look him in the eyes and tell him how much I appreciate him.
November 08, 2013
Hello Dusty Blog
Well I feel a sense of accomplishment today because I got all the Halloween stuff neatly folded and put in boxes under the stairs. Patted myself on the back and ate a fun sized snickers is what I did about that! I still need to balance the checkbook, pay the bills, make potato soup, buy soccer game snacks, and go visiting teaching but the kids come home in an hour so I'll need to pick one or two of those : ) We can have pancakes and I can always buy snacks on the way to the game right? Curses I need to slice orange wedges... It'll have to happen before the game on Saturday I suppose. This is the price you pay for having a girl on a winning team I suppose. When she was on worse teams they never had an orange wedge requirement for half time. Her team is in the running for 3rd place and she has made great strides this season. My poor 10 year old is overbooked this year but managing like a champ. I see a great future for her.
One thing I have noticed about Big Girl, when the girls in her grade are being less than "golden" i.e.: being boy crazy, dressing up for Halloween in slutty costumes, acting like they are all that, she doesn't let it ruffle her feathers. She knows she is choosing the higher road and she isn't snotty about it, she just rolls with it. I could see the jealousy and sadness in another girl's eyes as she felt left out at the Halloween party. Big Girl just 'let it be'. I'm not sure I was made of that kind of stuff at her age. I had the hutspa (as a 44 yr old) to ask one of the popular girls dressed as a pink lady from Grease where her hickeys were. She had the surprising response of "let's go and you can give me one!" Yeah... not scheduling any play dates with her and Big Girl anytime soon. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I'm not altogether sure she knew what she was saying. Let's hope not.
What else is there... It's a cold and rainy day here today so I've been wanting to curl up with a book but I don't have a good one right now that I am in to. I've actually been reading a book to the girls called Ozma of Oz. It's good! I want to read ahead but then it won't be as fun when I read to them later. I'll close with a disturbing fact for you. I think I may have a bladder infection! SCAREY
Kelly
PS I am really out of practice in blogging. I apologize for this sad sad excuse for a post : ( To make up for it here is a photo of my Big Girl as Rainbow Dash and my Fox Halloween Costume with my Little Girl Rock Star by my side!
One thing I have noticed about Big Girl, when the girls in her grade are being less than "golden" i.e.: being boy crazy, dressing up for Halloween in slutty costumes, acting like they are all that, she doesn't let it ruffle her feathers. She knows she is choosing the higher road and she isn't snotty about it, she just rolls with it. I could see the jealousy and sadness in another girl's eyes as she felt left out at the Halloween party. Big Girl just 'let it be'. I'm not sure I was made of that kind of stuff at her age. I had the hutspa (as a 44 yr old) to ask one of the popular girls dressed as a pink lady from Grease where her hickeys were. She had the surprising response of "let's go and you can give me one!" Yeah... not scheduling any play dates with her and Big Girl anytime soon. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I'm not altogether sure she knew what she was saying. Let's hope not.
What else is there... It's a cold and rainy day here today so I've been wanting to curl up with a book but I don't have a good one right now that I am in to. I've actually been reading a book to the girls called Ozma of Oz. It's good! I want to read ahead but then it won't be as fun when I read to them later. I'll close with a disturbing fact for you. I think I may have a bladder infection! SCAREY
Kelly
PS I am really out of practice in blogging. I apologize for this sad sad excuse for a post : ( To make up for it here is a photo of my Big Girl as Rainbow Dash and my Fox Halloween Costume with my Little Girl Rock Star by my side!
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| her make up took 20 min! too bad you can't see her awesome mane full of ribbon |
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| not a coke addict- a fox nose! |
October 23, 2013
Halloween Update
Hi there!
It's time I wrote. We are gearing up for Halloween which is a favorite time of the year for me. I am one of the only Mom's at the school who dresses up (can you believe that?!) This year I was going to be a witch but changed my mind recently. When you dress up as a witch people tend to joke around with you and ask "where's your costume?" HA HA HA! Speaking of ha has. What is up with all the missionaries writing ha ha after every other sentence in their letters? My missionary does it and so do lots of others I have been reading lately. The 'funny' (ha ha) thing about it is that they use it in places where there is nothing funny whatsoever. Like "we went to the fruit market and bought some bananas ha ha" What's so funny about that? And then there's the misuse of 'to' vs 'too' and the under capitalizing of the word i. It's just lazy. Sorry for my rant... where was i? Just joking (ha ha).
Where was I? Oh yes, my Halloween costume this year will be a dancer from the viral video "What Does the Fox Say?" You know the dancing gals with white shirts and ties wearing fox ears. I've been making a study of their dance moves for people in case they don't get who I am. The costume is pretty much a litmus test for who is into pop culture. One may just assume I'm a well dressed fox with crazy dance moves if they haven't seen the video.
Little Girl is excited to be a rock star (I admit that I pushed for an 80's rock star influence-it was a great time to be a rock star what with all those black rubber bracelets and big hair). Big Girl was pretty sold on her costume when we purchased it in *cough cough* July.... don't judge me, I love Halloween and I needed an outlet for the pain I had when sending off my oldest for Brazil. However, now she is less sold on her Rainbow Dash pony costume. I'm sure once she sees the hair and make-up I have planned I can make a believer out of her. I just can't let her obsession with all things Harry Potter turn her this year. Next year she can be a great Hermione but this year I already have rainbow nail decals lined up! The boys are not dressing up this year but I do have fake mustaches for them. I can imagine that they will both enjoy pretending they actually grew the mustaches and didn't wear a costume at all. I LOVE Halloween too much for words.
In other news my missionary son is growing up just a bit on his mission. He actually loves getting up early and studying.... when I read that I had to pick up my jaw off the floor. He is enjoying Jesus the Christ right now. His letters have been pretty few on the details but he sounds happy and he is really encouraging us to do more missionary work. Not just to our friends but like everyone we come in contact with. He's caught the missionary spirit that's for sure. I'm a very proud momma. He got his visa (we think) and will most likely transfer from Washington state to Sao Paulo Brazil in November.
That will be a stressful day for me I think.
Middle Boy gave us a bit of a difficult day yesterday when he decided to just get in the car and drive away minutes before his piano lesson. He says he was just 'going for gas' but I think I could actually see his nose growing as he spun that tale. I understand his dislike for his piano lesson but we are under contract with the teacher for two more months and we aren't paying for nothing here. We decided to prorate the amount of this missed lesson and charge my son for it. I can hardly wait to see what kind of mood he will be in when that hits the fan. Teenagers are hard.
Little Boy is loving high school and is very involved which is I think the key to loving high school. The kid is in Key Club, Engineers Club, Music Honors Society, Cross Country, and something called Best Buddies. Best Buddies is a cool club where kids interact with disabled kids their same age.
Some may think "nerdy kid" when they read those things, but I look at that and think "kid with great potential to improve the world!" As I type that list of activities I wonder how I made a kid like that? This is new territory for us. My older boys were much less into things than this one is. I've come to understand that I probably should have pushed the older ones more when they were younger. Moving around a lot and having less money didn't help much either. Oh heck, why is it always parent's fault? They are who they are and we have very little influence! I'm going to to with that philosophy. It just feels better. Ha Ha (just kidding I know that isn't funny).
It's time I wrote. We are gearing up for Halloween which is a favorite time of the year for me. I am one of the only Mom's at the school who dresses up (can you believe that?!) This year I was going to be a witch but changed my mind recently. When you dress up as a witch people tend to joke around with you and ask "where's your costume?" HA HA HA! Speaking of ha has. What is up with all the missionaries writing ha ha after every other sentence in their letters? My missionary does it and so do lots of others I have been reading lately. The 'funny' (ha ha) thing about it is that they use it in places where there is nothing funny whatsoever. Like "we went to the fruit market and bought some bananas ha ha" What's so funny about that? And then there's the misuse of 'to' vs 'too' and the under capitalizing of the word i. It's just lazy. Sorry for my rant... where was i? Just joking (ha ha).
Where was I? Oh yes, my Halloween costume this year will be a dancer from the viral video "What Does the Fox Say?" You know the dancing gals with white shirts and ties wearing fox ears. I've been making a study of their dance moves for people in case they don't get who I am. The costume is pretty much a litmus test for who is into pop culture. One may just assume I'm a well dressed fox with crazy dance moves if they haven't seen the video.
Little Girl is excited to be a rock star (I admit that I pushed for an 80's rock star influence-it was a great time to be a rock star what with all those black rubber bracelets and big hair). Big Girl was pretty sold on her costume when we purchased it in *cough cough* July.... don't judge me, I love Halloween and I needed an outlet for the pain I had when sending off my oldest for Brazil. However, now she is less sold on her Rainbow Dash pony costume. I'm sure once she sees the hair and make-up I have planned I can make a believer out of her. I just can't let her obsession with all things Harry Potter turn her this year. Next year she can be a great Hermione but this year I already have rainbow nail decals lined up! The boys are not dressing up this year but I do have fake mustaches for them. I can imagine that they will both enjoy pretending they actually grew the mustaches and didn't wear a costume at all. I LOVE Halloween too much for words.
In other news my missionary son is growing up just a bit on his mission. He actually loves getting up early and studying.... when I read that I had to pick up my jaw off the floor. He is enjoying Jesus the Christ right now. His letters have been pretty few on the details but he sounds happy and he is really encouraging us to do more missionary work. Not just to our friends but like everyone we come in contact with. He's caught the missionary spirit that's for sure. I'm a very proud momma. He got his visa (we think) and will most likely transfer from Washington state to Sao Paulo Brazil in November.
That will be a stressful day for me I think.
Middle Boy gave us a bit of a difficult day yesterday when he decided to just get in the car and drive away minutes before his piano lesson. He says he was just 'going for gas' but I think I could actually see his nose growing as he spun that tale. I understand his dislike for his piano lesson but we are under contract with the teacher for two more months and we aren't paying for nothing here. We decided to prorate the amount of this missed lesson and charge my son for it. I can hardly wait to see what kind of mood he will be in when that hits the fan. Teenagers are hard.
Little Boy is loving high school and is very involved which is I think the key to loving high school. The kid is in Key Club, Engineers Club, Music Honors Society, Cross Country, and something called Best Buddies. Best Buddies is a cool club where kids interact with disabled kids their same age.
Some may think "nerdy kid" when they read those things, but I look at that and think "kid with great potential to improve the world!" As I type that list of activities I wonder how I made a kid like that? This is new territory for us. My older boys were much less into things than this one is. I've come to understand that I probably should have pushed the older ones more when they were younger. Moving around a lot and having less money didn't help much either. Oh heck, why is it always parent's fault? They are who they are and we have very little influence! I'm going to to with that philosophy. It just feels better. Ha Ha (just kidding I know that isn't funny).
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| Girls just wanna have fun |
September 15, 2013
Struggling
Lately I have been struggling. Struggling to adjust to my son being gone for two years. Struggling with time management. Struggling to figure out where I stand with people. Struggling with children who make less than the best decisions. I have figured out that this life is full of struggle. Struggling with decisions about what to make for dinner....
But then there is calm. Calm that comes with knowing I am not alone. Calm when I attend the temple. Calm when I look outward. Calm when I serve someone else. Calm when I realize that my struggles are understood. Calm when I realized what I have to be thankful for. Calm when I get to take a nap. Calm when I laugh with my children. Calm when I cuddle with my husband. Calm when the cleaning lady comes. Calm when I know someone is looking out for me.
Tomorrow I will face another Sunday. Those are hard days for me lately. Mondays are worse. I struggle now to decide if I should mention why. I struggle with being to open and honest on my blog. I've actually tried to be less forthcoming to protect the guilty. Yes, the guilty party who is too young to know better but may look back and feel betrayed.
T and I are taking a parenting class on Sunday evenings. Parenting is the toughest gig. My missionary son asked in his last letter why we were taking a parenting class now. Weren't we finished with parenting? I guess he forgot that he has a 6 year old sister. In am tempted to write back that we were hoping not to make the same mistakes on the rest of the kids that we made with him. I held back (but not here- see my struggle?). One thing they talked about in the class last week was tenderness. Are we tender with our children? We will get much better results when parenting if we use love in equal or more amounts as opposed to discipline. So I worked on that this week. I found it much easier than I thought. I got to say he was right about that. I had much more success than failure.
I believe one key here may be to let go of the struggle and get on with the cuddle. It melts cold hearts.
I wrote a paper letter to my son in Washington State. I went through many drafts and even asked for outside opinions. My goal was to show love and also to inspire and motivate behavior that has not seen previously. If only I could give him a cyber hug. I haven't seen the expected response yet. Maybe Monday...
But then there is calm. Calm that comes with knowing I am not alone. Calm when I attend the temple. Calm when I look outward. Calm when I serve someone else. Calm when I realize that my struggles are understood. Calm when I realized what I have to be thankful for. Calm when I get to take a nap. Calm when I laugh with my children. Calm when I cuddle with my husband. Calm when the cleaning lady comes. Calm when I know someone is looking out for me.
Tomorrow I will face another Sunday. Those are hard days for me lately. Mondays are worse. I struggle now to decide if I should mention why. I struggle with being to open and honest on my blog. I've actually tried to be less forthcoming to protect the guilty. Yes, the guilty party who is too young to know better but may look back and feel betrayed.
T and I are taking a parenting class on Sunday evenings. Parenting is the toughest gig. My missionary son asked in his last letter why we were taking a parenting class now. Weren't we finished with parenting? I guess he forgot that he has a 6 year old sister. In am tempted to write back that we were hoping not to make the same mistakes on the rest of the kids that we made with him. I held back (but not here- see my struggle?). One thing they talked about in the class last week was tenderness. Are we tender with our children? We will get much better results when parenting if we use love in equal or more amounts as opposed to discipline. So I worked on that this week. I found it much easier than I thought. I got to say he was right about that. I had much more success than failure.
I believe one key here may be to let go of the struggle and get on with the cuddle. It melts cold hearts.
I wrote a paper letter to my son in Washington State. I went through many drafts and even asked for outside opinions. My goal was to show love and also to inspire and motivate behavior that has not seen previously. If only I could give him a cyber hug. I haven't seen the expected response yet. Maybe Monday...
September 02, 2013
Sunday Post
Well well well,
It's Sunday. I've had a good week I suppose. The biggest news is that my son is an official Elder serving in the mission field in Everett Washington. He will serve there until his visa arrives. Could be soon, could be months. I hope he will do his best and dig in and work hard. I miss him still, but I am glad he is where he is. I am anxious to see the growth that is bound to happen while in the Lord's service as a missionary. He gets to write to me each Tuesday. I'm hoping for at least 3 paragraphs this time but I won't hold my breath.
In other news it was T's birthday on Friday. He turned 44. Funny thing was I thought he was turning 45. I thought I was 45 and he was turning my age. I'm still 44 until November and I forgot it. Does anyone else do that? I just don't think about it. Sometimes I have to sit down and do the math to figure out my age. Not regularly or anything but about twice a year or so. At least I'm not age obsessed. When he told me his age and we figured out about my brain fart I was so pleased to have gained another year! You're only as old as you feel right. I feel 30. For T's big day he took the day off from work and we did just whatever came to us. With all the kids in school you can imagine where that led to.... exactly, we went to breakfast, went to a book store, a running store, and then to a gas station for a corned beef sandwich that he had been told he must try. Corn Beef King at the Exxon station on Georgia Ave really knows what they are doing, and buyer beware they don't make breakfast items.
I got the following facebook message along with a friend request yesterday:
"I don't know if you remember who I am, but I had classes with you in High School. English was one we had together, i was not a very good student you on the other hand was. I remember one time we were asked to read our short story out loud and if we did we would receive extra credit, You always did and I never did. Sometimes I didn't like you very much because you were always prepared and just a happy girl. When i married 26 years ago it was my goal to have girls with the confidence you had and to stand up and read their stories for extra credit.. my oldest daughter is in college to be a high School Math and science teacher, My youngest is a girl in 9th grade and she has stood up and read her story, i smiled to myself and said Thank You Kelly!!!! Kinda weird I know but I felt like i should let you know You were an example to me all those years ago -Kathy."
At first I didn't remember her, but after confirming her in a yearbook I accepted her friendship. T thought it was possibly a scam. As if I couldn't have been that great in high school or something. I was insulted! (kidding). It just goes to show that you never know who you are influencing with your behavior. For good or bad.
Tonight I found a binder full of letters that I put together as a gift for T. It's all the correspondence we kept while he was in Iraq in 2008. Reading all that writing has gotten me in the writing mood. It was a hard time for us and I was alone with my thoughts so much that I needed a place to vent. Thankfully I like to write. I thank my Heavenly Father for watching over us and for giving me this blog as an outlet to work out my feelings. I certainly had a lot of support from the blogging world as well. I haven't kept up with it as of late but I suppose even that is a good thing. It means I am busy with being present in the moment with my family more. Reading back brings back such good memories though. It also reminds me of all that I have to be grateful for. Family, church, my marriage, my children, my talents, my testimony, our family trials. I'm thankful for it all....
Kelly
It's Sunday. I've had a good week I suppose. The biggest news is that my son is an official Elder serving in the mission field in Everett Washington. He will serve there until his visa arrives. Could be soon, could be months. I hope he will do his best and dig in and work hard. I miss him still, but I am glad he is where he is. I am anxious to see the growth that is bound to happen while in the Lord's service as a missionary. He gets to write to me each Tuesday. I'm hoping for at least 3 paragraphs this time but I won't hold my breath.
In other news it was T's birthday on Friday. He turned 44. Funny thing was I thought he was turning 45. I thought I was 45 and he was turning my age. I'm still 44 until November and I forgot it. Does anyone else do that? I just don't think about it. Sometimes I have to sit down and do the math to figure out my age. Not regularly or anything but about twice a year or so. At least I'm not age obsessed. When he told me his age and we figured out about my brain fart I was so pleased to have gained another year! You're only as old as you feel right. I feel 30. For T's big day he took the day off from work and we did just whatever came to us. With all the kids in school you can imagine where that led to.... exactly, we went to breakfast, went to a book store, a running store, and then to a gas station for a corned beef sandwich that he had been told he must try. Corn Beef King at the Exxon station on Georgia Ave really knows what they are doing, and buyer beware they don't make breakfast items.
I got the following facebook message along with a friend request yesterday:
"I don't know if you remember who I am, but I had classes with you in High School. English was one we had together, i was not a very good student you on the other hand was. I remember one time we were asked to read our short story out loud and if we did we would receive extra credit, You always did and I never did. Sometimes I didn't like you very much because you were always prepared and just a happy girl. When i married 26 years ago it was my goal to have girls with the confidence you had and to stand up and read their stories for extra credit.. my oldest daughter is in college to be a high School Math and science teacher, My youngest is a girl in 9th grade and she has stood up and read her story, i smiled to myself and said Thank You Kelly!!!! Kinda weird I know but I felt like i should let you know You were an example to me all those years ago -Kathy."
At first I didn't remember her, but after confirming her in a yearbook I accepted her friendship. T thought it was possibly a scam. As if I couldn't have been that great in high school or something. I was insulted! (kidding). It just goes to show that you never know who you are influencing with your behavior. For good or bad.
Tonight I found a binder full of letters that I put together as a gift for T. It's all the correspondence we kept while he was in Iraq in 2008. Reading all that writing has gotten me in the writing mood. It was a hard time for us and I was alone with my thoughts so much that I needed a place to vent. Thankfully I like to write. I thank my Heavenly Father for watching over us and for giving me this blog as an outlet to work out my feelings. I certainly had a lot of support from the blogging world as well. I haven't kept up with it as of late but I suppose even that is a good thing. It means I am busy with being present in the moment with my family more. Reading back brings back such good memories though. It also reminds me of all that I have to be grateful for. Family, church, my marriage, my children, my talents, my testimony, our family trials. I'm thankful for it all....
Kelly
August 22, 2013
Above Average
Hey, it's me!
Yes I am still here. I find I have not made the time for blogging like I used to. Oh well, I guess the blog bug that had once bit me so badly has let me go. I still love to read over the past entries though so I should probably keep it going for the sake of history. I recently found several blogs of the people serving in my oldest son's district at the MTC (missionary training center). I felt they were so lucky to have sons who like to write. While Big Boy is many great things, he is not a great writer (yet). In fact I had to gather tid bits of information from a letter written to a friend of his in order to have enough substantial stuff to post on his latest entry on his mission blog. Funny how nice and suavely informative he can be with persons of the female persuasion. Yet when he writes to me he tells me to write less and stop using the nicknames that I found so hilarious.
My Dad tells me to be more patient with him. He's probably right. Then he told me what I was like at that age. I'm certain he's wrong there ; )
So what else is going down... My kids are ready for school to start and so am I. Part of me will miss them when the crickets start chirping at home. Part of me will be glad that the house is less messy and that I can take an uninterrupted nap/shower/potty break. Big Girl and Little Girl found out what teachers they will have this year and a few tears were shed as we found out that their most beloved friends are all (ALL) in the other class. What is up with that?! I see it as a new opportunity to make new friends but at this stage (5th grade) the choices for really nice girls are slimming. They all start acting snotty a bit sooner than they should it would seem. Big girl also has a cold starting... blah. We will survive.
Little Boy is starting his first year on the cross country team at Sherwood High. He had a two mile time trial today and clocked in at 15min 33 seconds. He was proud of himself. His older brother has decided not to run on the team this year and is going to have to find an after school job instead. He needs to save for his mission. I wish he would run but you can only lead a horse to water so many seasons.
So that's the new from our Lake Wobegone, where the women are strong the men are good looking and all the children are above average.
Kelly
Yes I am still here. I find I have not made the time for blogging like I used to. Oh well, I guess the blog bug that had once bit me so badly has let me go. I still love to read over the past entries though so I should probably keep it going for the sake of history. I recently found several blogs of the people serving in my oldest son's district at the MTC (missionary training center). I felt they were so lucky to have sons who like to write. While Big Boy is many great things, he is not a great writer (yet). In fact I had to gather tid bits of information from a letter written to a friend of his in order to have enough substantial stuff to post on his latest entry on his mission blog. Funny how nice and suavely informative he can be with persons of the female persuasion. Yet when he writes to me he tells me to write less and stop using the nicknames that I found so hilarious.
My Dad tells me to be more patient with him. He's probably right. Then he told me what I was like at that age. I'm certain he's wrong there ; )
So what else is going down... My kids are ready for school to start and so am I. Part of me will miss them when the crickets start chirping at home. Part of me will be glad that the house is less messy and that I can take an uninterrupted nap/shower/potty break. Big Girl and Little Girl found out what teachers they will have this year and a few tears were shed as we found out that their most beloved friends are all (ALL) in the other class. What is up with that?! I see it as a new opportunity to make new friends but at this stage (5th grade) the choices for really nice girls are slimming. They all start acting snotty a bit sooner than they should it would seem. Big girl also has a cold starting... blah. We will survive.
Little Boy is starting his first year on the cross country team at Sherwood High. He had a two mile time trial today and clocked in at 15min 33 seconds. He was proud of himself. His older brother has decided not to run on the team this year and is going to have to find an after school job instead. He needs to save for his mission. I wish he would run but you can only lead a horse to water so many seasons.
So that's the new from our Lake Wobegone, where the women are strong the men are good looking and all the children are above average.
Kelly
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