7 of 40

Hold your breath, because this one you won't believe.....

I went hiking. I know, it must signal the end of days. I, Lisa, despiser of all things outdoors, went hiking. Yes, it was for church and yes, it was a bonus that I got to take 2 out of 3 of my girls. But still. For 3 hours I was one with nature. My shoes touched dirt and no matter how hard I tried, parts of my body touched foliage.

I tried my best not to sweat. I really don't like sweating. It makes you ugly. I wore a pretty pair of earrings just to help off-set the ugly sweat and my drab surroundings. It helped. But, let's just revisit this miraculous event. I. Went. Hiking. In the Texas forest. I stand all amazed.

1 of 40, 2 of 40, 3 of 40, 4 of 40, 5 of 40, 6 of 40.

She Squared

It's Go Texan Day. Around here, that translates to the cowboys riding into town for the Houston Rodeo. But, the only cowboy I saw today wore a pink hat and rainbow tennis shoes. And to honor the day, she and all the other 2nd graders square danced.


She 'honored her partner' and 'do-si-doed'. In my opinion, these smaller cowboys are a whole lot cuter than the ones professionally paid.

This Go Texan Day offered an 8 year old who squared and made me smile. I think we're fixin' to enjoy ourselves. Ya'll should join us.

Life and Living

Often times, Life and Living are two very different things. Every now and then they tend to orbit together. But most of the time, they reside on opposite spectrum.

These last few days, I've watched the difference between the two. The harshness of Life positioned right next to the hopeful Living. A friend has been staying with us during her chemo treatment. She's a mom, just like me. Except, her children double mine in number. She has bone cancer and she's amazing.

Life is cancer. It's brutal with sharp edges all around. It comes at you when you least expect it and alters your path forever. Life just works that way. It bends and curves in ways we don't like and that are out of our control. Life moves along even when we don't want it to.

But then there is the Living. This week, I've seen that it is something altogether different than Life. In Living there are choices. Our choices. There is joy and hope to be found in the Living, we just have to make the choice to find it. Our Living tends to soften all the hard edges of the Life.

Our friend has had Life thrust upon her. One not of her choosing. But, her Living is inspiring. She speaks of lessons learned and the hard decisions she faces. And through all that, she Lives. And she smiles. And she finds joy. She teaches me to slow down. That life is not about the list, or the laundry, or the homework. It's so much more than that. She's discovered that she no longer tells her children to, "Hurry up!" That's all they did before. But it's not what they do now. She is forging a Living built on faith and love and family.

Life never seems to work out the way we plan. It just doesn't. It usually presents a whole different road to travel. One we never knew existed. But there is Living to be done along the way. I believe that it's the whole point of the journey. Today I shall quiet my Life in order to see the joy in my Living. And while I'm at it, I'll try and remove all my 'hurry up' words in my mother vocabulary.

Life is all about the Living.
Thank you Jenny, for your wise and whispered example.

Current Wonders

On my mind as of late:

I've recently acquired an obsession for talk radio and chocolate covered pretzels. I can't explain either one. I have an internal need to eat these pretzels every day. I can't seem to stop myself. I wonder why?

Whenever I'm in my car, I listen to the Talk. In years past, I never, ever turned on the radio. I craved the silence. Now I listen to the Talk. I wonder if that makes me old?

***
I've been taking wood. From the houses that are being built around me. I feel the need to have it. You know, just in case I want to use it for crafts. I've started wondering if I'm stealing. I only take the cut off ends that they will just throw away. I think I'm saving planet earth. Todd thinks I'm a wood hoarder.

***

I need Justin Bieber to get a haircut. Every time I see him on the screen, I want to reach through the TV and get him in a choke hold and drag him to a salon. I really, really need his long bangs out. of. his. face. I wonder why I care so much and what my fascination with his hair says about me?

***

My 40th is coming up and my wish is for a family trip. It involves a plane ride. I don't do airplanes unless I'm forced to. But this I did to myself. I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to have a panic attack that induces vomiting on my birthday. Am I crazy? Stupid? Probably both.

***

That's enough wonder for now. It's about all I can take.
What are you wondering about?

Awake From The Coma

Life passes by when you're sick. It just skims along without any notice. I feel as if I've been in a coma for 10 days. I've been sick that long. Today I got dressed and drove to Target to buy some stuff. It didn't really matter what I bought, I just knew that the world would feel normal if I bought something. And, I was right.

I can't remember most of the last week and a half. Just parts here and there. I know people got up and went to school and then ate dinner later on. I have no idea if homework was done or anyone had clean clothes to wear.

Apparently, there are children who take freedom in a mother's misery. I believe that this eye belongs to Child #2. Oh, and this same child also tried to catch a ball with a glass vase yesterday. In the house. She was shocked when it shattered. Imagine that.

As I looked around the house this morning, I tried to take it all in. All the stuff that goes 'undone' when the House CEO falls to her knees. The scene didn't make me feel frustrated or upset. It made me grateful. Weird, I know.

You see, we mother's tend to have a thankless job. The stuff we do day after day goes unnoticed. It gets irritating. The 'unnoticing' part. And then we tend to dwell on the fact that we live in a house with ungrateful people who never acknowledge anything we do.

But then, life comes to a halt for a variety of reasons. Mine was because I'm cursed. Remember? For 10 days, I couldn't do any of my 'mother' stuff. And today, when I looked around, I realized that I missed it. All the things I do that go 'unnoticed'--I missed them. Because in our heart of hearts, we are mothers. We take care of our families. Whether they notice or not, we take care of them.

So today, I find gratitude as I stop to 'do' all that has gone 'undone'. Will my thankful heart last? Probably not. That's just how it goes. But at least for today, I can find joy in the mundane and happiness in the 'doing'.

I've Made A Wrong Turn

Do you remember how I had the flu? The one I thought I would die from? Well. I got sicker. Bronchitis/borderline pneumonia kind of sicker. As I sat in the doctors office yesterday, I decided I must be cursed. Can people really, for real, get cursed? I'm thinking they must.

I didn't know you could get this sick. I almost had a nervous breakdown about it last night, but I was too tired. So, I just laid on my bed. And then, this morning, Child #2 looked at me with attitude and said, "You didn't do the laundry!?" I almost shoved her to the floor and sat on her. But again, I was too tired.

I'm fairly certain that I've worn the same shirt for the last 3 days. And you know what's sad? I don't think anyone has even noticed. Will someone please look into the cursed thing and get back to me? I'm hoping that the cure involves Girl Scout cookies.

XOXO

Happy Heart Day

Lessons From The Brink

I've had the flu. Yes, the one I got the shot for. It's a killer. And I mean that literally. Every part of my body was crying, including my fingernails. Today, I finally feel like a normal person, so let me tell you what I've learned:

• Moms still have to make lunch for their kids, even when they have a 102 degree fever. Why would a sick mother do such a thing? Because she's stupid.
• You know it's bad when your 8 yr. old looks at you and scrunches up her nose while saying, "you don't look good".
• Even when you feel like you're on the brink of death, your kids will still stare at you and ask, "So, what's for dinner?"

Don't you love it when the doctor tells you to go home and gets lots of rest? Um, OK? Are you prescribing a nanny, or am I missing something? At least he sent me home with TamiFLU. Oh, how I love thee dear TamiFLU. The side of the box tells me that it may inhibit my ability to operate machinery. Do you think that includes my flat iron?

Through The Haze I See

There were so many girls, it was hard to see. But yet, it wasn't. Students from all over the region had been selected to sing together. I knew she was in there, somewhere. They all filed up in mass, lining the stage. Faces seemed to blur together.

While sitting in the audience, my eyes searched for her. Everyone blended into one another, and that made it more difficult. But then I felt my heart find her. It found her before my eyes did. Only then was I able to see her and I locked my focus and listened to the sweet music that echoed outward.

As a parent, life feels rather hazy at times. Busy schedules, demanding lives, life requirements. It all makes the days blur together. And in the haze, we forget to see what matters most. But our heart doesn't, it gravitates to those we love without ever losing focus.

I think I'm going to let my heart navigate my life for awhile. I have a feeling that my eyes just might find true clarity.

A New Low

At our house, calls from the principal are no longer shocking. In fact, I've come to simply expect them. Whispered chats with a teacher in the hall? The kind where she tells you your 6 yr. old kissed another 6 yr. old? Yup. I've had those too. Most of the time there are certain teacher's rooms I try to avoid out of fear of what they'll tell me.

But yesterday, we reached a point I never saw coming. I'm usually guarded for this kind of stuff. But now we have reached a new low. Kellie's bus driver called me. On the phone. Oh, I'm serious. Teachers and principals I'm prepared for. Bus drivers? Not so much.

And here's the funny twist to the story-- just 2 days ago, I sent an email to the school's principal regarding some extremely inappropriate behavior that was happening on the bus that the bus driver was ignoring. So then what happens? She, in turn, calls to lecture me about my own child. Doesn't that just breathe of warm fuzzies? Mmm hmm.

Apparently this child of mine likes to roam from seat to seat. While. The. Bus. Is. Moving. She just feels the need to get up and walk around. So awesome. While expressing my clear angered frustration to Todd, he only offered, "What's the big deal. She's just friendly and wants to chat with all her friends." I almost hit him.

Today is a new day, so I'm trying not to think about how crazy all these people are that I live with. But, for now, I'm going to stop answering my phone. I think it's bad for my health.

Colossal

My new BFF just emailed me the most exquisite thing I have ever seen. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw something this amazing. I keep clicking on this link just to stare at it. You must see it. You simply must!

http://www.crumbs.com/colossal-cupcakes

Just in case you're bored and have an endless supply of cash, they have overnight shipping. Hint, hint.

Did You MASH?

Children #1 and #2 had their heads together while looking at a notebook. As I took a sideways glance at them, I immediately realized what they were doing. Future telling. MASH style. Oh, and this was during the middle of church no less.

I was tempted to tell them to stop, but then I read that Kellie is going to grow up to work at Costco and she is going to live in a shack. I took pity on her and thus let the two continue.

Don't you remember doing this same thing? Tell me I'm not the only one. But, I'm fairly certain that I always ended up living in a mansion that was cleaned by someone other than myself and I had 3 kids who drowned me with appreciation and kind words. Funny how the future never plays out like it's predicted to on paper.

6 Of 40

I had 36 things I should have done this afternoon. The regular me would have tried to get at least half of them finished. But, I tried something else instead. Sitting. And reading. In the middle of the day. Extremely rare for me. And guess what? It was awesome. All this time, I had no idea what I was missing.

It's freezing here. For Texans, that's a big deal. School canceled tomorrow kinda deal. So today, I sat. I'll try and remember how great it was when no one boards the bus in the morning.

5 of 40, 4 of 40, 3 of 40, 2 of 40, 1 of 40

I Need Advice

I have this kitchen table. I hate it. My hate boarders on loathing. The top is cov-ered in fork jabs and the varnish is worn off in patches. There are even flecks of paint and marker stains that won't come out. Don't even get me started on the chairs, they're beyond a mess.

So, here's where I need your help. Do I buy a new one or just repaint this one? It's a conundrum. Here are my thoughts:

A new table would be lovely, but the kids would destroy it. As it stands now, I could care less what happens at this current table. If I get a new one, I'd hover and yell at them for every little thing. I already yell a lot, so why add more? Oh, and I'm in need of an immense amount of dental work. If I don't buy a table, I can afford some crowns.

But then there's the flip side. I could paint it. Just the thought of the labor involved makes me cringe. Would it even be worth it? What if I hate it even more once it's painted? The cost wouldn't be high, but it would take years off my life to paint and coat 6 chairs.

Alright, tell me what to do. And while you're at it, will someone please, please, please tell me how to get my 8 yr. old to stop wiping her mouth on her sleeve? Don't even suggest a napkin. That's far too easy and answer.