Just Stand Still….. June 25, 2009

Have you ever been to a really busy place with your kids?  Recently we moved to the DC area and have started to ride the Metro…the girls love it!  But I have taught the girls that if something happens and we are separated…say some of us make it on to the train and others don’t….that they should just stand still.  Don’t get on a train….don’t start walking….don’t talk to strangers…..just stand still.  The reasoning is simple….objects in motion are harder to find.  If something is not moving, it’s easier to find.  It takes a lot longer to kill that pesky fly zipping around than it does to find your running shoes that were left in the wrong place.

So there is a human phenomenon I have noticed that kind of baffles me.  Why is it that when people want to “find” themselves, they do something drastic with their lives?  Move to another city….get a new job….separate from a spouse. Often times those same people have a social calendar that would make President Obama look like a slacker….constantly in motion, constantly going somewhere, meeting someone or doing something.  I’m not one to sit around in front of the boob tube and let the days of my life slip away, but seriously.

I’m not talking about physically being still. I know many people who ponder the meaning of life….their lives…while they are on a run or a ride or on a yoga mat. I’m talking about mentally standing still.  Taking the time to stop and look at your surroundings, the people you associate with, the people you don’t associate with, thinking about the God you worship or the god you don’t worship.  Taking a look at the big picture and deciding if you are on the right path for your goals in life.

But that leads me back to the same question…..How can you find yourself if your self won’t just stand still?

Kids are cool….. June 14, 2009

I like my kids.  Actually, I love them. But I also like them. I like to have chats with them. They have great personalities, they are considerate of others, they are open minded.  They are cool. If there wasn’t such an age gap and if they could drive or stay up past 9, I think I could be friends with them.  So, I like my kids. (Which is a good thing since we are together almost every waking  hour of every day!)

But to me, one of the coolest parts of being a parent is watching how my kids process information differently.  They each experience life through their own set of glasses.  So yesterday, Jason and I were talking. His parents are coming up to visit and we were chatting about what we would like to do while they are here.  During the conversation, I tell him that the only way I would be content participating in a certain event is if I got to see Tiger.

My 10 year old, who LOVES golf…immediately spoke up and said “Tiger Woods…DaddycanIgoseeTigerWoods? Thatwouldbesocooldoyouthinkhewillbeinaredshirt?”

My almost 7 year old, rolls her eyes at her older sister, speaks up and says “When are we going to the zoo?  I think Grandma and PapPap would like the zoo.  Don’t you remember the Tiger’s laying up there so we could see them really well the last time we went?”  Now keep in mind the 7 year old likes to play “big cat” with anyone and everyone who is willing to crawl around on the floor with her….which usually means she is playing with the 2 year old.

We just laughed. How funny it is to see 2 kids who are growing up in the same house, who have the same parents, who are loved and treated equally, experience a coded conversation so differently.  I won’t tell you which Tiger we were talking about. We haven’t talked to Jason’s parents about the plan yet. But I can tell you that one of my girls is going to be disappointed, the other will be ecstatic and Isabel will probably not care either way.

Too long June 10, 2009

Oh…I know it has been too long since my last post. So as I sit here waiting for my morning cup of coffee to kick in…with “Blue’s Clue’s” on the TV and a little one curled up beside me, I thought this was as good a time as any to write.

The past few months seem to have been one thing after another…just when I think I’m getting my feet under me, something else happens.  I won’t rehash everything that has happened lately, but….

Yesterday was going along pretty well….I had gotten up early, gotten a run in while the girls ate breakfast, we had done a full day’s worth of school and had finished early, we were going to do a craft project…something the girls enjoy doing but we seem to never get around to doing enough of….I go down to the basement to get our craft supplies and find water….everywhere.  It was not inches….there were many boxes that only got wet on the bottom and the contents inside were fine. But you can’t leave wet boxes in the basement or else things could get really moldy.  So we brought a few boxes to the garage and cleaned out a few and put the contents on shelves in the basement. But really…I was getting ready to craft and make dinner…can’t I catch a break?  I almost panicked when I saw some cross-stitch supplies got wet but it was okay.

I called my mom and was lamenting my misfortune with her.  Having her shoulder to lean on made me feel so much better.  I was able to take a deep breath and remember that it’s just stuff…..just stuff. We are all healthy and happy and the house is still standing.  My Mom and I  started chatting about God giving us the things we ask for, just maybe not in the way we wanted or expected.  I have prayed for patience for years. But I was talking about patience with my kids! Didn’t He understand that?    I told my mom a story of some wise ladies I know from a Bible study I was in while we lived in Shreveport. I made the comment one day that I had prayed for patience. They looked at me and took one step back…saying that people who prayed for patience had crazy things happen in their lives.  I reminded them that I was praying for myself to have patience with my kids. One lady responded “Yes, but you don’t think He teaches you things the way you ask for them do you?”  I laughed.

Now keep in mind, I don’t think God does these things or allows these things to happen to me because he is a mean and harsh God. I don’t believe that God is doing this to punish me. I think he’s just a parent trying to teach His child a lesson.   Kind of like I do my kids.

It didn’t take long for us to get the basement cleaned up. We put the girls to bed and then crashed on the couch for a bit before going to bed.  I will put on shoes and go down in a few minutes to check on the drying process.  Thank goodness Jason knows about these things…he is pretty sure he knows that the “fix” will be so this doesn’t happen again.  At least we had not done all the work to finish the basement before this happened.

All right..I get it or at least I hope I do.  Hmmm…based on the events of the past few months, I wonder where my next lesson will be.

Time for Change… January 10, 2009

Wow! I know life is busy for most of us on a regular basis….just taking care of a home, working, kids, pets, parents…all of those things keep us on our toes.  For us though, life has been especially crazy as of late.  As many of you know, Jason made the decision to get out of the Air Force. They wanted him deployed for at least 6 months out of every year.  He said that was too much for him to be away from his family (and I happened to agree) so he got out…not without much thought and prayer, but he did get out.

As a result, the past couple of months, we have been in chaos.  I don’t like chaos..there is a reason I married an engineer, but that is another blog for another time.  He has been steadily looking for jobs..he currently has about 17 resumes out there but at times there have been as many as 25.  We have had a couple of good leads, but nothing permanent yet.  And when you no longer work for the Air Force, you can’t live in their house. So with the separation from the Air Force, also came the need to move.

Leading up to Christmas, we started packing our household goods and putting them in storage.  Then after Christmas, we really got to work and eventually packed the entire house…oh my goodness, we have A LOT of stuff.  Not junk, but it takes a lot for a family of 5…and when you add to it Jason’s bad knee and the fact that I cut off the tip of my finger on Christmas Day…it just makes for a lot of work. And we would not have survived  if it had not been for our neighbors and friends in Shreveport.

So our stuff is in storage in LA until we know where we are moving. The last 2 days when we were pushing hard to get our stuff in storage, it rained. And rained. And rained.  We got our stuff in to storage…packed like sardines in a can…a day later than planned. We had so much out of the house, we couldn’t stay there but not enough that we were going to be able to leave so some neighbors offered to let us stay at their house.  We did and they watched the girls while we finished up.

So we gathered up the girls, the dog, the fish…yes, the fish…there is a lesson in this to teach my girls that you don’t just discard living things….and towed a small u-haul trailer to the panhandle of Florida. We are staying in a friend’s home for a couple of months if we need it.  What should have been a 10 hour trip turned in to a 14 hour trip involving lots of rain and coffee for the grown ups. But we made it safe and sound.

And even though our lively hood is up in the air…we don’t have a job, we don’t have a permanent home…I can’t help but feel thankful. Thankful we have family and friends who support this crazy decision. Thankful we have savings to get us through this period.  Thankful we have our health and each other to hang on to as we make this jump!

Kinda Cool…. December 17, 2008

I know this is old news for most but thought I would post anyway.  Last Thursday we got a call from a neighbor that there was a special visitor on base. Everyone was home and we had no pressing tasks, so we all hopped in the van and went down to the designated area.

The gates were open so we were able to get a shot without a fence in the background.

 It was neat to see…especially for a geek like me who’s big dream in middle school was to be able to attend space camp.  I was surprised to see how beat up the shuttle looked though.  I thought it would look all nice and pretty like it does when I see it on TV.  But I guess if I had just re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, I would look pretty rough too.

Close up of the not-so-pretty nose.