Thursday, May 31, 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012

There Simply Are No Words......

I will simply say that this was the most amazing Memorial Day weekend ever.  I have done the lake, cookouts, and all of the traditional beginning of summer activitites.  But, nothing left me with a sense of peace and pride like watching my family support Drew as he took on "Carry the Load".
The event honored military, police, and firefighters who are responsible for the peace and freedom we have each and everyday.  Last year Drew mentally committed to participating in the 20 hour 12 minute event, and carrying a load of 20 pounds....and that is exactly what he did, with a sense of purpose that I have never quite seen in him.



With months of training and the enormous backing of his employeer he began......



He carried not only the memory of Matt but also one of Matt's best friends and the father of his boss.


A precious 72 year old woman joined the thousand other participants and walked the 20 hours without stopping...and she was only one of the stories that took your breathe away.
I was proud in a way there are no words for as he, along with the founder of the event, crossed the finish line at noon on Memorial Day. 
I thought my heart would explode with pride.

I have one incredible family!!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Just Think I'll Give It Away.....

Sometimes I think it just rains chaos.  We can totally slide along enjoying
life, putting away some money for a rainy day, thinking life is grand...
And then it comes...that rainy day!!!!  That time of the year when all the best laid plans of saving anything just go to pot in one fell swoop.  First good plan, get our trees trimmed.  Yep, money is there, let's get this taken care of.  Much better to have a professional take care of it that hacking away on it ourselves.  In came the arborist and boy do our trees look nice.  Good decision!!
Ahhh... it strikes, the curse that befalls everyone sometimes...unplanned repairs!  Jimmy closed the garage door on a lawn chair causing the top panel to fold.  Seems the auto reverse only works sometimes so in comes the repair man who notes that he fixes about two of these a week.  "It just happens".  Unless you are us!!!  A mere five days later Sara closed the garage door on top of my car and crushed panel #2 of our garage door.  Back comes our friend who happens to tell me that when he said he fixes two a week, he did not mean at the same house...NO KIDDING SIR!
And what fun would life be if our computer did not blue screen once in awhile,  causing us to loose all of our data and be unable to communicate with the outside world.  Thank you anonymous sender who posed as Fed Ex sending me an email that cause my operating system to crash.  I will just write another check...not to worry!!!
And last but not least...I ONLY HOPE, better call the air conditioning expert to tell us that the reason our air conditioning does not work is because a breaker was tripped.  I mean why would we want to go out and check on something like that ourselves, when we can pay someone to come out and do it.  I have plenty of checks.  So really I think I will just throw my wallet out in the street.  Why don't you just take it all.  Then maybe this insanity will come to an end.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Who Are You Carrying?....

 I am proud today...of a lot of different things.  First of all I stepped way out of my comfort zone and took a trip to the other  side of town.  That trip forced me to drive where I am not at all comfortable.  I had to leap out of that genetically inherited need to stay within a 5 mile range of my house and travel to a place that meant navigating many roads that were not attached to the ground.  I have an intense fear of heights and I am even more fearful if I am on a highway that is part of the muli-level ,criss-cross, single lane, piece of what our area proudly calls the high five.  I not only do not drive on them I have such a fear I put my head between my legs when I have to travel over them as a passenger.   But today due to multiple wrong turns (as I am also direction dysfunctional) I was forced to step up to the plate, grab ahold of my fear and actually drive across one of those dreaded single lane overpasses.  Yes, I sweated and I prayed but I made it, not only once but twice...and I think I am now a better person for conquering that dreaded obstacle.
My goal was to help inform patrons of  Boots and Shoots about an event that is very near and dear to my heart.  Next weekend is Carry the Load.  Drew is walking with hundreds of other in a 20 hour run/walk marathon that is meant to honor Memorial Day weekend in the way that it is meant to be remembered...with those who lost their lives serving our country taking precedence over beer and hot dogs.  He took on this task by himself and he is way more than 100% committed.  I am so very proud of him.  But, I have a role too...because it matters to me.  I preached to my students for years about the value of volunteer work in the community.  We carefully checked volunteer activities when we selected this years recipient of Matt's Annual Scholarship.  I think it is important to practice what you preach...so I am.  Just randomly choosing an activity to participate in is great but the hours spent in a volunteer capacity when it is something you are passionate about is more than rewarding. 
I am proud of my children.  I am grateful that they know that there is lot of debt we owe the many, many friends who supported us when we lost our son.  I cannot have Matt back but I can give back and that is what we are set to do next weekend when we help "Carry the Load".

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Life Is Good.....

 Today was a GREAT day.  I got to spend it with a group of my favorite AVID students at the Ball Park in Arlington.  It was not a sub job.  It was simply an invitation to help chaperone 116 kids who were able to celebrate the end of the school year at a ball game.  Yes, I am onboard with that!
 An afternoon in the middle of May with plenty of sunshine and the American League Champion Texas Rangers...nothing can beat that! 
 The stadium was packed and the crowd was wild...as were 116 kids.  So many of them had never been to a real ball game before.  They sang, cheered, and ate ball park hot dogs. They even started the wave for a crowd of 47,000 fans....and it traveled half way around the stadium. 
It made me stop and think tonight how such simple things bring me so much pleasure. Watching these kids enjoy themselves made me smile all day.  I have had so many great opportunites in my life. 
 There have been some curve balls thrown my way but God has stepped in with many blessings...more than some people find in their lifetime. 
I am grateful for friendships made and memories collected...not just those associated with my job over the last 23 years but for everything that has brought me to where I am today.  Sometimes the road you travel is what makes you the person you are and right now I really would not trade my life with anyone....guess I am very fortunate!
Life is GOOD!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Happy Mother's Day 2012......

 And it was such a happy day.  Just a side note because it matters to me.  It started out with a beautiful church service, and the news of a wonderful new pastor!  A man that is funny, touches on the scripture in a memorable way, and speaks understandable English.  Mass has always been a place of total peace for me but lately it came with an hour of messages that I could never decipher....oh thank goodness for a reading that is clear to me.  It is a change much needed!
Then time with the things that make Mother's Day what it is....family!  They are my biggest gifts.  How blessed I am to have them close.  I received the best gifts ever.  Everything I love....but even without presents, just dinner and conversation is golden! Any time relaxing and laughing with our precious family is Mother's Day to me!
HUGS to every mom. 
It was a beautiful special day and I will forever have another set of memories tucked away in my heart. 

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Remember When.....


I was at the lake this weekend...by myself.  It is my annual pilgrimage to scour, dust and declutter in anticipation of our Family Lake Bash.  It is really an effort in futility because 5 minutes after the arrival of 25 guests no one even can see the clean floors!  But...I do it anyway.  While I was there I decided to go check out the recently reopened Marina (closed for a year because of extreme draught).  No reason for this sideline adventure other than a chance to escape windex and vacuums for a minute.
I happened upon a real find in my short trip.  A decaying, aged , probably antique gas pump.  It was buried in vines and has been seemingly untouched for quite some time.  It was an immediate stop for me.  Wow...how long has it been since this thing worked.  My answer...last time it pumped was when gas was 37 cents a gallon! So that was a GOOGLE quest for me. I found even more than I bargained for.
The year was 1969.
Richard Nixon was president, we were listening to Aquarius and Crystal Blue Persuasion.  If you were watching TV then chances are you were tuned into Bonanza or Mayberry RFD.  I happened to be in my last year of college and I don't remember what the gas prices were because I didn't have a car in Lubbock.  I was grateful that I had parents who paid my tuition.  I used my feet and the campus bus to get around.  I do know (through research) that the median income was $8390 a year and the Dow Jones  high was 952.  No wonder we could not pay more for gas than 37 cents a gallon.  I also know that if I had been on a hunt for this info back then I would have had to default to the World Book Encyclopedia instead of the internet.
Is that what we call the good old times?  I know that I was pretty much enjoying life back then.
So, it was a great weekend side venture.  Only a block off the road I always travel.  Wonder who else drives by there daily and does not bother to stop.  Really wish I could just pick it up and take it home.  It would always be a reminder of what used to be....back in the day!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Way Behind....

 I have been way absent lately...from everything but work.  I am the one you see walking around with the phrase "I am a sucker...I cannot say NO" tattooed  on my forehead.  I have been tangled in a web of teachers who are struggling to finish up the school year and cannot find a sub who can make classrooms full of "I am done with this school year" students sit still.  Actually most sane people are probably refusing to take a sub job right now, so in walks me.  I thought I gave this up...but 7 and 1/2 days out of the last 12 I have worked and I am now done!   I am not answering my phone and I will take a detour down the cat food isle in the grocery store to keep from running into anyone who is a teacher from here until school is out.....REALLY!
I have better things to do...like play on the floor with this baby.  Finley is almost four months old.  I never have my camera around when I see her so yesterday while we had a little playtime together I managed to take a few pictures as she so proudly showed me how she rolls over and over from her back to her tummy.  She is pretty proud of herself!  We had time to have a nice long conversation and she showed me all of her new tricks.  It is amazing how much a baby changes in such a short amount of time...and I am missing it.  
So please teachers...lose my number.  I have babies to play with and I am tired of being absent!