Our summer of living Brady-fully has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. Thanks to (in no particular order of distraction) a tornado that hit the Cottage in June, First Born breaking his foot and the surgery that followed, Puppy's surgery and subsequent self-removal of stitches, Steadfast Husband's travel schedule and well, it's summertime and the living is easy! But yesterday, serendipity struck in Brady-like fashion.
Remember the Brady Bunch episode when Greg and Bobby got stuck in Sam the butcher's meat locker? They were locked in until Greg broke the glass out of the window, Bobby squeezed through the small opening, used the payphone to call for help and saved the day! Well, the other day we had an incident here that reminded me so much of that episode!
We decided to take an over-night trip to the beach on Sunday. We had such a great time, but First Born decided to stay home (the thought of crutches on the beach didn't appeal to him for some wacky reason!) We spoke to him a couple of times Sunday evening, but when we tried to call him mid-morning on Monday, we didn't get an answer. We didn't think much of it, his convalescence seems to consist of sleeping-a lot!
We returned home at about 3 in the afternoon. When we opened the garage door, First Born was sitting on the top step that leads into the house. "I've been locked out since 10 O'clock this morning!"
I said, "I don't have a key." Turning to steadfast husband, "Do you have a key?"
"No, I have never had a key."
Yikes, (did I mention, we didn't make a restroom stop on the way home, "because we're almost home, you can hold it"?)
An urgency washed over the crowd.
First Born informed us that he had checked every window and door and they were all locked (he must have done this between snacks- judging from the wrappers littering the floor, he clearly passed much of the time eating.) So, while Steadfast Husband went around checking all the windows and doors, I went through door by door and window by window asking if he had checked them, "What about my room, did you check the one in my room? My bathroom?" and on it went.
By the way, children seem to find this questioning terribly annoying.
Halfway through my interrogation, I noticed that First Born was in his boxers! Oh the luck! Could this get any better? Truly, I imagined myself telling the story and saying, "too bad he wasn't in his underwear." But he was!
It turns out he was going to grab something from the garage pantry for breakfast and evidently when he is the only one home, he doesn't feel the need to cover up his skivvies-nor does he wear shoes or carry his phone!
As I was relishing in the good fortune of these newly realized details, it dawned on me that we were still locked out and I began to calculate the price of a locksmith verses the cost of replacing a window.
Steadfast Husband confirmed that everything was in fact locked-up tight (which made First Born roll his eyes) and began to remove the door frame. When he was about halfway through, we heard a faint, "Stop... I'm in... I'm in the house!" thump, thump, thump. nothing.
So we did what any reasonable folks would do- we started pounding on the door, yelling, "Let us in! Let us in!" Ta-da! Youngest Son flung open the door!
It turns out that Youngest Son was able to crawl through the firewood doors to get into the house! yippee! Let the heroic rumpus commence!
The tag: (the part of the show that comes after the final commercial break)
Close-up of First Born's furrowing brow, he can't decide if he is happy to finally be back in the house or totally annoyed that his little brother was able to get into the house in little more than 1/100 of the time he had been trying to get in! He cracks a smile. Fade to black.
Welcome to The Cottage! I hope you delight in the wacky exploits of our large, boisterous family. Our motley crew, a steadfast Dad, a sarcastic Mom, 6 fabulous children, 2 dogs, and 3 cats, lives in a charming cottage surrounded by way too much nature. Enjoy your visit!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Girls Night Out-Brady Style-ish!
The other night I went out with some girlfriends for drinks and a movie. We were planning on seeing"Magic Mike"-which was so exciting, because I didn't even know there was a movie about the Houdini-like prowess of one Mr. Mike Brady! But, as it turns out, the movie wasn't about Mike Brady, but some other guy named Mike (sad face) and an entirely different type of magic. I must admit, I am just judging the movie by its poster; the movie was completely sold out and we ended up going to dinner instead.
It turns out none of my friends had read my Summer of Living Brady-fully blog yet-which explains why they seemed perplexed when I uttered "far out" "outta sight" and "that sounds groovy" (clearly, I need to expand my Brady lingo).
It also explains why when I made a rude comment (okay, really funny joke) that it was a good thing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston never had children because their faces are so angular, their babies would have stop sign-shaped heads-no one said "that isn't very Carol Brady-ish of you." Instead, they commented on the pain of birthing a baby with stop sign-shaped head (or a baby with a sign-shaped head of any kind!).
As a nod to Carol Brady, I didn't order champagne (it has a terrible effect on the Brady Matriarch-it makes her dizzy and/or the bubbles make her sneeze). I ordered a beer, although I don't really know if Ma Brady drank beer either. According to the waitress, the type of beer I ordered was supposed to taste like cider-that seemed a little more Brady-friendly! In reality it just tasted like icky beer.
So my night out with my girlfriends, in the spirit of Carol Brady was kind of exhausting and not very successful. Next time, I may just borrow a line from Marcia and tell them, "Something suddenly came up," and leave Carol at home!
Meanwhile, my 2 middle moppets were arguing over a board game the other day and Youngest Son looked up from his book, shrugged and said, "they should just take turns," then continued reading. (It was like a line taken directly from Sherwood Schwartz himself!)
I said, "That idea is far out!" He looked up again, recognition washing over his face and started giggling! I love when my children get me!
I'm so excited, our Brady Bunch project for this weekend is one of the following:
-make a teeter-totter so we can have a teetor-totter record setting contest
-make a dunk tank (which will not be for the school carnival, but for our own personal enjoyment!)
Far out!
It turns out none of my friends had read my Summer of Living Brady-fully blog yet-which explains why they seemed perplexed when I uttered "far out" "outta sight" and "that sounds groovy" (clearly, I need to expand my Brady lingo).
It also explains why when I made a rude comment (okay, really funny joke) that it was a good thing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston never had children because their faces are so angular, their babies would have stop sign-shaped heads-no one said "that isn't very Carol Brady-ish of you." Instead, they commented on the pain of birthing a baby with stop sign-shaped head (or a baby with a sign-shaped head of any kind!).
As a nod to Carol Brady, I didn't order champagne (it has a terrible effect on the Brady Matriarch-it makes her dizzy and/or the bubbles make her sneeze). I ordered a beer, although I don't really know if Ma Brady drank beer either. According to the waitress, the type of beer I ordered was supposed to taste like cider-that seemed a little more Brady-friendly! In reality it just tasted like icky beer.
So my night out with my girlfriends, in the spirit of Carol Brady was kind of exhausting and not very successful. Next time, I may just borrow a line from Marcia and tell them, "Something suddenly came up," and leave Carol at home!
Meanwhile, my 2 middle moppets were arguing over a board game the other day and Youngest Son looked up from his book, shrugged and said, "they should just take turns," then continued reading. (It was like a line taken directly from Sherwood Schwartz himself!)
I said, "That idea is far out!" He looked up again, recognition washing over his face and started giggling! I love when my children get me!
I'm so excited, our Brady Bunch project for this weekend is one of the following:
-make a teeter-totter so we can have a teetor-totter record setting contest
-make a dunk tank (which will not be for the school carnival, but for our own personal enjoyment!)
Far out!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
porkchops and applesauce, that's swell!
I finally told the moppets the plan for the Sammons Family Summer Fun! First, I had them guess what it was-because I knew no one would guess, and that always makes guessing games way more fun, plus it makes for a more dramatic reveal!
So without further ado, we are living the summer like the Brady family. Not football quarterback and super model style, but late 60's, early 70's sitcom, The Brady Bunch-style! Yippeeeeeee!
I must confess that I am way more excited about this than anyone else in the "bunch"-although Baby Girl jumped on board quickly and started saying everything twice, once normally and the 2nd time with a lisp-a la' Cindy Brady!
The rest of the moppets expressed 5 emotional stages that would make Elizabeth Kubler-Ross proud:
denial- "There is absolutely no way I am doing this,"
confusion-"Okay, does this mean we are going to Hawaii?"
pride- "Oh my gosh, Mom, that is totally cheesey,"
bargaining- okay, well this is actually how I got everyone to reach acceptance!
acceptance-see above!
So how did I really get my fabulous family to agree to this experiment? Well, first I explained to them it would be outta sight to build our own dunk tank, enjoy sack races and square dancing, try to break the longest teeter-tottering record, build a house of cards, make our own pilgrim movie, go to King's Island amusement park in Cincinatti and much, much more. I also promised them that if everyone went along, I would get my hair cut Carol Brady-style at the end of the summer! That pretty much sealed the deal! (Although they are starting to realize that they will actually have to be seen with me!)
The biggest mental hitch in the giddy-up for everyone, is that we don't have an Alice. (Really, isn't that the biggest challenge for all Moms?) But, we just don't and I don't think that will change any time soon! So we must soldier on!
And although we are causing our dogs utter confusion at suddenly being expected to respond to the name "Tiger", the human members of our house are settling into the idea.
So as a way to kick-off our Brady-ful summer and get everyone in the Brady spirit, we are having Porkchops and Applesauce for dinner-and you know what? That's swell!
So without further ado, we are living the summer like the Brady family. Not football quarterback and super model style, but late 60's, early 70's sitcom, The Brady Bunch-style! Yippeeeeeee!
I must confess that I am way more excited about this than anyone else in the "bunch"-although Baby Girl jumped on board quickly and started saying everything twice, once normally and the 2nd time with a lisp-a la' Cindy Brady!
The rest of the moppets expressed 5 emotional stages that would make Elizabeth Kubler-Ross proud:
denial- "There is absolutely no way I am doing this,"
confusion-"Okay, does this mean we are going to Hawaii?"
pride- "Oh my gosh, Mom, that is totally cheesey,"
bargaining- okay, well this is actually how I got everyone to reach acceptance!
acceptance-see above!
So how did I really get my fabulous family to agree to this experiment? Well, first I explained to them it would be outta sight to build our own dunk tank, enjoy sack races and square dancing, try to break the longest teeter-tottering record, build a house of cards, make our own pilgrim movie, go to King's Island amusement park in Cincinatti and much, much more. I also promised them that if everyone went along, I would get my hair cut Carol Brady-style at the end of the summer! That pretty much sealed the deal! (Although they are starting to realize that they will actually have to be seen with me!)
After about an hour of rolling this plan around in his head, youngest son came to me and said, "Oh, no! Are we going to have to eat meatloaf? I don't think I can do that." And Oldest Daughter kept trying to put SPAM® into the shopping cart at the grocery store! (I just can't go there!)
The biggest mental hitch in the giddy-up for everyone, is that we don't have an Alice. (Really, isn't that the biggest challenge for all Moms?) But, we just don't and I don't think that will change any time soon! So we must soldier on!
And although we are causing our dogs utter confusion at suddenly being expected to respond to the name "Tiger", the human members of our house are settling into the idea.
So as a way to kick-off our Brady-ful summer and get everyone in the Brady spirit, we are having Porkchops and Applesauce for dinner-and you know what? That's swell!
Monday, June 18, 2012
School's Out!
Yesterday was the moppets' last day of school! Yay! I love summer vacation-no schedule to follow, no homework, no bedtime battles-well, less bedtime battles! When middle son walked through the door after school, the first thing he said was, "What's the first event for the Summer Games?" I think I heard a choir of angels sing! I was so thrilled that last summer's fun was "sticky" enough to create memories, and enjoyable enough to warrant the desire to do it again this summer! It's especially good news since I've already been planning the summer fun that we will experience (endure) this summer! (And by "planning", I mean I've had an idea and am planning to figure out all the details very soon!)
I haven't told my family my big summer idea yet, and have decided to wait until after Oldest Daughter's high school graduation party (Sunday) to tell them! We have been swamped with the end of the school year festivities and in true Sammons' Family fashion, I am dealing with everything as it come-and not a minute before! But I am really excited and can't wait to get started! Be sure to stay tuned.....
I haven't told my family my big summer idea yet, and have decided to wait until after Oldest Daughter's high school graduation party (Sunday) to tell them! We have been swamped with the end of the school year festivities and in true Sammons' Family fashion, I am dealing with everything as it come-and not a minute before! But I am really excited and can't wait to get started! Be sure to stay tuned.....
Friday, May 18, 2012
Preschool Graduation Blues
Yesterday was Baby Girl's last day of preschool. I can't believe that she will be in kindergarten in the fall! She just missed the age cut-off to be in kindergarten this year, so she is one of the oldest in her class and is my personal oldest preschool graduate. In preparation for her inevitable melancholy, I tried to shore up my emotional resources and plan fun activities-activities that she can do on her own so I can continue, uninterrupted, to eat bon bons while being fanned with palm frawns!
Baby Girl is quite a precocious tot, and not in a fun-to-brag-about-at a cocktail party, "and it was so cute, yesterday she wrote a song about the periodic table of elements, you should hear the way she pronounces technetium" way, but in more of a if-I-hold-my-breath-can-I-fit-under-that-pew? "Mommy, this is the song that Kurt sang with Darren Criss on Glee, last year, on the Christmas episode-remember?" kind of way- and did I mention, that baby girl can really project her voice?-okay, so I am not proud-well only a little-but my point is, you never really know what to expect with Baby Girl. (But odds are good that it will include a spot-on Lady Gaga impression.)
I picked Baby Girl up from her VERY LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL EVER and asked her teacher if there were many tears. No, no tears, she said. After baby girl was all buckled in her car seat I asked her if she was so sad about her last day of school. I was quite surprised when all she said was, "I will really miss the Gingerbread Cottage next year. Maybe I can pretend I am 4 and go back next year!" Giggle, giggle. "Can we have Chick-Fil-A for lunch?"
Really?!? I look at her via the rear view mirror-searching for signs of heart-ache. Nothing.
"Sure, that sounds good. You've had such a big day," pause, "I mean, the very last day you will EVER be in preschool. That's huge! Kinda sad, huh?"
"Yeah. Can I have a chicken salad sandwich and sweet tea? I'm really hungry."
"Sure babe. I'm sure that will help make you feel less sad."
"Ummm, okay. French fries too?"
"Of course! French fries are perfect for mending a broken-heart."
"What?"
"Never mind."
So, next month, Oldest Daughter graduates from high school...
Baby Girl is quite a precocious tot, and not in a fun-to-brag-about-at a cocktail party, "and it was so cute, yesterday she wrote a song about the periodic table of elements, you should hear the way she pronounces technetium" way, but in more of a if-I-hold-my-breath-can-I-fit-under-that-pew? "Mommy, this is the song that Kurt sang with Darren Criss on Glee, last year, on the Christmas episode-remember?" kind of way- and did I mention, that baby girl can really project her voice?-okay, so I am not proud-well only a little-but my point is, you never really know what to expect with Baby Girl. (But odds are good that it will include a spot-on Lady Gaga impression.)
I picked Baby Girl up from her VERY LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL EVER and asked her teacher if there were many tears. No, no tears, she said. After baby girl was all buckled in her car seat I asked her if she was so sad about her last day of school. I was quite surprised when all she said was, "I will really miss the Gingerbread Cottage next year. Maybe I can pretend I am 4 and go back next year!" Giggle, giggle. "Can we have Chick-Fil-A for lunch?"
Really?!? I look at her via the rear view mirror-searching for signs of heart-ache. Nothing.
"Sure, that sounds good. You've had such a big day," pause, "I mean, the very last day you will EVER be in preschool. That's huge! Kinda sad, huh?"
"Yeah. Can I have a chicken salad sandwich and sweet tea? I'm really hungry."
"Sure babe. I'm sure that will help make you feel less sad."
"Ummm, okay. French fries too?"
"Of course! French fries are perfect for mending a broken-heart."
"What?"
"Never mind."
So, next month, Oldest Daughter graduates from high school...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Amazing Grace!
Today, I am celebrating my oldest daughter. There is no specific reason why I’m doing this today, except that I just find her absolutely fabulous! I often look at her with complete awe and amazement-she makes me want to be a better person! There are so many special things about my oldest daughter, she nurturing, funny, charming, smart, kind-hearted and often acts more like a 40 year-old girlfriend than like my 18 year-old daughter. The following text exchange from a couple of weeks ago is the perfect illustration:
Oldest Daughter: Sorry about being grumpy this morning.
Me: That’s okay, thank you. Andrew is welcomed to come to dinner tonight, I don’t know what we’re having though. Maybe Cap’n Crunch Chicken Nuggets. (Actually, I am a terrible texter-so it really said “I don’t know what we are having. Maybecpancrunch chickennuggrts“)
OD: If you have time to make it, that sounds delicious. I don’t want you to be stressed out though. I think we are all still recovering from this weekend.
Me: Are you a 40 year old trapped in an 18 year old’s body? (real text-Ar you a 40 year old tra00ed in 18 year oldks boody?)
OD: Probably! Ha ha!
*I feel pretty confident that the ‘Ha ha” was for the comment, not for the bad texting skills!
And not long ago she said, “You’re probably tired of doing all the Mom stuff today, why don’t you go relax and I will take care of dinner.”
Truly, she’s a remarkable girl. I feel very blessed to have her for my daughter. Recently, oldest daughter was so moved by the film A Walk to Beautiful that she decided to try to raise $10,000 to help women in developing countries get corrective surgery for childbirth injuries (obstetric fistula). A Walk to Beautiful is an award winning documentary that tells the story of 5 Ethiopian women who suffer from obstetric fistula and their harrowing ordeal. These women were ostracized by their husband, family and community. They each decided to travel to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in order to seek treatment. If you have an opportunity, I would highly recommend watching it, it is life-changing!
I love that my sweet daughter has a heart for those around her and that she cares so much for the global community. I also love that she sets big goals. It really fills my heart!
She will be going to college next fall and we will all miss her terribly, but it will be so exciting to watch all amazing things she will do!
If you would like to help oldest daughter reach her goal and help women across the globe, please go to http://www.gofundme.com/etp2g
Oldest Daughter: Sorry about being grumpy this morning.
Me: That’s okay, thank you. Andrew is welcomed to come to dinner tonight, I don’t know what we’re having though. Maybe Cap’n Crunch Chicken Nuggets. (Actually, I am a terrible texter-so it really said “I don’t know what we are having. Maybecpancrunch chickennuggrts“)
OD: If you have time to make it, that sounds delicious. I don’t want you to be stressed out though. I think we are all still recovering from this weekend.
Me: Are you a 40 year old trapped in an 18 year old’s body? (real text-Ar you a 40 year old tra00ed in 18 year oldks boody?)
OD: Probably! Ha ha!
*I feel pretty confident that the ‘Ha ha” was for the comment, not for the bad texting skills!
And not long ago she said, “You’re probably tired of doing all the Mom stuff today, why don’t you go relax and I will take care of dinner.”
Truly, she’s a remarkable girl. I feel very blessed to have her for my daughter. Recently, oldest daughter was so moved by the film A Walk to Beautiful that she decided to try to raise $10,000 to help women in developing countries get corrective surgery for childbirth injuries (obstetric fistula). A Walk to Beautiful is an award winning documentary that tells the story of 5 Ethiopian women who suffer from obstetric fistula and their harrowing ordeal. These women were ostracized by their husband, family and community. They each decided to travel to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in order to seek treatment. If you have an opportunity, I would highly recommend watching it, it is life-changing!
I love that my sweet daughter has a heart for those around her and that she cares so much for the global community. I also love that she sets big goals. It really fills my heart!
She will be going to college next fall and we will all miss her terribly, but it will be so exciting to watch all amazing things she will do!
If you would like to help oldest daughter reach her goal and help women across the globe, please go to http://www.gofundme.com/etp2g
Friday, March 9, 2012
Discombobulation
I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted. Suddenly, time seems to be playing tricks on me. Things that happened a year ago, seem like just a few months ago, the details of the situation clear and fresh, yet I can't recall what I had for dinner last night-oh yeah, I remember now, I forgot to have dinner last night!
Lately, my world seems off-kilter, nothing specific has happened and I can't pinpoint what is off, but it seems like my entire world has been moved 1/2 inch to the left. It is absolutely discombobulating!
Several years ago (or was it several months ago?) there was a "Mad About You" episode where Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) and her sister Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay) accidentally switched handbags. The always organized Jamie was suddenly disheveled, out of sorts, an all-around mess, while perpetually disorganized Lisa suddenly had it all together. I feel like Jamie; as if someone switched handbags with me.
It is a slippery slope when things begin to veer off course. I am usually pretty laid-back and try to roll with things as much as I can, but I'm looking around my house, that is filled with souvenir items for a show youngest son is in right now (The Music Man) and notice the clean clothes that need put away, the clean dishes in the dishwasher, and the 465 pairs of shoes that need returned to various closets throughout the house. And I must admit, it feels totally overwhelming! Too overwhelming to even deal with.
This weekend is the final weekend of the show, after which the fabulous items and all their fixin's will be gone and I will be able to reclaim my home. I hope that helps and inspires me to deal with all the other stuff. I also hope that once I get everything back to "normal" my world will move back 1/2 inch to the right and someone will return my handbag!
Lately, my world seems off-kilter, nothing specific has happened and I can't pinpoint what is off, but it seems like my entire world has been moved 1/2 inch to the left. It is absolutely discombobulating!
Several years ago (or was it several months ago?) there was a "Mad About You" episode where Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) and her sister Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay) accidentally switched handbags. The always organized Jamie was suddenly disheveled, out of sorts, an all-around mess, while perpetually disorganized Lisa suddenly had it all together. I feel like Jamie; as if someone switched handbags with me.
It is a slippery slope when things begin to veer off course. I am usually pretty laid-back and try to roll with things as much as I can, but I'm looking around my house, that is filled with souvenir items for a show youngest son is in right now (The Music Man) and notice the clean clothes that need put away, the clean dishes in the dishwasher, and the 465 pairs of shoes that need returned to various closets throughout the house. And I must admit, it feels totally overwhelming! Too overwhelming to even deal with.
This weekend is the final weekend of the show, after which the fabulous items and all their fixin's will be gone and I will be able to reclaim my home. I hope that helps and inspires me to deal with all the other stuff. I also hope that once I get everything back to "normal" my world will move back 1/2 inch to the right and someone will return my handbag!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Oh, Those Clever Birds!
Two days ago, baby girl told me "I am very busy today, Mama, so I don't have time to________" insert undesirable task here. Phew, she had quite a day-meetings, phone calls, deadlines! Anyway, I realize she was trying to avoid doing things that she did not want to do, but the sound of my own words coming back to me left me a little rattled. Then, yesterday morning, rushing through the grocery store parking lot before school, I had the following conversation with baby girl.
Baby Girl: "Look in the trees, Mama."
Me: "uh-huh." (Okay, I admit, I didn't look.)
Baby Girl: "Mama, birds eat berries from trees, right?"
Me: "Yes, darlin', now hurry up, we're going to be late."
Baby Girl: "Where do they get their drinks from?"
Me: "Ummm, rain water, I guess." I said as I was navigating oblivious drivers and wayward shopping carts.
Baby Girl: "Oh. That's very clever of them."
I mentally applauded her use of the word clever and her appreciation for ornithological survival skills. But after I rushed in and out of the store, dropped baby girl off at school and was sitting in the quiet of my car, it occurred to me, we need to slow down. It's not that life is passing us by, but we are passing life by. Not only do I need to stop and smell the roses, but, I need to stop so baby girl can smell the roses. I need to pause so she can splash in puddles, watch the clouds, and listen to the birds! I know what roses smell like, but if I'm not careful, baby girl never will.
Baby Girl: "Look in the trees, Mama."
Me: "uh-huh." (Okay, I admit, I didn't look.)
Baby Girl: "Mama, birds eat berries from trees, right?"
Me: "Yes, darlin', now hurry up, we're going to be late."
Baby Girl: "Where do they get their drinks from?"
Me: "Ummm, rain water, I guess." I said as I was navigating oblivious drivers and wayward shopping carts.
Baby Girl: "Oh. That's very clever of them."
I mentally applauded her use of the word clever and her appreciation for ornithological survival skills. But after I rushed in and out of the store, dropped baby girl off at school and was sitting in the quiet of my car, it occurred to me, we need to slow down. It's not that life is passing us by, but we are passing life by. Not only do I need to stop and smell the roses, but, I need to stop so baby girl can smell the roses. I need to pause so she can splash in puddles, watch the clouds, and listen to the birds! I know what roses smell like, but if I'm not careful, baby girl never will.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
choice
My heart has been heavy over the past several days. The "niece" of a friend of mine passed away after a valiant life. I started to say, after a valiant fight against cancer, but realized that, although I didn't know her, I'm sure she lived her whole life in a boldly courageous way. Her name is Jessie Rees. She was truly amazing and as I followed her battle on facebook, I was so touched by her strength and joy. She and her parents started an organization (check out her story and foundation at http://www.thenegufoundation.org/) to spread hope, joy and love to other children fighting cancer. Amazing!
I am constantly in awe of people who are faced with horrendous challenges, terrible loss, unimaginable heartache, but continue to function. Many people in these situations, not only function, but contribute enormously to society. You often hear people say, what choice do they have? But, they do have a choice. There are so many people, in similar circumstances, who shut down, withdraw, spread hate.
Actually, we all have a choice. Bob Greene, (Oprah's fitness guru) once said that everything you do is either good for your body or bad for your body-there is no neutral. (Really? Sitting and eating french fries isn't neutral, Bob? I beg to differ.) And while my family's favorite game is "Argue Against Anything Anyone Ever Said, Especially Oprah Fitness Guru Bob Greene"-AAAAESEOFGBG for short, I embrace Bob's philosophy and take it one step further (which could explain my family's desire to disprove it). I think that it applies to living life. Everything we do is either good for ourselves, our families, our society or it is not. It seems extreme-but I feel that doing nothing isn't neutral- it's a missed opportunity to make things better.
I am constantly in awe of people who are faced with horrendous challenges, terrible loss, unimaginable heartache, but continue to function. Many people in these situations, not only function, but contribute enormously to society. You often hear people say, what choice do they have? But, they do have a choice. There are so many people, in similar circumstances, who shut down, withdraw, spread hate.
Actually, we all have a choice. Bob Greene, (Oprah's fitness guru) once said that everything you do is either good for your body or bad for your body-there is no neutral. (Really? Sitting and eating french fries isn't neutral, Bob? I beg to differ.) And while my family's favorite game is "Argue Against Anything Anyone Ever Said, Especially Oprah Fitness Guru Bob Greene"-AAAAESEOFGBG for short, I embrace Bob's philosophy and take it one step further (which could explain my family's desire to disprove it). I think that it applies to living life. Everything we do is either good for ourselves, our families, our society or it is not. It seems extreme-but I feel that doing nothing isn't neutral- it's a missed opportunity to make things better.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Ugh!
Keeping a blog is like keeping a diary. There are people out there who write, faithfully, every day. I am not those people. I absolutely love writing, if I had time I would write for hours every day. Write and create art and eat only healthy foods. But who has time?!? I've read about people who spend hours writing every day. Okay, so these people are Writers- making a living writing and probably don't have 6 children-or at least have a really good nanny. They are clearly way more a) organized b) motivated c) paid, than I am! But I'm okay with that. As I said, I love to write and do it, whenever I can carve out the time, for personal entertainment and the occasional entertainment of others.
When I do write, I feel a sense of accomplishment, and usually am tickled, renewed, or unburdened, by my musings. But I must admit, lately, the only feeling I am experiencing after I write is complete and total irritation! Every time I try to post an entry on my blog it shows up BLANK! How annoying is that?!? Oh, the title is there, but there is no body, no content, no indication of the clever observations I have made. So, ironically enough, I am venting, through my blog, that may or may not post more than the title... UGH! Is this another futile attempt? Perhaps, but for the moment, I feel completely tickled, renewed and unburdened!
When I do write, I feel a sense of accomplishment, and usually am tickled, renewed, or unburdened, by my musings. But I must admit, lately, the only feeling I am experiencing after I write is complete and total irritation! Every time I try to post an entry on my blog it shows up BLANK! How annoying is that?!? Oh, the title is there, but there is no body, no content, no indication of the clever observations I have made. So, ironically enough, I am venting, through my blog, that may or may not post more than the title... UGH! Is this another futile attempt? Perhaps, but for the moment, I feel completely tickled, renewed and unburdened!
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