Mother's Day Reflection

Mother's Day - a day to pay tribute and give thanks for you mom, your grandmother, or any motherly figure in your life. As I sit here at my computer, I am awaiting the arrival of my parents and grandparents to pull in the driveway so that we can all enjoy the afternoon together. Yes, I am thankful to both my mom and grandma and love each of them dearly, but I also am brought to thoughts of my own mothering abilities and how well (or not so well) I carry those duties out.

I am Mom to four kids - ages 4 to 13; two girls and two boys and four very different personalities! Our home is far from calm and quiet and there are many days I would trade my right arm for some peace around here! I am the cook, the maid, the teacher, the referee, the cheerleader, the entertainment director, the enforcer and the cuddler...if someone wants justice done to another sibling that has done them wrong, they search for mom....a scraped knee and tears rolling down the cheeks - look for good old mom. I am good for kisses and hugs as well as lectures and groundings.

Growing up I never imagined myself being the mother of four kids, but now I could never picture myself without them. I question how I became the mother of these four kids...the moody teenage girl, ADHD-diagnosed 12 year old, athletic and overly-coordinated 6 year old and animal-loving 4 year old. How did these certain four children end up being mine? I question that and the answer comes flooding in - God. God granted me these four children - four children of His that He has entrusted to me to raise and send back out into the world so that they can make a difference, do something to make a change on this Earth. I find myself awe-struck to think that out of all the millions of women out there, that God thought that I was going to be the best caregiver to each of these kids - that I was the one most suited for this job. He knew every problem that each of these children would face growing up, every interest they would have as they go through life and He figured me to be the one to lift them up when they fell and to guide them down their individuals paths in life. Amazing.

I will think about this as I go through my days as Mom around this house. I will remember this each time my teenage daughter and I butt heads about those things that Moms and Daughters don't agree on. I will remember this everytime I have to deal with the hyperness coming from my son with ADHD. I will remember this at every temper tantrum or sleepless night with my two younger children. I will remember the confidence that God has in me to be the Mom of these four kids. If He has the confidence in me to do this job, then I will rely and lean on this confidence at every fork in the road and will be thankful for this confidence when things seem to be going smoothly.

Mothering...it's the most rewarding, yet most challenging, job I have ever been given, but I was hand-picked for these children and I won't let them, nor my Creator, down.

Life...You Only Get One Shot at It!

Stop and smell the roses. Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Live life to the fullest.



There are so many cliches out there about getting the most out of your life, but how many of us truly follow any of those quotes? How many of us do stop and smell the roses...pull off to the side of the road during the commute home just to admire the scenery...ignore the "noise" of the screaming kids and just thank God that although they may be loud, they are healthy and happy? I am one that can come up with the quotes, but I must admit that I fall flat on my face when it comes to living out the words.



I've been thinking alot about a heart of gratitude lately, thanks to my brother's girlfriend who has put out a challenge to live 30 Days of Gratitude. I've been faithfully following Vanessa's blog (http://blog.thrive-coaching.com/) and have really enjoyed reading about all she is doing to show gratitude for various things in her life. I will admit, that although I've loved to read about Vanessa's challenge to herself, nothing has been done on my part to show anymore gratitude toward my life than what I already do....that is, until today.



Today I got some news that literally stopped me in my tracks, but first I must digress a bit. A few weeks ago, I started a new job. On my first day at work, my supervisor took me around to every employee and introduced me to each person. We got to one gentleman's office and I was told, "I'll introduce you to him, but he won't be around much longer - he's retiring soon." A week and a half later was his last day at the job he had been going to for the past 40+ years. What amazed me about his retirement was, first and foremost, the amount of time that he worked for the same company. The second thing was how he was working into his retirement. He wasn't going home at 5:00 on his last day and then sleeping in on his first day of freedom. He was leaving the office at 2 pm on his final day, picking up his wife, and heading straight for the airport in Omaha. No, he wasn't headed out on an exotic vacation to celebrate his retirement, he was headed to his new home in Arizona. Yep, he left work, flew to a new time zone, and the next morning when he woke up, he would be in a new home in a new state, and would not have to report to work. Talk about a lot of life changes in a short time period!



Fast forward to today. As I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, an email popped up to all employees. It was entitled "sad news". What I read completely broke my heart. It seems that this dear man that just retired a week earlier went to the doctor earlier today and was told that he had cancer. He had not yet seen an oncologist so there was no news as to how invasive this cancer is or what type of treatment he will have to endure. How unfair is that?! This man puts in over half of his life to his career and within a week of retirement he finds out he has cancer. It just doesn't seem fair.



So, with this news, I have decided that it is time for me to stop just reading Vanessa's blog about gratitude and start living it myself! Life is just too short, my friends, to go through the motions. I look at my children and think of how easily it could all be taken away....I look at my parents and grandparents and realize that our days together are numbered. There is just so much that I take for granted everyday, and I am vowing to notice things more, to enjoy things more, to be grateful for so much more. I will stop and smell the flowers and listen to the crickets on a warm summer night. I will stand outside during the next rain and enjoy how the water cleans up the world, instead of complain that it makes our gravel road muddy. And the biggest lesson that I learned today, is that I am no longer going to wait for "someday", because "someday" may never get here...or when it does get here, there just may not be enough time. I am going to enjoy my life, love my life and get the most of my life that I possibly can...after all, it's the only one I've got!



These are just a few of the things that I plan to do to appreciate all that I have been given....I advise each of you to slow down and really think about all that you have too, because in an instant, life as you know it can change.

Lessons Learned on the Slopes

Ten days ago, my husband and I, coupled by some good friends, took a trip to Keystone, Colorado. It was a trip to escape the hustle and bustle of "real life" and to just sit back and relax. I knew we were going to have fun, I knew I was going to enjoy the beautiful scenery. What I didn't know was that there was going to be a life lesson worth paying attention to - and I don't mean learning how to snowplow!

We arrived on a Friday night and by Saturday morning, we were dressed in our ski gear, had our equipment rented and were ready to hit the slopes. I would not consider any of our group to be professional skiers, although some definitely had more talent than others (I was definitely among the others), but it was vacation, the scenery was gorgeous, and we were ready to have some fun. The first trip up the mountain left me filled with nervousness and excitement as we climbed in altitude. Once we got off the gondola and strapped our feet into our skis, we were ready...I think.

The first run started off nice and easy, and it didn't take too long before I remembered the words of my ski instructor from some 20 year ago. By the time I rounded the first curve, I may have even gotten a little cocky at my progress...until I hit the first descent where I started to pick up speed! So much for my gradual zig-zag motion down the hills...immediately my toes and knees pointed inward and I locked myself into a snowplow that no one would dare try to pull me out of! To my surprise, I managed to get myself safely down that bit of steepness without falling. (My knees were killing me at this point, but I was still upright) We ended up on another gradual trail where my seemingly effortless zig-zag picked up again...ahhh - I really do love to ski! Then, before I know it I'm picking up even more speed and heading straight down again! Once again, I'm locked in my snowplow position, fighting tooth and nail to stay up! On top of all of this, the ski trails cross and I am now being bombarded by flying snowboarders and Olympic-level skiers (well, maybe not Olympic-level, but they were good!) As much as I am trying to avoid them, they are trying to avoid me, and I just know I am going to end up either killing myself or taking several people down with me! Finally, it dawns on me how ridiculous I must look locked in this hideous snowplow, so I think "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Yep, that's right...I loosened up on the snowplow and attempted to hurl myself down the mountain, poles flying and clearly looking like I have lost complete control (which, in all honesty, I had). Of course, the end result of this "stunt" was what anyone would expect...me sliding on my back down the mountain with my skis straight up in the air. When I finally came to a halt and got my bearings back (and checked to make sure all four limbs were still firmly attached to my body), I sat up and looked around only to see an entire ski school of 4 year olds skiing right past me. Completely aware of how pathetic I looked, I picked myself up, dusted myself off and went back to snowplowing down the "steep" parts and zig-zagging through the easy-going and gradual trails.

As I sit here at my desk and think back to that trip, I immediately think of the lesson meant to be learned by me during that long weekend in Colorado - how my run down that mountain parallels so much to living life day to day. Everyday we have mountains to climb and everyday we have obstacles to go through to get us back to solid ground. Sometimes, it seems like the ride is effortless, like the nice gentle ski trails, and we can sit back and enjoy the view. But then, also, we can get too comfortable and almost a bit cocky, like I did. It's at that time of over-confidence that the terrain changes and we see ourselves staring straight down the face of the mountain. Some of us reach that point and immediately revert to the "snowplow" trying to take it as slow as possible, others will point their skis straight down and enjoy the thrill of the ride. Some of us, like I did, will try to "fake it" so as not to look like we don't know what we're doing, even though it is apparent to everyone how truly out of control we really are.

I guess the lesson I learned on that gorgeous winter day in Keystone is that we are at different levels and stages of our life. Some of us have no problem speeding down the mountain, dodging obstacles and getting to the end as fast as we can. Some of us are cautious and want to take the safest route possible. And then there are some that are just out there to have fun and to learn new things (like the 4 year olds that skied past me as I was laying in the snow).

That's what is so awesome about life....we are all at these different levels, but we are allowed to co-exist on the same mountain. We all face the same obstacles and encounters and embrace them in a way that works the best for us. And, in the end, we all arrive at the bottom of the mountain....some of us get there faster, and some are a bit more sore when they arrive. But, like I learned, it doesn't matter how you get there...the important part is that you arrive!