The Rewards are There

Our family is busy.  We don’t set out to be the busiest and most involved family on the block, and I’m sure there are other families out there who’s schedules don’t fit on a 8 ½ x 11 refrigerator calendar like ours does, but we have things going on, well, almost everyday.  This weekend for example, was one of non-stop activities. We had baseball practice, a school dance, a baseball game, two soccer games, friends over, nerf gun wars, volunteering, a cub scout service project, studying for a science test, a sleep-over, craft room painting, lawn mowing, weed pulling and still managed to fit in a 30 minute nap in there. Yeah me!  Needless to say, I’m a little slow this morning and don’t have quite the energy I was hoping to have.

In spite of our schedule though, we still have a meal or two together in there, play a round of Apples to Apples before bed and have two days a week that are completely blank on the calendar! It seems like a lot some days and there are days it’s really just too much to be quite honest.  But the rewards are there.

On Saturday, I took my oldest home in between my youngest son’s soccer games.  He hadn’t been home since nine in the morning and just wanted to be home for a bit before he headed to volunteer at the Y.  On the drive home, he was a little quiet, then out of the blue said, “You know, Mom, I pretty much love baseball and think it’s my favorite sport now.  I had a really good game today.”  I quickly corrected him and told him he had a great game today. He had two hits, (a single and a double), stole four bases, pitched 46 great pitches (not that I was counting), threw a guy out at first and smiled the entire game.   All the driving back and forth to practice, going early for the games, was suddenly not such a big deal.  The confidence in himself was strong and it made me feel great knowing that.  The reward was there.

With him home for a little bit, I drove back to the field and thanked Pam for watching my youngest while I was gone and prepared for round two of soccer.  The team was huddled for a cheer, when the coach realized we had twelve players and they only had five.  She quickly asked for volunteers to play on the other team to help even up the numbers and avoid having seven of our players sit out.  My son’s arm went straight up and volunteered to play for the Vikings instead of the Titans.  I was so proud of him.  He realized it wasn’t a big deal and it could be fun to play against his teammates.   

Again, in the car on the way home, the discussion is always about the “action” of the game. Not only did he score a goal, but played goalie for the first time and had a blast. My little guy was all smiles and said that was the most fun he’s had playing in a long time.   I told him how proud I was of him volunteering and he just smiled. He knew he had done a good thing and was proud of himself for doing so.  The reward was there. 

Even though the weekend was packed with driving here and driving there, in the end, everyone was happy doing what they enjoyed and both looked forward to their next game. So, perhaps being busy isn’t such a bad thing.  As long as the smiles are there, then I’m still ready and eager to chauffer them to every meeting, to every game, to every friend’s house, to 7-11 for sunflower seeds, to the Y to volunteer and to every  school dance to do the chicken dance with friends.  The rewards are there.

My Digital Daughter

I’m a Mac girl thanks to my brother.  I couldn’t live without my digital silver compact and all its bells and whistles.  I don’t have a name for her, but probably should since I spend so much time with her and am over protective of her in every way. 

No one is allowed to take her for a walk, unless her screen is shut and she’s securely fastened and in the locked position (holding her for dear life with both hands). No one is allowed to eat near or have a glass of water within spilling range of her, dare a few drops of moisture come near her tender little keys.  And, no one is allowed to hit “download now” unless they ask me first and it’s homework related (two bits which hardly ever go hand in hand).  

Well, the other night, we were sitting together in the living room so I could hear the boys playing outside when she came down with what I thought was a small case of the hiccups. She hadn’t been ill, nor had anyone broken any of the commandments (that I knew of). This worried me greatly.  I tried the few steps I knew and upon her restarting, she indicated that she needed to be in “safe mode” for some reason.  I didn’t like this one bit and immediately called her doctor (my brother) who patiently listened to the ranting mother and how her poor baby was sick and how it came on so suddenly with no warning whatsoever.  He calmed me down and suggested a few simple clicks, keystrokes and restarts, and in a matter of minutes, her episode had passed and was perfectly fine.

Her diagnosis. “Crumbitis”.  I know! I was shocked!  Seeing how I follow the commandments faithfully, I couldn’t understand how she could have come in contact with such a disease.  Where had she been when I was at book club?  Had she snuck into the kitchen cupboards?  Apparently so. What else could have happened?  Evidently, she had a cookie or cracker one afternoon and a crumb lodged itself under her left shift key causing her to cough and wheeze.  I know.  It’s just too hard to believe.

I immediately told everyone in the house to be on the lookout for anymore of this type of behavior from her because apparently she has a liking for crumbly snacks after school. I put everyone on high alert to ensure she didn’t sneak anything else from the kitchen.  Everyone understood the alarm it caused mom and vowed to make sure she never ate another cracker or Oreo again. 

I was so thankful her doctor was on call that night. I don’t like calling him so late at home, but he’s always so gracious and willing to help. Plus, his bedside manner is flawless. Cool, calm and most definitely collected.  I hope this was just a little episode and won’t need his digital doctoring again any time soon.  So for now, my little girl seems to have recovered fully and have since backed her up three times and updated her baby book so that she’ll be able to share her story with her children one day. 

Dust on My Dresser

Yesterday was a busy day for me.   Nothing pressing really, but just tried to do too much.  I’m an overachiever and think I can do everything in one day.  It’s not a good trait, but have always tried to get the “icky” stuff done first, then the “fluff” is more enjoyable.  This was my goal yesterday.

In the process of doing and putting away clean socks and other unmentionables, I realized that I haven’t dusted the two shelves of my dresser in quite some time.  I immediately thought to myself, “As soon as I get the calendar finished on my computer, I’ll get up there and dust it.”  Well, you know what?  I didn’t dust it. And guess what else?  I didn’t explode.  The world didn’t come to a screeching halt.  Martha didn’t come knocking on my door to do a dresser inspection either.

Why do we fuss over the little stuff that just doesn’t matter?  I find myself doing this all the time.  Why?   Is it the perfectionist in me?  Is it fear that someone will see my dust?  Pretty silly if you stop and think about it.   

When you were over at your friend’s house last time, did you take a quick peek in their bedroom to see if the dresser had been dusted?  I didn’t think so.  Did you look in the closet to see if their hats and gloves were color coordinated and stacked in neat piles?  Nope, me neither.

With that said, today I am going to relax and do what needs to get done, like the white load and the meat sauce for spaghetti. What ever else happens to get done today, will be the happy face on my plate.  I do know that I’m not planning on sneaking into anyone’s bedroom on dust detail any time soon, and don’t think anyone I know of has me on their list of places to white glove check either. So, I will enjoy the dust on my dresser and remind myself that there are more important things to do and be concerned about.   I hope you will let your dust settle today and let dust be dust.

Dare I Say, Friends?

We recently went out of town for Labor Day to a friend’s cabin.  It’s not very far from our house, but it still let’s us feel like we’re out of town and on a trip.  This wasn’t an extravagant trip or a vacation of a lifetime, but it was time away together and for the first time (for 3 consecutive days mind you) my boys didn’t fuss once.  I know they’re old enough to get along, but inevitably they argue about the leg room, someone’s arm being on the pillow or just the air that is between them, but not this time.   They were gracious, polite, laughed with each other, and played games in the car and at the lake like they were pals.  It was great and I praised them for this observation on the car ride home (thinking I would only jinx myself and have the loving atmosphere come to a screeching halt once I uttered the words).  It was wonderful to witness.  Truly.  I hope this is a sign of things to come.  We’ve been waiting for a while for this time to appear in their lives.  Could this be the year?  Could they turn into more than just brothers?  Dare I say, friends?  I hope and pray it to be so.   But, just in case, I’m still planning on keeping my fingers crossed as well.  

His Confidence is Showing

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I bought my youngest son a Yoda shirt?  If you don’t, you can read about it here.  Well…..they say a picture is worth a 1000 words.   This is my son watching tv before school this morning.  

I was shocked, but didn't dare say ONE word.   Sometimes, we just have to let them come into their own on their own.   Should I tell him that his confidence is showing?