Let it Snow, Let it Snow...Driving Range Slopes

Snow has fallen and the little one begs to build snowmen and sled. Completely natural, complete expected.
What is not natural is the driving range at the golf course becoming the new slopes and the pub being exchanged for a cooler atop the slopes with beer and sparkly water.
What?
Yes, a crew brought in a big, blue cooler filled with drinks and as they sat in their obvious Vail clothes they drank, huffed and puffed pulling their sleds, and drank some more.
Not me, I didn't get to wear any obvious ski clothes from a previous trip...I procrastinated until the last minute before we left so I was pulling any water resistant clothing I could find from Brian's side of the closet. Yes, this 115 pounder was wearing her husband's large, green insulated pants, a blue XL coat, a cream scarf found on the floor no less and an old, probably free stocking cap. Oh, and I can't forget that I didn't even wear my hiking boots...no, crazy here, wore her running shoes. I truly felt like I could be called, "Cousin Eddie's wife!"
To make matters worse, I didn't even purchase a sled. I grabbed a laundry basket and a trash can lid.
The good news is this...No matter how WT I looked and felt, I watched on as the two loves of my life had a complete blast going down the steepest of slopes you will find here in Oklahoma. Laughter and screams and a sweet family who loaned us sleds and more kids for Eden to play with, barreled down the range and into the thick, ever so lovely...snow.
It was an irreplaceable moment for the archives of a memory of a childhood for dear, sweet Eden and a reminder for mom to plan ahead just a tad more.

Beautiful

I am not surprised by receiving flowers from a friend when a loved one passes away or one of my random trips to the hospital. Beauty brings comfort. John Eldridge says so.
What I am surprised by is when I am able to soak up the beauty around me as if I am following the scents at the mall to the food court. An aroma that cannot be ignored, a presence of awesomeness and attraction that must be followed to the source.
I took the trail and it led to a blog without pictures. Why? Because I could not possibly put a physical picture to the beauty of spending a few evenings with friends and watching the beauty of relationships around me as I am a part of something much larger than a title or a company or even a family. I am a part of a beautiful world.
Beauty for me came as I found a baby studying my face and laughing at my laugh. Her warmth in her hug as she tickled my neck with her stubby, little fingers.
The beauty of a man who chooses a card that reiterates every single facet of our relationship and loves me helplessly.
The beauty of family, blood or not, that loves at all times through affection, perfect gifts that reveal the closeness of the relationship and quality time together.
A son reunited with a dad willing to change his life to be near and a part of something much bigger than himself.
Nana, a sixty-three year old woman determined that unconditional love is given to all of her grandchildren, even if step may be in her title.
The beautiful, familiar voice of a loved one expressing joy in your call and memories of your life from remember when...
If you think about it long enough, you'll see it, too.
There are no pictures because they may or may not be beautiful to you.
You know the beauty in your life. You are probably some one's beauty.
And if you are, thank you. Thank you for making our world beautiful.

Imperfect Pictures

After eight years of harassment, Brian and I submitted to the moms asking for a family picture.
As we were freezing and embarrassed at all the snaps of the camera, we realized why we are not "family" portrait material...we actually like the pictures of our candid imperfections.
We may not have ourselves in canvas on our walls, but we've got albums of our life...our real life. Laughter, tears, a few smudge marks across the face from a daughter that mulled you right before the flash...real moments.
So, thankfully, we got a real pro who knows us and gave us a few shots of our real selves and some as peace offerings to brighten the hearts of the moms.

Fast Food Stinks

Mornings are crazy around here. A game of hide-n-seek with school tights or the taste test approach to breakfast. It is all crazy, really.
But usually when you get loaded up in the car there is a sigh of relief because you are out the door and on your way, even if you don't have brushed teeth.
Well, not this morning. I hop in, too late for coffee yet I've been up since 4:30 a.m., that's another blog about random type A behavior, but really, I get in and my car smells like the biggest, stinkiest man just ripped a good one.
Eden and I are both gagging. I look down and there is a couple of Wendy's drinks and a sack of the horrid remains of a really awful mistake I made yesterday.
The memory of rushing to pick up Eden from school and get her fed before, the irony here, I get her to the nutritionist who is addressing her digestive issues.
What is wrong with this picture?
I feel like I am planning a game of Chutes & Ladders in life.
A real low, stinky moment.

"Watch Me!!!"

This weekend revealed a new truth about parenting for me. I realized that I have poorly trained my daughter like Pavlov trained his dog to beg for attention without earning it.
When I was a kid you had to really perfect a performance before you yelled out, "watch me!"
We all knew that there was one shot at a good performance and if you didn't really practice and make it worth your parents time there was a chance you may not get another shot for a long time.
I am not sure if it is the whole modern movement of fragile egos or our obsessive fear of raising kids with poor self-esteem, but I do know this....as Dr. Phil would say, "it's not workin' for us!"
When these kids get older the world and the amazing standards out there are going to chew up these mediocre performances and throw them to the curb, to leave these kids wondering what happened.
This realization has caused me to do a one eighty on what I am praising. I know my child, like you, and know the potential she possesses and because of that, I cannot let her sell her self short for unearned affirmation.
We all want to hear we are great, but the truly great ones become great. They don't throw out a rehearsal and get the same praise for their olympic performance.
If I truly want what is best for my daughter, I will engage in challenging her to practice, study, earn...all that she is and can be and not allow her to lick in the bowl of her own crumbs.