A great attitude...

becomes a great day...

which becomes a great month

which becomes a great year...

which becomes a great life. 

Love Doesn't Seek Anything

1. I took notice of my son's smile today. No reason.
2. State Capitol: dresses, roses, friends, love. It bears repeating how totally radical and splendiferous this junior prom was.
3. Coming home to an empty fridge after a night shift sucks. My lovely son brought me a chicken roller from Del Taco after I woke up.  

People had attitude. The delivery ran all night. I didn't get to see a movie I have heard is so great. But it all paled in comparison to this Saturday's many, many charms. 

Thanks for loaning me your dress Monét! J'apprécie ton soutien. 

Celebrate Her

She must be something special. She is.

She turned her can'ts into can's, and her dreams into plans. Celebrate her goals.

She was kind...loving...patient...with herself. Celebrate her tenderness. 

She listened to her heart above all other voices. Celebrate her wisdom.

She walked in when everyone else walked out. Celebrate her friendship. 

She just has this way of brightening his day. Celebrate her radiance. 

She ran ahead where there were no paths. Celebrate her bravery. 

She remained true to herself. Celebrate her authenticity. 

She made the world a better place. Celebrate her.

Vernal

1. finished night shift (7am)
2. arrived in Vernal (7pm)
3. departed from Vernal (7am)

Every Day

may not be good, but there is something good in every day...

1. he doesn't belong to anyone and i think that's the most devine thing about him. Max has found love within him and is complete alone.

2. every pro was once an amateur - every expert was once a beginner: dream big, start now.

3. a good coach can change a game; a great coach can change a life. 

Education is Important

B U T 

snowboarding 

is importanter

And so is having these friends {ferdaboys} who chat you up and say, "let's ride" after school

Life is like snowboarding:

you get up every time you fall
once you stop falling 
you begin to enjoy it
if you stay down
you will never see 
why people
love it so much 

Place only my k i n d e s t thoughts

on everything I experience today. 

Three Good Things Happened To Me Today

1. snapchat from the slopes: my boys that took a "sick" {powder} day from school

2. A princess {and a cutie, to boot} decorated Max's room for prom. Chivalry lives(!)

 3. My higher-ups provided me very nice evaluation feedback.

S H E

crossed borders recklessly

refusing to recognize limits

saying bonjour and guten tag as though she owned both France and Germany and the day itself. 

Celebrate her joie de vivre  

Nothing You Believe Is True

to know this is freedom

1. Markus drew this picture for my fridge
2. Work
3. Work

(Sometimes it's a good thing.)

But in between:

1. chocolate strawberries 
2. chocolate strawberries 
3. chocolate strawberries /// Too much of a good thing? Nah.

i am enough

Oui! love french girl hair

haircut, fringe, red lips, layers, winter, hairstyle, pretty

i would have loved to march with women today instead i was working at the women's center...
 we get so worried about being pretty
let's be pretty kind
pretty funny
pretty smart
pretty strong

I See Skies Of blue

Every situation is temporary. So, when life is good, make sure to enjoy it. And when life is not so good, remember that it will not last forever and better days are on the way. 

Flash-back Friday ~ 2014

When I didn't know Bucky's last baseball game of the season

would be his last baseball game

at least of his babe-ruth career

maybe someday when he's older he will want to step up to the plate again...

 The world is what you believe it to be, and it changes as you change.

3 Good Things

Last year, I read about a study that measured the positive effects of writing down three good things everyday. It crossed my mind again on New Year’s Eve. Then and there, I decided I’d blog mine. 

I'll start today with the Best of Ordinary Days, Errands Edition.

1. I had my yearly mammogram done (with 15 pounds of pressure mind you!)
2. No day of repairs, alignments, etc. would be complete without an extraordinary film at the end of the day.*
3. I received an email notification. 

I won a spot in the 2017 Little Red lottery (!)

* Les Miserables was on demand tonight. Based on the classic novel, Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, and the classic Broadway stage show of the same name, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a prisoner who breaks parole, and the police inspector, Javert, who tries to hunt him down for breaking parole. Valjean tries to help a poor factory worker, Fantine, by saving her child, Cosette, from innkeepers who are holding her captive as a slave. Marius, a war veteran during the battles of post-French Revolution, falls for Cosette, but their lives change forever when the war turns more gruesome than expected.

Senior Night

I love Max
his kindness, honesty, and perseverance 
will help him strive to contribute to the world in meaningful ways

Everybody has a home team:
It's the people you call when you get a flat tire or when something wonderful happens.

{These are the ones who tell you their secrets,
who get themselves a glass of water without asking when they're at your house.}

{It's the people who, near or far, know everything about you
and love you anyways.}

{These are the people who are happy when you are happy.}

{These are your people,
your middle-of-the-night,
no-matter-what
people.}

Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.

Fixer Upper

outside iWorld

I know exactly where my appreciation to share my empathy for human beings derived from – I was five years old, and I was watching television with my mom. A heart-wrenching ad came on the screen about abused and mistreated children. Images of starving girls with pleading eyes and terrified boys with matted hair flashed before my innocent eyes. As my heart broke wide open, my mom offered me a tissue and to send money to the organization on the T.V.

after school Chic-fil-a

So behind the scenes of my nursing mission, I continued my children rescue mission—freeing children from hunger, lifting stuck lives to safety, retrieving hearts, and feeding starving friends along my way. My child-loving heart radar is always up, spotting people to help on a daily basis.

While delivering babies was my obvious mission, saving older teens was my quiet mission – and I honestly don’t think either approach is any less effective or any less worthy; extending love, care, and support to a living, breathing being is always worthy.

As I watch my growing sons cultivate their own heart-led passions, I’m glad I’ve experienced both approaches to saving because there is a vast difference in the way my sons advocate. Morgen lets any of friends stay with us while they get their feet back under them, while Markus chose two new mice today after dinner by how they interacted with each other. He said, "this one just looked up at me and let me pick him up right away." At age thirteen, he already knows he is called to reach one at a time … that one is enough … and that no one needs to know except that one.

I Have

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." ~ MLK

Max & I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa yesterday

and to brunch at Mimi's cafe today before going to see Passenger's with Preslee...

My mom is getting better after her whiplash from the car collison last month

My dad of course made his delicious popcorn and we watched the true story of Moby Dick 

Candie was there with her pups who seemed like they may have missed me for a few days

When Markus flew home from California tonight
and when I hugged him tight, I made sure I was the last one to let go.
I never know how long he needed it.

Confessions

One by one, they came through the phone confessing the news of the moment.

"I was kicked out of the game by the ref."

"He said I called him a racial slur. I didn't."

One by one, his teammates confessed their own version of the moment. When I spoke to Markus on the phone today a few minutes earlier I had no idea it would inspire others to step forward and say, “I heard Will say it.”

Perhaps we all have misunderstood moments in some form or another. Perhaps he is not alone.

The California referee cited Markus for a match misconduct. Before that was told to him, it was  called a game misconduct on the score sheet … and before that, it was a roughing. Before that, it was a check from the Jr. Ducks that Markus can’t understand how he was at fault, but its pieces were especially long lasting and snowballing out of control. All this time, I attributed these extreme reactions on a severe lack of judgement and on having the referee beyond reasonable limits. But while talking on the phone with my dear Markus on the way to sit out another game of the Best of West tournament in California, I uncovered something more.

“It happened when I was checked… when Will came over and the ref misunderstood,” Markus said about his 30 day suspension. “I guess Will told some of the other boys in the locker room that he didn't mean to call the kid on the other team an "Asian slave" it just came out and at some point in the madness around the net the ref thought it was me. When it wasn't, I guess he heard it and didn't know who had said it." I felt the urge for justice so strong that I feel I must take drastic measures.

See me.

Hear me.

This is me sending up a flare. I am in distress.

I thought back to the confession moments I've had before and knew I needed to speak the truth to Will's mom as soon as possible so that she could talk to him and set things straight. As people confessed their story and coaches assessed the collateral damage, there was one common factor … there was a resounding echo … there was a universal need.

Hear me.

Acknowledge me. 

Don’t walk away. 

Yes, Markus was weary and depleted when he fell apart at the seams … but more importantly, he were desperate to be heard.

When I informed my son that I had also just found his mouse had died today, his reaction was over the top. His voice rose and shook. I could hear the hot tears come streaming down his face. As I was about to cry as well, I stopped myself. I saw what was happening here.

This is his-breaking moment.

 This is him wanting me to hear him. 

 This is him asking me to stand in his shoes.  

“Oh honey,” I said calmly. “I'm so sorry this all happened to you today. What can I do to help? I wish I was there to give you a hug.”

“Thank you, Mom. Thank you,” he said over again. Two minutes later, my son texted me again, asking me to be careful not to overdo it.

My son asked me to "just please try not to make everyone hate me". As I made some calls, I thought about what I said as I responded, “No one can hate you for telling the truth.”

I think that’s what listening does.

Unlike dismissing, shaming, or shutting down, which exacerbates the pain, listening eases it … releases it … comforts it … and even heals it.

Although it is mid-January and there are definitely easier and more festive topics I could have written about today, I believe this one – listening to release pain – is what we need most need right now in the world.

“I am here. Tell me what’s troubling you. Maybe you don’t even know, but we will figure it out together. I am listening.”

And if you find the distressed, unreasonable, and maniacal voice is coming from your own chest, please resist the urge to run. Remember listening is love.

Especially when the person in front of us or within us is falling apart.

Listen with open eyes, ears, and a whole heart.

Listen even when it sounds like complete and utter despair.

Because that’s when listening is needed the most.

Markus texted me right before the game: "Will confessed." I responded, "I bet that was hard for him." "Yea - It was" "How you feelin bud?" "Alright" "Sorry you still didn't get to play." "It's good at least I don't have to go in front of the board" "Yes or leave California early." "Yea" "Love you."