Lane

I was rummaging through old computers in our home office yesterday afternoon looking for really old music in extinct iTunes libraries. I was a woman possessed and I didn't stop until I had what I was looking for.

Then I made the mistake of clicking on an old iPhoto library ...

And all of a sudden, it was dinnertime, my people were starving, and my eyes were wet.

Here's some of the best memories I will ever have.

My Sunday trip down memory lane started with this furry face the day we scooped him out of that fenced-in pen at the farm.
The day the Dad made me REALLY love him ... the day he admittedly didn't want a dog. But he made my Beagle dreams come true.



The rest of these pink pictures, though forever imbedded in my soul while simultaneously coursing through my veins, made me so entirely grateful ... again ... for my place on this planet.

Enjoy.

Word {from} Your Mama

Icing

She woke up on Saturday, took one look at the trees, and shouted with glee, there is frosting on the trees!

Hoarders: the Preschool Edition

I have always fostered her love of her stuffed menagerie, because I admit I am (still) obsessed with stuffed animals myself.

In the corner of our bedroom sits my writing chair- a beloved college graduation gift from my parents.
Settled lovingly on top of that sits a replica of my baby blanket- my Grandma made me for my 21st birthday to "replace" my old one she made me in 1980. (I still sleep with that sucker, for the record)
That chair also holds two of my adored and best friends from childhood- a soft-bodied cloth doll my Mama made me when I was tiny- he's named Andy. And, a tan, oatmeal-textured stuffed bear with hard, knobby eyes.

The bear was again a gift from my Mama when I had pneumonia the spring of my 7th grade year. What 7th grader still receives stuffed animals and actually loves them? I was that kid. I remember being pretty sick, but more so being devastated that I was missing the start of track season. My Mama felt bad, and brought the bear home for me along with my arsenal of drugs.

Years ago, post-marriage but pre-baby, I was thrifting with my Mama and friend KAH in my parents' town when I spotted an exact replica of my oatmeal bear in an overpriced antique shop. I snatched him up; I felt the hot threat of tears, silly enough, seeing how he was abandoned along the way in his life. I rescued that stupid bear. He sits in another meaningful chair in my home to this day!

My daughter loves her stuffed animals, each and every one. She sleeps best when she is literally surrounded by her crew. As my Mama says, "I have never met a kid who actually played with the stuffed animals they owned." I bring them home with me on work trip as her souvenir, I love having that stuffed sweetness peeking out of my carry-on. I even bought her the sweetest, raggiest gray dog from Anthropology in Boise. Yeah, that was cheap.

I couldn't help it.

Cup o' Happiness

If I had to paint a bulls-eye on my favorite piece of parenting, it would be perspective.

Yesterday, I picked the lil' dude up and ran through her day- preschool, daycare, plans for the evening, etc.
Before I could even get to it, she proclaimed, At snack today? Know what we had?
HOT COCOA WITH MARSHMALLOWS!

That was loud and proud and full of unadulterated joy.
Pure joy.
In a cup.

So, thanks, Age 4 for always, always, always giving me perspective.
For reminding me endlessly that life really is about the smallest stuff.
Stuff in a cup.

Mama loves.

A Story About a Jar

Thanks to my Mama friend AJ for sending this to me ... enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls...

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or golf balls.'

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.....

The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented...

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.

Amen, sister!
LDM

Wordless Wednesday