the unofficial start to summer 2014...

It is part of my biological clock, the day after Memorial Day is the first official day of summer. The kids had a couple of days left and Keaton has school until the middle of next week...yet, it is still summer. I keep a photo journal of all four seasons and since they are labeled as such, I can start a season on any date I want.

The summer one has just begun. This is the third photo to make the cut. This is what our car will always look like when we are in it, no matter wheat the season. It reminds me of good times, whether it with the kids, on our way to Flying M or the many, many reasons - we are out and about. That we are living our lives the best we know how. The car has looked this way in times of good and not so good. It is about this time, this place.

So here we go. Summer of 2014, we are ready for you. Ready for the warm days, ready for the trips out the door and ready to live in the present. Enjoy while you can, the ice will melt soon and you don't want to have missed it, waiting for something else. In the Moment...

mentoring...

Had my first meeting with the girl who I may be mentoring next year. Her parents happened to be there for her race relays and they sat in on our meeting together. N is an articulate child. She has an opinion and with a little help, is not afraid to use it. On the permission form, parents are asked whether they will allow photos of their child to be taken. These parents chose not to, Of course, I understand their concern but was a wee bit disappointed.

Had my second meeting with Miss N. Any problem with having a mentor, was gone. We forget how much we really do care about wanting that village around sometimes. No agenda, just being a friend, goes a long way with a child or a Big Person. The older we get, the more we like to think we are an island instead of a community. It is about balance, it always is. That and a great big does of knowing you are loved.

Right now, Bakery Boy is mentoring me. Less than a month ago, these two young people lost their three year old as he ran into the street to get a Frisbee. She talks bluntly about the land mines she is trying to avoid but even more about how to move on after a tragedy that most of us will never share. I am in awe of both parents. They know that Someday they will see their Ryan again and that our ways are not God's ways. Mentoring, no matter what it looks like, it is a labor of love...

choose a coach...

Everyday we are coached by someone, or something. Everyday. For all of us, are early coaches are assigned not chosen. Those coaches have their own distinct styles, everything for lovely encouragement to the darkest unthinkable. Someday, we will be able to choose a coach.

There may have to be some relearning but a good coach is invaluable. They see things we can because we are flying by, trying to keep our many life balls, in play. A good coach knows the plays and will call them out to you. You need a coach that you trust is all for you, if you already have that, take good care of them. If not and it is time for a staff change, make it. Find someone who will be in your corner. Someone who has your best interests at heart. It won't always be fun or feel good but you know, it is the best thing for you. Someone who cares, One who loves you...

Spring 2.0...

Around these parts, it is the last week of school. The unofficial season of summer, starts now. Down the road, the kids have a few more days, one has school into June. It is tougher to pay attention when the sun is shining and begging for us to come out and play. It has been a long winter for every part of the country and we are tired of being weary. Dead tired.

Had my first meeting with my new little mentor today. She is a doll and I already love her. Her step father is not allowing any photos of her to be taken so I can only tell you, she is a red haired beauty. Smart, funny and full of questions. I told her I might now always have answers but will do my best. That is the most anyone can ask of anyone. I do have 53 years on her. Have seen a few things, and so is she. She was captivated by the orderly folders on my iPad. Something I never would have thought of. She wants me to show her how. We had met briefly last week and I would have given you a 50/50 chance that she was not interested in having a mentor. Today. I got the feeling she wanted to adopt me. She knows what she is getting herself into, there will be no sugar coating with this kid. She is miles ahead of where she should be but life is like that. Some of us have to grow up faster to survive. She is most definitely, a survivor.

Going to walk in the sun today and glow in all that is right and good. Thank you Spring for not being summer. You have so much to share and I have so much to learn. Baby steps, always about baby steps...

15 avenue garden...

Right smack dab in the middle of family neighborhood on church owned property. 22 raised beds, they have been getting ready to plant. Here we say, never plant before Mothers Day and it looks like these millennials did their homework.

I am going by every week to track their progress, the neighbors are use to me now. Someone asks, what if someone steals the food? The answer I heard was, great - they probably needed it. An interesting way to look at it, a fresh way of looking at an age old problem.

We all know how gardens work. You start with nothing, prep the land, nourish the soil, water and weed and hopefully, harvest. I wanted to put a visual to the process, hence the photo parade.

Love the addition of flowers early in the process. Two signs, and now, a tee pee. The watering lines look they are ready to go on the beds, just have to be plumbed into the main source. Would be pretty, lousy vegetables without water.

men 2.0...

Even while suffering from the effects of eating his weight in carne aside, he is able to go out and socialize with his band of neighborhood brothers. These male creatures never cease to amaze me. I am stunned at their ability to watch things for hours. They delight in the little, small, tiny, dumb things that we women would never stand or sit for. Right now, the man who couldn't get 2 feet from the bathroom, has been out for over 2 hours watching tree limbs fall to the ground and then cut up into little pieces.

I could understand it if they didn't have YouTube and MSNBC. I have never seen these three men together, and we have lived here 14 years, yet this tree has brought them together. Women are brought together by yard sales, Tupperware parties and grief. Men, obviously, can be brought together with trees. I have been happily working on Mothers Day photos, looking at my girl with her girl. The boys wrestling and desperately hoping for a outcome that doesn't involve the er.

So Happy Monday fro the great NW, where the men bond over trees and the women, well, just are...

unintentional experiment...

Not sure what happened but now, looking back, I think I went on a Journey. A Journey that involved social media. Facebook and Instagram vs blogging. What are the perks, what are the downfalls? This is what I have come up with.

Blog posts are longer. You can add detail that FB and IG folks don't have the attention span for. There are some perks, don't get me wrong. My attention span is right there with everyone else. You fill the need to tell the next Story in as few words as possible. The photo has to carry more weight, at least 50% more. We now operate in short, bursts of time and there is a lot of area to cover. I save my favorite blogs for late at night when I know what everyone has done, thought, said, eaten and liked, for the day. I take my time and even feel refreshed after my blog reading time. Blogs have always been like short stories to me. On the nights I allow myself to blog hop, I never know where I am going or when I will be back but I do know, I will never be the same. Someone's Story will resonate with me, make me take a second look or think about something in a different way. A blog gives you more than a quick drink, it quenches your thirst. It allows you to go one to the next thing.

All that to say I am happy to be back. A few new things coming up. I have joined with the Mentoring Network and will mentoring a child in a local school next year. Hopefully, I will get to meet Miss N before the end of school so she can put a face to the name and be ready to go in the fall. Winter was rough but spring is here. We have been in full flag football mode with Gage. Keaton is about to turn 15 and is trying to take over The Tonight Show from Jimmy Fallon. Miss M is her precious self and the way she handles those two brothers is Something to behold. I am in awe.

So my unintentional experiment is over and this is what I think.

We move too fast.
We live in a 140 character world
and Sometimes, that is what I need

but I never want to forget to take my time, lounge around and check out my options. I couldn't have planned this better if it had been planned. I learned a lot about life and myself. Time to dip back into the blog pool where the living is easy...