So many of the phases of growing up haven’t really bothered me.
However……Jordan has spent the past 10+ years collecting Legos – all different kinds/sets. If you know anything about Legos you know 2 things – they aren’t cheap and they take up a lot of space (especially the sets)!!!
At the beginning of the summer Jordan decided he was going to get rid of his Legos.
I didn’t think this day would ever happen and quite honestly, I’m not sure I wanted it to come. I like the Legos and the fun associated with them.
But, I told Jordan it was his choice. So, he organized. We took pictures –
Plus about 300 more – not even lying!!!
We posted each picture with a description and price on Selling with Friends (a local FaceBook group).
And, then we spent hours sorting because the response was incredible.
Now we have piles all over our living room and dining room – some have already been picked up and paid for and others will be in the next day or two.
12 hours of work (just for Tuesday!) on this project so far and the entire time I kept remembering how excited Jordan was when he received each and every one of those!See the Lego pile?!
Many were gifts but there were also a lot that Jordan used his own money to buy!!!
Not sure why this part of seeing my little boy growing up bugs me but……
Over the years, we have sold lots of their things as they’ve outgrown and moved on. But Legos have been a huge part of Jordan’s life for over 10 years!!!
And, now they aren’t.
Growing up!
I know it’s all good but this particular part of growing up has been rough for me! I guess it’s like Jordan said – “I have all my memories of my Legos. I don’t need to keep them for that.”
As great as life is most of the time, there are some things that I don’t understand why they have to happen!!!
We have friends who are going through a really rough time right now and it seems like there are no answers for them!
This weekend I read about a terrible bike tragedy – one of those things that seems so senseless and makes everyone wonder why it had to happen.
Jordan and I were talking about some of this type of stuff yesterday and I told him that as awful as it is, we can’t let fear control our lives. I know there are people who let fear dominate their lives and I never want my boys to live with that kind of fear.
We can’t control every aspect of our lives but we can choose to face life head-on and embrace all of it – good and bad.
Sometimes it is hard to understand the why and some days the fear threatens to take over. There are days that we have to allow others to help us stay strong and there are times that we have to be strong for those around us.
Fear is powerful but so are we!!!
Do you search for they “why?” Do you ever live your life in fear?
Friday, Friday, Friday!!!! Something about Friday makes me happy even though it is summer time and sometimes Tuesday is the same as Friday!!!
This week there have been so many things making me happy that I had to share.
* Jordan has been driving more and more (gotta get his hours!!!) and he is doing great!!! Yesterday I hardly used my imaginary brake the entire time we were out!!
classy driver
* I still smile every time I think about last Saturday and how much fun Hunter and I had (I just keep telling him that he really did have fun!!!).
muddy but happy
* The boys went with me yesterday to help clean and set up the venue for Saturday night’s event!! Since I had help, it didn’t take as long as normal and I had time to do something fun –
pedicure – always nice
* The boys have also been helping around the house this summer (probably because I told them that they had to do at least 1 productive thing every day!).
On Tuesday I had a meeting for most of the morning and then had to get the oil changed in my car. When I got home Hunter had 2 recipes picked out that he wanted to make for dinner (with my help and a trip to the grocery store but…).
Honey Glazed Chicken look how tasty it looks!!!Summer Garden Salad – chock full of fresh veggie!!!
Bummer for Chris he wasn’t home for dinner and the boys ate ALL of the chicken!!!
* We have a couple of days that we don’t have to set an alarm!!!! Hooray – I hope to sleep until 7:00 but even 6:30 will be nice!!!
* Mandi (my sister) just did a new post with lots of cute pictures of little Griffin. This is my favorite –
how cute is this?!
* It is supposed to be right at 80 today with plenty of sunshine – I hope to spend a chunk of the day outside soaking up the sun!!!! The boys have friends coming over to hang out at the swim beach so we will all enjoy the great weather!!
What is making you happy this week?
I hope your week has been full of smiles and laughter!!
We are all busy – I never think that I’m busier than anyone else.
I believe that we all have different ways we cope with the things that we need to do.
A lot of times my coping is to lose motivation.
Oh, to be a cat…..
For the past few months, I’ve been working with an Action Coach while we are trying to build our business. Running a business is a completely new thing for me and I finally realized that I need some help!!
Anyway, we meet every 2 weeks and then I have homework to do before our next meeting.
I see the benefit in our meetings and even know that the “homework” is going to help grow our business BUT…..I put it off until the very last. (That technique got me through grad school so don’t knock it!!!)
These days, the very last isn’t working for me – there is always something else that I need/want to do and then I just feel guilty (more than normal) that I’m not putting forth enough effort.
Yesterday at our meeting, my coach (Hi, Andrea!!!) had a great idea. She told me to schedule an appointment with myself. First she asked me when I was most productive. I know (and shared in my post last week – Tuesday rewind) that mornings really are my most productive time.
Even though I hate my alarm, getting up at 5:00 am is not something I think twice about because I know that it is to workout!!! But, I also know that the few hours after that workout are some of my best work times!!
So, this morning – after my workout – before I take Chris’ car in for an oil change (I took mine yesterday!!) I have 50 minutes plugged into my calendar/daily guide – an appointment with myself!
I think/hope that if I schedule small amounts of time with myself several mornings a week, I will be able to stay ahead of the little things that I tend to put off!!!
Do you schedule appointments with yourself?
Do you have times that your motivation is completely zero?
Saturday was one of those days that will always hold a special place in my heart – Hunter ran his first half marathon and I had the privilege of being with him every single step!!!
If you notice, this race was a trail run. Now, I love running and have run for many (many) years, but I’ve never done a trail race. Quite honestly, I thought it just meant dirt and grass instead of a road race.
Even in the information about the race, it didn’t really say much –
See the part in the above paragraph about some creek crossings that require you get wet?! A little misleading!!!
First off, Hunter and I drove to El Dorado (about 1.5 hours from where we live) Friday so we could pick up our packets, see where the race was and then have a nice relaxing evening at the hotel. Jordan said he didn’t want to go and Chris had drill weekend so it was just the 2 of us.
ready to hit the road
Everything was great and we had a nice evening. I learned that Hunter snores (a lot!!!). And, I listened to a heavy thunderstorm ALL night long – it was still raining when I got up at 5:30.
We left the hotel a little after 6 to drive to the race site. About 20 minutes after we got there we had a super happy surprise –
big surprise to start our day!!
Chris took leave (without telling me!!), got up at 3:15 and drove through huge storms so that he could spend the morning with us!! Such a great surprise – true love!!!
Hunter was super quiet while we were waiting to start – he said he was just ready to run and quit standing around!!
waiting for the race
Because of all the rain, they had to make a change to the half because a bridge was out (gushing water over it) and they didn’t want us to run over it – nice!!!
We finally started and I could tell right away that we were running slower than normal. About half-way through the first mile we went through a small ravine and I realized that my efforts to avoid the puddles before the race were a complete joke!
Oh, well – might as well just go with it!!
about 2 miles in
Around mile 3 Hunter wanted to slow down and I told him we were already going a lot slower than normal – I think he was just worried he wouldn’t be able to finish.
The 4th mile was an experience!!! We were running along and then this happened –
complete standstill
There was an area that was washed out and almost impassable. There was a rope tied to a few trees and basically one or two people had to pull it taut so the next person could use it to get through. It took a long time and then not even a quarter mile ahead we had to cross a stream and get over a log and up a steep bank to move on. Good thing Hunter was there because he showed me (and the people behind us) an easier way to get back up. (no picture because by this point our hands were covered in mud!)
Mile 4 took 26:57!
During mile 5 we left the forest (or whatever it was) and had to run up a mountain (OK, not a mountain!!) to get to the top of the dam (hence, Storm the Dam Trail Run).
Seriously, when we saw the hill on Friday Hunter figured we would have to run up it but I said, “No way – it’s way too long and steep!”
at the top – hard to tell how big the hill was
We didn’t get a full picture of the hill but Chris was at the bottom when he took the above picture. The nice thing about running along the top of the dam was the view! Gorgeous lake view for almost 2 miles!!!
truly a pretty run
Around mile 6 or 7, Hunter said he had to go to the bathroom – ummm…..plenty of bushes. He said, “No.” I told him to just suck it up then!!!
For about 4 miles Hunter was pretty cranky and I had to just keep him going.
still running
It’s funny because all the pictures Chris was able to get make it look like a fairly easy trail run! However, it was not!!! We spent 8-9 miles of the race slogging through 2-3 inch deep mud and water. It was like skating on mud – fun stuff!
Around mile 11, Hunter finally realized that he was going to finish even with all of his discomfort!!! He started being a little peppier and we picked off over 15 people in the last 2 miles!!!
almost done – finally on pavement!!
(FYI – the girl in the green shorts ahead of us, passed us at the end – turns out she was the marathon winner – they started an hour before us)
a friend of mine came for the finish
Hunter was happy to see Mrs. Beisel (she used to be the counselor at his elementary) and her cute son!!! I think it was the first time he had smiled since we started!!! He said he smiled one other time during the race!!
FINISHED!!!
Not gonna lie, this might have been the only time the entire morning that I wasn’t smiling – I was a bit overcome with emotion and pride in Hunter!!
Like Hunter said, he trained for a road race. We ran through mud, creeks, hurdled numerous trees, climbed through barbed wire…..
muddy but happy
Hunter’s shorts took a beating – I think he fell at least 6 times during the race!!!
classy
Ummm….I don’t like to get my shoes dirty normally and this was mud to the extreme! Surprisingly, I loved every second of it and would do it again (even after a thunderstorm!!).
Megan and her little cutie, Grady
It was so nice to see a friend at the finish – thanks, Megan!!!
Good thing that we got a late checkout at the hotel so we could go shower before driving home!!!
Finish time – 2:39 (the goal had been 2:00 but that was before we knew what a trail race was!!!)
Place – 62 for Hunter, 63 for me (118 total runners)
Hunter was 4th out of 5 in his age group (11-19). Pretty impressive considering that he was the youngest (at 13) finisher in the half!
I went into this race planning to run it with Hunter (not race it) and I am so happy that I was able to share this experience with my son!!!
back home – clean and proudly wearing our shirts and medals
Truly, one of those days that couldn’t have been any better!! (Hunter just mumbled that it could have been a lot better – not sure how?!)
At the beginning of the summer Jordan decided he was going to get rid of his Legos.
See the Lego pile?!
