Jared's First Deer

Jared got his first deer last weekend. Scott and the boys are busy making deer jerky, experimenting with different flavors...cajun, hickory, pepperoni, whisky pepper. So many delicious choices!

Perspective

The worst morning ever...or not. We were running late this morning (as usual). The bus leaves at 6:46am and it was 6:43am. In my haste to get Jared to the bus, I almost ran over the crossing guard who was quick to blow her whistle, place her hands on her hips and give me the stink eye. I took my foot off the gas for a moment, but with the bus in sight I pressed on vowing to purchase the crossing guard a shiny reflective vest ensuring her future safety.

Jared throws me a quick goodbye as Gabe begins to cry because his pants are still damp from the dryer and they feel funny. I assure him they will dry, kiss him goodbye and wish him a good day as he exits the car.

Jacob who doesn't care for morning and rarely speaks before 10am unless directly spoken to, sits next to me with swollen eyes and a stuffy nose of what may be an oncoming cold.

What a HORRIBLE morning! Wait, wait, wait!!!!!!! Before I completely fell into the "woe is me" mentality, I came to my senses and looked on the bright side. I did not kill the crossing guard, Jared didn't miss the bus, Gabe's pants will dry within an hour, and Jacob can still breathe out of his right nostril.

It's so easy to think about everything wrong in life. With a little perspective the same situation can have a whole lot right. :)

Finish the dilemma

I think you all know by now that I work at the same high school Jacob attends. This can be a very convenient at times, like when you run out of lunch money, school supplies, or need a schedule change your mom is nearby for a loan or to call in a favor. Today was not one of those days. Jacob needed to pick up some tickets from his Coach and I felt the need to remind him. The bell rang and I knew that Jacob had a class just down the hall and would be passing by the library. I unobtrusively opened the back door and stepped into the hallway waiting for Jacob to pass. I spotted him before he saw me. His face lit up and I realized his face hasn't lit up like that for me since he was maybe three or four so I glanced around the corner to see a young lady with the same expression on her face...and there I am in the middle. My dilemma...do I step quietly back into the library, or do I say what I came to say? Tell me what you'd do and in a few days I'll tell you the rest of the story.

Jacob tells me that he saw me as I quietly retreated into the library without saying a word. He said I looked like I was all over the place. I guess my indecision showed all over my face. I will from now on, I will say what I came to say. I mean really, how embarrassing can I be to my teenage son in the hallway at school during class change with all his friends around?

Fall Break

We've been on fall break the last two weeks and boy have we made the most of it. The biggest most exciting news is that we closed on our new land and met with an architect to begin drawing up house plans. Very exciting, but that also means cleaning and decluttering feverishly to put our current home on the market. All those little projects you put off suddenly become very important. We aren't sure when we'll put the house on the market, but we're acting as if a prospecting buyer is coming tomorrow. I really need to chill a little.

Fall break has also been a time of catching up on doctor's appointments. Gabe and I both visited the dentist, Jared had an eye check up, and Jacob had his wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Jacob's been down the last few days, but he's bouncing back fast. He's a very good patient with very little complaining.

We have managed to squeeze in a little fun also with a camping trip with friends and Mark, Dad & Martha visiting. Family, friends, food and shopping...can't beat that!

On a serious note, Scott's brother Brian was in a serious motorcyle accident that left him in the hospital for a week. It was pretty scary there for a few days but thankfully after surgery to repair shattered ribs and a punctured lung, he's home with his family and mending.

We also had very sad news this morning. My very sweet sister-in-law Kim lost her mother to cancer early this morning. Beverly fought a tremendous battle and was so very strong til the end. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Kim.

The Dog's Are Howling

Mark and Joseph are singing, so I must be slacking in the blogging department. Sorry! We've been busy with school, fall baseball, fundraising, dental appontments, etc...general everyday life.

Jacob had some exciting news yesterday. Coach pulled him and four other sophomores aside after practice and told them that he'd like them to go to Florida over Spring Break with the Varsity team. I'm sure they are going as back up in case someone gets hurt, but exciting never-the-less.

The Cake That Almost Wasn't

Yesterday I made a trip to WalMart where I purchased many items. Upon my return home I put away my purchases and began making lunch. I was searching for the cake mix I bought, but could find it nowhere. I looked in the pantry (no), the cereal cabinet (no), I even looked in the freezer to no avail. No cake mix! I then began to blame WalMart. They had done it again, forgot to transfer all my bags from their spinning bagging system into my cart.

It wasn't until this afternoon after church that I loaded the dishwasher and, reaching for the soap, discovered a small box of dishsoap that I didn't remember buying.

There sandwiched between two boxes dishsoap was my cake mix. Who put that there? I blame the kids. lol

I'm not telling you this story to highlight the fact that I'm losing my mind, but to reassure you that you're not losing yours or maybe that we're all in the same boat.

I am FURIOUS!

Okay, furious is a really strong word and probably not the best choice for how I'm feeling, but I am very angry and frustrated. Gabe has been asking to go to the skate park for a few weeks now. I guess he has a friend at school really talking it up. I finally, after putting it off for as long as humanly possible, agreed to take him today after school. Of course I hyped it up and even used our trip to the skate park as leverage. Oh don't judge, you do it too. "If you don't stop_____we won't go to the skate park."

So the appointed hour has arrived and we are primed for fun. I go into the community center to change out of my work clothes and ask the lady behind the desk if we need to do anything special to use the skate park. She says, "I'm sorry, the skate park is closed". CLOSED! I wanted to plead my case and sway her with how highly anticipated this trip to the skate park is. I wanted to tell her that she holds the shattered dreams of a 7 year old in the palm of her hand and that 7 year old was standing just on the other side of the glass double doors. I held back and instead asked...

Me: Why?
Lady: Some out of control teenagers have been breaking the rules and even made gyrating motions at me.
Me: Why didn't you kick them out instead of punishing everyone in the community?
Lady: We are trying to send a strong message that this kind of behavior won't be tolerated.

Okay this is where my soapbox starts...

This is a perfect example of why our society is in the pits. We no longer have clear consequences for our actions. You break something?, you fix it. You're rude and disrespectful in a public place?, you are kicked out for a certain amount of time. If you returned before you are supposed to?, you are trespassing and the police are called. You see my point.

We have not only lost consequences for negative behavior, but positive behavior as well. Example? Field day at the elementary school level...everyone receives a participation ribbon. They no longer award a 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. Why should you compete if everyone ends up the same anyway--no winner. Are jobs still awarded to the most qualified person, the person who works the hardest? I was recently given a book (Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax) that questions the "why" concerning apathy in the young men of our society. The book points part of the blame at the lack of competition in our society. The author states that most boys thrive and rise to the occasion when faced with a challenge or competition. He goes on to say that our current society has taken competition away in many cases leaving in it's place an apathetic generation of young men. Of course there are other factors as well, but the growing number of young men living back at home with mom and dad well into their 30's is proof that something is out of kilter.

How can we expect people to make good choices if they aren't personally held accountable for their bad choices? In addition, how can we expect people to work hard and strive to achieve if we don't reward their hard work?

Whew....glad I got that off my chest!