Spring Break and Catch-Up | Weekending
Get ready for some bullets. And not the kind my kids learned about at the airplane museum [now I hear "let's play world war two!" SHUDDER]. We've had a serious chat about this. So yeah, the try-to-tell-a-lot-of-things-in-a-short-amount-of-space kind of bullets. :)
- We went out in search of fun times last week, being that it was our state's designated week of freedom from imposed learning. We still did our fair share of learning [examples: OMSI, Tillamook Cheese Factory, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum]. And also How Not to Behave on Public Transportation and What to Order for Breakfast at McDonalds and Yes, Your Shoes Will Have Sand In Them After You Play at the Beach. I'm learning that our trips are the most fun when looked back upon a few months later. Not always in the exact moments. Although there were some pretty seriously exhilarating moments going down the waterslides together, me and Buzz in a double tube. And seeing Peter's LIT UP face after going down the body slide by himself, finally tall enough and totally brave. #roadtripsareawesome
- The week before Spring Break was nutso with training for a new job {more on that later, maybe} and speaking at a nearby MOPS meeting. Super crazy. Who am I?
- Just before we left, Peter's Lego EV3 arrived in the mail. Poor timing! Now, he doesn't want to go anywhere that his EV3 can't go!. He pined for it most of the trip. Reunited on Friday, he has spent almost every waking hour building and programming and now has a fully functional robotic dog that barks and sleeps and chews its Lego bone and kicks and growls when it's mad. Totally our kind of pet. We can turn it off when we're done with it! Today I heard him across the house telling his dog that it "needs some manners". "He's being bad, mommy, he's not cooperating!" #whostheparentnow
- Our bucket of caterpillars and praying mantis egg all hatched while we were gone [I debated taking them with us, but seriously? who takes praying mantis eggs on a road trip?]. Thankfully they were still alive and hadn't eaten each other. We released the butterflies and most of the mantises. Well, maybe all. I was hoping to keep one or two to observe, but I think they'll fare better in the outdoors. #wearenotpetpeople
- I need to get a prescription for malaria meds this week and finalize my packing list. I better not be tired of traveling, for off to Haiti I go! I'll be photographing and collecting stories for NRI, my volunteer gig. I just LOVE their heart and what they're doing for the people of Haiti. #apriliscrazy
weekend sharing ||
- Lindsey Kubly, who speaks my mind for me, writes about being a mother and an introvert "You see, introverts' loneliness comes from a lack of emotionally and intellectually rich relationships."
- Stacey Montgomery, photographer and kindred spirit, writes about doing more of what you're passionate about, what you love
- Shauna Niequist, beautiful soul and writer, says this in her recent post: "There are a million ways to be a writer, a million ways to be a mother, and a million ways to make a difference, and it's worth taking the time to listen to your life and listen to your calling and listen to your family and community." Preach sista.
- This. Because quite often I think about the meaning of life and wonder how to make a life like this. LOVE.
And finally, this poem:
Make the Ordinary Come Alive
by William Martin
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
And please tell me you've listened to this song and at least tapped your feet. ;)