When did we stop??

I learn a lot from watching my kids. Now that they are getting a little older its fun to watch the excitement contained in all of them about the future. I love that most any teen you meet has this energy that allows them to pursue anything that piques their interest. They like music, they play an instrument or sing their hearts out. They like sports they go out and play and run as if they were in an Olympic event. Take a minute to watch a bunch of 10-13 year old boys run no matter if they are big or small, fast or slow the determination on their faces and the quick pumping of their arms, you would think they are in serious training! The excitement that comes with getting old enough for a "real job" or getting that first drivers license permit. I think we all remember the excitement when you first have your license and someone asks you to run to the store...alone!! Ohh the freedom we felt, the radio on the station of our choice, the newly printed license sitting in the new wallet you now have to carry.... So then what happens, when do we stop believing in making our lives our own. When were we told we can't, we won't or we aren't and when did we start believing it. When did the security of the mundane take over the excitement of the unknown? Its our one life. In the end it will matter who we have touched, and who is by our bedside. Famous or not, rich or poor, we all end up exactly the same, we enter the world with nothing and we leave the world with nothing. It all amounts to how much we lived while we were alive. I say all this as the most security routine person alive! There is some value to knowing how to stay orderly and disciplined and a place for it. However I somehow believed the lie along the way that said, you are getting older, you cannot do this or that, your time for this or that has passed. I don't run through life because somewhere along the line I sat down. I believed the lie that it matters to conform. No one wants to be the awkward lady, but us quiet ladies secretly envy the ones who aren't afraid to stand out be bold and laugh! I read about ladies who live life with gusto and think back to when I believed I could be or do whatever I worked hard enough for. Its time to get up and run, let the kids energy be contagious! Its my one life, I don't get a do over!! So run people!!! Dance, laugh, enjoy :)

I am very good at...

While spending a little quiet time with a cup of tea this afternoon and checking in on all of my favorite blogs, it occurred to me. I am very very good at reading about how very very good many of you are at wonderful things! I read about amazing crafts people make and then about amazing homeschooling ideas and then I read about amazing dinners people are making....Yep that's the extent I read it :) I think ohhh that is snazzy or that is a great idea! Then I close up my computer and I go back to doing what ever I was doing. So I salute all you crafty, baking, curriculum making, spotless home ladies of the blog world. You are my inspiration and maybe after I get the dog off my feet and my hiney off the couch I may just may try one of those delightful ideas :)

Hey, when did I forget I liked that....

The other day I was taking our little puppy out at night and while waiting for her to....well do what puppies do....I looked up at the stars. It was a cool night but not cold and I suddenly remembered, I love looking at stars, its so relaxing. I thought about how many times I would sit outside or as a kid bring out some binoculars with my sister and check out the stars. Later we were talking about Florida and I was telling the kids how much I love the beach. A REAL beach, with warm sand, the sounds of seagulls and lapping waves. Then again I was thinking back to so many afternoons when I would go outside and watch the clouds form and drift, especially when storms were rolling in. Then at some point life became very busy....maybe it was the whole going from 2 to 7 kids in a couple years or something, but I stopped doing those things. I stopped doing them for so long I actually forgot I enjoy them! I also enjoy reading and taking baths, but again those have gotten lost in the busy! So I am making a point this year to get back to them. To take time to relax and look at the stars, read a book, watch the clouds. Life has got to be intentional or else it gets lost!!