Month in Numbers - March 2013

A little late but here nonetheless...

Spent 3 days in Seattle with Troy for our first visit to Emerald City Comic-con. We had 3 day passes and visited the convention at least once each day.

 While in Seattle visited the Seattle Public Library 3 times. Took Troy there for his 1st time.

 And met, for the very 1st time(!), my big brother (outside of the library at 1000 4th Avenue). Brother number 2 out of 3. I am very blessed in the brother department (and I don't want to leave out that I have 1 pretty amazing sister as well).

 Had my 1st pedicure of the year on all 10 of my toes! :)

 

Watched 8 amazing seniors (and many other wonderful boys) be honored for their time spent wrestling. Archer made 24 little Key Lime pies for the event. Proud mama moment.

Took 1 more trip to Seattle to visit with my brother again(!) and had 1 piece of the best pie ever (!) at High 5 Pie.

Worked for 6 days at Cheeks so Laura could go on vacation. Now have 2 new pair of jeans for myself, 1 for my sister, and several shirts as well...(and a reminder of what it is like to work in retail).

wearing 1 pair of Merrells from the shoe store that previously was in Cheeks' location!

2 family gatherings, 1 for Paula's 57th birthday in Lynden and 1 for Easter in Marysville.

...and finally, sent my 1 boy off for 10 days in Palau (6440 miles away) with his grandparents. (The photo has nothing to do with it, I just think it's hilarious! haha)

March was awesomely busy...loved the craziness of it all!

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10 (more) things.

I've been reading (as in I've read and am rereading) Susannah Conway's book This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart. I don't have words for how much I love it so I won't even try. I just think everyone should read it...and so I recommended it to several people and one friend in particular who I KNEW needed it. As she was reading through it she'd text me and we'd meet and we had some of the best conversations. Last time we met she asked me about my 10 things (an exercise Susannah included at the end of one of the chapters).

So, I tried to come up with things I haven't already listed here.

Here you go Teresa. This list is for you. And me. And whoever.

 1. I'm a hugger. It's true. I love to hug. Sometimes.
 2. I love solitude.
 3. Until I need my people, then I NEED my people.
 4. My idea of heaven is big water and big trees.
 5. Music is necessary. Absolute must have.
 6. Quiet is golden. It's important to have both and know when each is needed. I suppose that kinda goes along with number 2, so I should add a number 11.
 7. I over use commas (a lot, lot, lot) and exclamation points (I'm so not sorry about this!) and ellipsis(ses...)...oh and (parentheses). I guess I just overuse punctuation. It's ok.
 8. I don't like clocks. Some people think this is weird. But. Whatever.
 9. I like to underline my books. Which is is why I need to buy non-fiction.
10. I swear. A lot. My child reprimands me and I try to keep it appropriate (like in public and such) but I do swear and I don't apologize for it.
11. I have a fourth sibling. On my other list I said I love all three of my siblings. But now I have four and I love him too...I love all FOUR of my siblings. And I think that is the perfect way to end this list!

I love life in the Puget Sound.

 

there really isn't a way of getting around the "new year looking forward, looking back" thing that seems to inhabit individuals at this time of year. 

of course I get caught up in it too.

it's not a huge farewell and a glorious hello.

more like a gentle turning of a page.

I've spent the last week in quiet reflection and will probably spend the next week about the same. 

writing. planning. reviewing. dreaming. 

2012 was good. of course I am generally a glass-half-full kind of girl. there were some hard times but in general I can say I'm glad 2012 happened.

and...I'm looking forward to 2013.

 with the help of 

Susannah Conway, I've begun Unravelling the Year Ahead

and Carolyn Rubenstein, I've thrown a little Reverb Remix 2012 in...

it's felt pretty good to be a little more focused on the reflection of the past, the living in the right now, and the looking forward to what may come. 

welcome 2013

...and I'm loving it

I woke up this morning the mom of a senior. In high school. I wasn't sure if I'd be sad or not. I'm not. I'm excited. I love the first day of school. I love the anticipation of what this year holds.
I would love to bottle the enthusiasm of being 17 and knowing that life is wide open...My wish for the boy this year is to embrace it all, love it all, enjoy every moment.........and my plan for ME is to live my wish for him. Lead by example? Heck yeah!

Let's do this!

when dreams come true

When I was a little girl all I wanted was a sister. I believed that if I had a sister that I would always have a friend. A friend to play with as a child, a friend to talk to, a friend to be a friend for life. And while now I realize that not all sisters are friends I didn't realize it then.

Alas, I lived my childhood sister-less.

I had a brother. A big brother. A mean brother who didn't really like me around. Of course I worshiped him. I thought he was the best thing in the world and I spent so much time wishing he'd like me too. There are moments, moments in pictures that I see he loved me but the memories are mostly of him wanting to rid himself of me. I think that's normal. Now that we're adults we're good. A little of that sibling rivalry still lives on. Sometimes I still like to see how far I can push him, how many buttons I can push...that's just a little sister thing and truly I am really good at it.

But back to the sister thing. So, I really wanted a sister. When I was a kid. Like, when I lived on the lake and near woods. Someone to play with everyday and share a room. I obviously had an idealized version of what a sister would be...an idea that only comes from the girl who didn't have a sister. In my mind my sister was blonde. She was the blonde me. Her name varied from Kendra to Samantha. She was a bit more girly than me...I knew exactly what I wanted in a sister.

Well, childhood came and went with no sister (although I had cousins and friends who filled the role nicely).

Then, when I was 15 after my mom had been remarried for several years and had given birth to my baby brother (who I adored), a sister was born. What the heck? The last thing I wanted at 15 was another baby in the house...one was enough thank you! And really? A sister? What good was a sister now at 15? We couldn't "play." We couldn't share clothes. We wouldn't share a room.

But my heart still soared. A sister! A baby brother. They would love me I just knew it. So, I did what I knew how. I loved them fiercely. I spoiled them and was their second mom. I bought them cute clothes, took them to the park and let them crawl in bed with me in the mornings.

And I gave them a nephew. Who they adore. They were a little aunt and uncle. And even after I moved out, got married, had my own little one I loved them with all my heart.

As they grew I grew. I knew we'd always have time (read: age) separating us. But that's alright.

And now...now that sister is 21. The sister I longed for for years is an adult and I am so blessed. She is everything a sister should be. We "play." We laugh. We talk. We don't necessarily share clothes...I am blessed by my sister...

my dream come true.