Austin begins kindergarten today.
And I'm the one who is as nervous as a cat!
The moment of truth will be when the school bus comes. I don't know if he will get on with a smile and a wave; or if he will stop, cling, and I'll have to take him to school and peel him off at the door. I'm really praying for the first option. I want a peaceful parting.
Then I can worry about all the other things...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Good News for a Change
There's just too much bad news hitting the fan all the time it seems. So today, I have to shout out the good stuff...
A friend of mine who has boys that are friends of Austin's just found out that a biopsy came back benign. Yes! Yes!! YES!!!
Gotta celebrate that.
A friend of mine who has boys that are friends of Austin's just found out that a biopsy came back benign. Yes! Yes!! YES!!!
Gotta celebrate that.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Morning Of
I am sitting in a darkened hotel room, with Austin sleeping in the bed. Rob and Robbo are in the lobby eating breakfast. It is 5:38 a.m.
In less than 3 hours, Robbo will run the 1500M race at the AAU Jr Olympics. He has been training for this for months. He has been waiting for this for over a year. His body is prepared; I hope I have done my part in preparing him emotionally.
He is only thirteen. I am forty-three. This is a big race, a national race, no matter what age you are. But I have years with me, I have perspective. He is a young teenager, every day is bigger than life. Every race defines you.
Which is why I have (I should more accurately say "we," as in his dad and I) kept telling him to "have fun," and "do your best." It's why we remind him that "all athletes have good days and bad days." It's the reason we are quick to point out the examples of great athletes coming back from poor performances.
I want him to succeed more than anyone. But I guess it's only parental nature to want to help prepare him for any falls along the way. I want him to know that he is good enough no matter what. That he doesn't have to run fast or get good grades or score a lot of points or anything like that to be someone special or to be loved. Just being himself is enough.
So go, Robbo. Go and run this morning. Run knowing that you are loved by God and by us...
In less than 3 hours, Robbo will run the 1500M race at the AAU Jr Olympics. He has been training for this for months. He has been waiting for this for over a year. His body is prepared; I hope I have done my part in preparing him emotionally.
He is only thirteen. I am forty-three. This is a big race, a national race, no matter what age you are. But I have years with me, I have perspective. He is a young teenager, every day is bigger than life. Every race defines you.
Which is why I have (I should more accurately say "we," as in his dad and I) kept telling him to "have fun," and "do your best." It's why we remind him that "all athletes have good days and bad days." It's the reason we are quick to point out the examples of great athletes coming back from poor performances.
I want him to succeed more than anyone. But I guess it's only parental nature to want to help prepare him for any falls along the way. I want him to know that he is good enough no matter what. That he doesn't have to run fast or get good grades or score a lot of points or anything like that to be someone special or to be loved. Just being himself is enough.
So go, Robbo. Go and run this morning. Run knowing that you are loved by God and by us...
Monday, August 3, 2009
Thousands of Miles
I woke up this morning to the sad news that Maggie Lee Henson is no longer with us. Maggie Lee was a 12-year-old who had been fighting for her life since being injured in the FBC Shreveport bus accident in Meridian, Mississippi, three weeks ago.
I have no personal connections to Maggie Lee. I don't know her. I don't know her parents (although we travelled similar paths at Baylor and Southwestern). But it could have just as easily be me sitting in that critical care unit - either as a patient, or as a youth minister, hoping and praying for one of my students to survive.
I can't count the number of miles I have travelled on a bus carrying kids and chaperones. Youth camps. Retreats. Choir tours. Ski trips. Mission trips. Thousands and thousands of miles.
I have no words. A lot of questions. A lot of gratitude. But no words except these:
Go headlong into the arms of Jesus, Maggie Lee... go and giggle and dance!
I have no personal connections to Maggie Lee. I don't know her. I don't know her parents (although we travelled similar paths at Baylor and Southwestern). But it could have just as easily be me sitting in that critical care unit - either as a patient, or as a youth minister, hoping and praying for one of my students to survive.
I can't count the number of miles I have travelled on a bus carrying kids and chaperones. Youth camps. Retreats. Choir tours. Ski trips. Mission trips. Thousands and thousands of miles.
I have no words. A lot of questions. A lot of gratitude. But no words except these:
Go headlong into the arms of Jesus, Maggie Lee... go and giggle and dance!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Kindle vs. Books
Rob got me an Amazon Kindle for my birthday. It should arrive tomorrow, so I am anxiously awaiting the big brown truck to pull up at the end of our driveway. I'm not sure whether or not I'll actually allow the driver to take a few steps up the hill or whether I'll meet him as he hops from his always-open door. The answer is probably as simple as whether or not we are home at the time of his arrival.
I am excited, as you can tell.
I must admit, I have always been a lover of books. Not just of reading, but of books themselves. Books are friends. They are a comforting presence, a sign of accomplishment, an open invitation, a collection of memories - both published and created. I like to hold books, touch the pages, see them on the shelves. I'm not sure how it will feel to just jump ship to an electronic version. It feels like I am committing an act of betrayal.
Yet I am loving the idea of acquiring a new read in less than 60 seconds. In having a newspaper waiting for me each morning. Of not weighting down my backpack on a trip with multiple books (rather with 10.6 oz.!). Of being able to pull out my Kindle and read without a thought of "now which page was I on?" There are a lot of things that I am looking forward to with my new gadget.
My bookshelves might start growing lighter as time passes. But there are some "friends" that will always come to live on them in hard copy no matter what...
Even if I do happen to read them on Kindle first!
I am excited, as you can tell.
I must admit, I have always been a lover of books. Not just of reading, but of books themselves. Books are friends. They are a comforting presence, a sign of accomplishment, an open invitation, a collection of memories - both published and created. I like to hold books, touch the pages, see them on the shelves. I'm not sure how it will feel to just jump ship to an electronic version. It feels like I am committing an act of betrayal.
Yet I am loving the idea of acquiring a new read in less than 60 seconds. In having a newspaper waiting for me each morning. Of not weighting down my backpack on a trip with multiple books (rather with 10.6 oz.!). Of being able to pull out my Kindle and read without a thought of "now which page was I on?" There are a lot of things that I am looking forward to with my new gadget.
My bookshelves might start growing lighter as time passes. But there are some "friends" that will always come to live on them in hard copy no matter what...
Even if I do happen to read them on Kindle first!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The First Day of My Forty-Fourth Year
Yeah, yeah... "today is the first day of the rest of your life." That's true every day for every one of us. But today, on my 43rd birthday, I want to intentionally make some choices about how I will spend my 44th year.
I feel like my life is becoming somewhat my own again. Not completely, because, well, it just isn't. When you are a mom and a wife, you are not your own. ;-) But Austin will start kindergarten in a month, which means I will have about two-and-a-half hours a day to spend of my own choosing. I want to use that time to write, hone my coaching skills, read, be creative, and catch up on movies and music that have piled up during the last five years of diapers, playdates, track meets, and tournaments.
Don't get me wrong, my fourty-fourth year will be just as fast-paced, if not more so. I'm just trying to be more intentional with how I spend my "My" time. And posting it here is one way to make myself accountable.
Day One: Off to work on the book...
I feel like my life is becoming somewhat my own again. Not completely, because, well, it just isn't. When you are a mom and a wife, you are not your own. ;-) But Austin will start kindergarten in a month, which means I will have about two-and-a-half hours a day to spend of my own choosing. I want to use that time to write, hone my coaching skills, read, be creative, and catch up on movies and music that have piled up during the last five years of diapers, playdates, track meets, and tournaments.
Don't get me wrong, my fourty-fourth year will be just as fast-paced, if not more so. I'm just trying to be more intentional with how I spend my "My" time. And posting it here is one way to make myself accountable.
Day One: Off to work on the book...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Judson Louis Hale, Sr. (1937 - 2009)
For Mr. Hale -- Things I Remember
It's been three decades and more
Since I played daily in your yard
And often ate at your table
With you and Ms. Ann
And Judson, David, and Missy
As I've strolled down memory lane
I've realized how fortunate I was to know you
To have best friends that called you "Dad"
Which meant I got to be one of the kids in your village
I guess that's the luck of geography
There were the countless evenings at Babb Park
Cheering on whichever team Bucky and Diggy
Were playing on at the time
And rides in the El Camino up the hill to Dairy Queen
To celebrate someone's home run
Or just because someone asked if we could go and you said "yes"
I remember you being lots of fun
But also knowing you meant business, too
You commanded respect and taught obedience
Which is probably why we scrambled and sweated all afternoon one day
Cleaning up a powder-filled storage room, after setting off the fire extinguisher
Desperate praying for the delay of your arrival home
Time can do funny things to our memories
Things that we remember to be larger than life
Somehow seem smaller as adults
However, there is one thing that I remember about you
That time will never change
It was the twinkle in your eye when you talked about your kids.
I remember being 9, 10, 11 years old and watching your eyes light up
Whenever you said anything about them.
I knew you loved them.
But I could sense that you liked them too.
How cool was that?!?
It was all about the twinkle
I can still see it when I close my eyes
And it reminds me that not only does my Heavenly Father love me
But he likes me, too
I was blessed to have you play such an important role
During my growing up years.
And for you and your family, I will always be thankful.
It's been three decades and more
Since I played daily in your yard
And often ate at your table
With you and Ms. Ann
And Judson, David, and Missy
As I've strolled down memory lane
I've realized how fortunate I was to know you
To have best friends that called you "Dad"
Which meant I got to be one of the kids in your village
I guess that's the luck of geography
There were the countless evenings at Babb Park
Cheering on whichever team Bucky and Diggy
Were playing on at the time
And rides in the El Camino up the hill to Dairy Queen
To celebrate someone's home run
Or just because someone asked if we could go and you said "yes"
I remember you being lots of fun
But also knowing you meant business, too
You commanded respect and taught obedience
Which is probably why we scrambled and sweated all afternoon one day
Cleaning up a powder-filled storage room, after setting off the fire extinguisher
Desperate praying for the delay of your arrival home
Time can do funny things to our memories
Things that we remember to be larger than life
Somehow seem smaller as adults
However, there is one thing that I remember about you
That time will never change
It was the twinkle in your eye when you talked about your kids.
I remember being 9, 10, 11 years old and watching your eyes light up
Whenever you said anything about them.
I knew you loved them.
But I could sense that you liked them too.
How cool was that?!?
It was all about the twinkle
I can still see it when I close my eyes
And it reminds me that not only does my Heavenly Father love me
But he likes me, too
I was blessed to have you play such an important role
During my growing up years.
And for you and your family, I will always be thankful.
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