wADmM5mNLtOv064mhMCS_CYE3Bc Just Dorothy: November 2012

Boys of Fall

Boys of Fall


EFHS Football banquet last night marks the official end of football season.  It's bittersweet.  So glad the grueling schedule is over, both for Ryan and for us.  But I love watching those kids play.  They play with heart and passion and integrity.  They are held accountable for their actions as individuals and as a team.  They are applauded both as individuals and as a team.  They've played in blazing heat and chilly weather.  They've ran miles and miles and done countless up-downs and 55's and spent many, many hours in the weight room.  This link, Kenny Chesney's Boys of Fall, highlights everything football should be about.  From little PeeWee players to highly paid NFL pros. 

Next year, Ryan's senior year, I can't even think about it without getting emotional.  When he walks that field for the last time on Sr. night with his dad and I....I can't even finish that thought.  Every year he has debated back and forth about not playing and has always made the decision to stick with it.  He has played through illness and injury except when I pulled the Mom card and made him sit out for one game.  He has had awesome coaches and he's had men who should never be allowed to call themselves coach.  Each has taught Ryan, and us, something.  They've created learning experiences for those kids, good and bad. 

As soon as Ryan graduates, Zach will start his freshman year.  I have 5 more years as a football mom.  I'm in for the long haul and I couldn't be happier.

Congrats, Wolves on your banner, on being section CHAMPS for the first time ever!  You should all be very, very proud.  I know your parents are.

Notes to self...

Things I learned today:

Kiwi doesn't taste so good right after brushing your teeth.

Don't go hiking on an empty stomach, especially with your panicky husband. :)

Don't go hiking and then to the store to buy break and bake cookies.  :(

It's never a good idea to try to jog a trail without the proper undergarments.




Weekend Randomness...

Went hiking yesterday by myself.  One more reason I love living in EMR: several trails to choose from.  Anyway, I had my earphones in, listening to music, and I thought of every single murder mystery show I've ever watched where they always find the girl buried in a shallow grave because some maniac is waiting on the trail, sees the perfect opportunity and attacks.  And I thought about how I couldn't hear if anyone were to come up behind me because of my earphones.  Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see someones shadow behind me.  I jumped and turned around really fast, like a ninja ready to fight to the death if I had to.  I think I scared him a little, this man on his mountain bike.  "Good morning!" I say a little to loudly and scootch over to the side of the trail to let him pass. 

Further up the trail, about a mile in, I keep thinking I want to go further but being all by myself it's probably not a good idea.  I'm seriously bad with directions (yes, Steve has me on Life360 so he can "map" me and direct me home, if needed) and get turned around very easily.  And it was getting steep and I thought, if I fall and break an ankle or something, no one will ever find me and I'll die out here.  So, I kept going, naturally.  About another half mile.  And then I hear men sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".  Boot campers of some sort on the mountain with me, but on the other side, on a different trail.  They got through it three times and couldn't quite get the cadence down so they stopped.  I finally turned around and kept to the trail all the way back down.  Turns out I would have been fine if anything had happened. By the time I was heading down, there were 6 more people on the trail.  Popular little place!

So this morning, I'm taking Steve, against his will, to the trail.  He told me last night, "I'm such a sucker for you", so I'm taking full advantage of it!

Thank you!

Monday is Veteran's Day.  Facebook will be flooded with posts thanking veterans in general and veterans specifically.  I have a few to thank personally. 

Thanks to my amazing husband, Steve, for his service in the Army and then the National Guard.  I'm happy he's out, but proud of his service. 

Thank you to my brother-in-law Kevin.  Currently serving in Afghanastan, due home in December.  Can't wait to see him again!!  Thanks to my sister Amy, for holding everything together at home while he's gone.  You are very brave, Mim!

Thank you to Jordan Stanton, for making the ultimate sacrifice.  I've never met you, but I've heard lots of stories and great things about you.  I pray for peace for your family.  I know they are proud of you and miss you. 

Thanks to my groovy cousins Spencer, currently serving in Japan in the Air Force, and Valarie for her service in the Air Force, too!

I appreciate all of you, the sacrafices you've made, the sacrafices your family has made, to keep our country safe.  Please stay safe, and those currently serving overseas, please come home soon.  We love and miss you!

Oh, hello panic! It's been a year since I've seen you...

Every stinkin year I do this to myself.  Actually I think the retail industry does it to me.  I panic starting in November about how I'm not ready for the holidays. 

AlltheThanksgivingandChristmasstuffisoutandpeopleareshoppingandIhaven'tevenbegunandIfeellikeI'mbehindandI'llnevercatchupandnothingwillgetdoneandI'llfeelsadanddepressedthatIdidn'tmakeitasamazingandmemorablefortheboysasIwouldhavelikedand...

And then I remember that I work Monday through Friday and I'm off by 3:45 every day and I work for a school so I get some extra time off and that I am HOME, which is exactly where I wanted to be, that I couldn't take one more Christmas being away from HOME and now I am HOME.  So I just need to relax and know that I have time to get things done and it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be filled with joy.  And it will be, because we are home, and have much to be thankful for, much to be excited about.

I should probably stay out of stores though, just in case.

I think I'm dying....

It's November in Arizona.  It's 91 degrees in November in Arizona.  This sucks.  The mornings are nice a chilly, enough to wear a sweater.  Or not.  By lunch time kids out on the playground have red cheeks, are sweating and are crabby due to the heat.  So are teachers.  And librarians. 

It's hard to feel festive and autumnal when it's in the 90's.  I'd almost kill for rain right now.  Maybe I should move to England where I hear it rains all the time.  I hear Germany gets a lot of rain, too. 

Certainly something to think about....

:)

Beanie Weenie

November 5th, 1999.  That's the day our youngest was born.  The day my life would be changed again, going from a mom of one to a mom of two.  I worried that I could not possibly love anyone as much as I loved Ryan.  I was so wrong.

My pregnancy with him was so much easier than with Ryan.  He was also a little smaller when born, thank God!  Ry was 9 lbs 4 oz, Zach, a puny 8 lbs 7 oz.  That was a piece of cake compared.  From the moment he was born though, he made his presence known.  He cried a lot.  He fussed a lot.  He threw major fits.  No one that attended family camp May 2001 will ever let him forget "baba chockit milk!".  Ever.  At his wedding, I guarantee someone will bring it up.  Probably me.  He would cry in the car, almost always.  Ryan would do something to piss him off and he would throw a fit.  The only way to calm him was to rub his foot.  My arms would go numb rubbing that tiny foot just so he'd stop.  Zach would climb his dresser and pull every single thing out of his drawers, tossing them on the floor.  At just over a year he launched himself out of his crib and never returned.  He would destroy cassette tapes while he was supposed to be napping.  He's the reason I had to turn door knobs inside out and lock him in his room from the outside.  That kid was exhausting.  Completely adorable but exhausting.

The day that kid turned 3 was like a switch was flipped and it just stopped.  He had a sense of humor, this new kid.  He became random.  Still is today, which I absolutely love.  I think he gets it from me.  Steve knows he gets it from me.  I will never, ever, for as long as I live, forget the cowboy song he made up and sang to me in the car on the way over to his grandparents house.  I had to pull over to the side of the road to collect myself, the tears of laughter rolling down my face.  I couldn't breathe.  Only my kid would make up a song about cowboys, chocolate chip cookies and jousting. 

He's kind, polite, smart and handsome.  He's stubborn.  Steve swears he gets that from me, too.  I refuse to admit it.  He's persistent. 

He's perfect. 

Happy 13th Birthday my little Bean!  I love you!