High Five for Friday (7.23.21)

One 

If all goes according to plan, the kids and I - along with my mom, who graciously offered to make the cross-country trek with me - will arrive home in College Station tonight after another two-day marathon drive. I'm hoping for only short stints in the car for the next month or so!

Two

Our last week in Madison included many of our favorite activities: visiting the Henry Vilas Zoo, Vilas beach, and the farmers' market; playing miniature golf at the Vitense and LOTS of disc golf (I think the boys played all but one of our 12 days here); eating at Rocky Rococo's Pizza, Culver's, Chocolate Shoppe, and Greenbush Bakery; and a little shopping at some of my favorite stores we don't have in College Station...including Athleta, Orange Tree, and the "upstairs Target", which is my kids' favorite for browsing. 😂

Three

Our last week in Madison also included a few new activities: the UW Geology Museum, kayaking on both Lake Monona and Lake Wingra, and the 19th hole at the Olbrich Beer Garden. We rounded out the fun with bike shopping for Hallie, a couple of pretty epic family game nights, and a hysterical "blindfolded" soda taste test/challenge.

Four

We lucked out and happened to be in town during the County Fair, and we had a great (much better than expected) afternoon riding the rides, meeting some of the animals, and watching a fun performance by escape artist Lady Houdini. We've taken the kids to the fair before (though this activity isn't an every-year guarantee), but this was the most enjoyable time we've had - the weather was lovely, there were NO lines for rides, and Hallie was finally brave enough to go on ALL of the "scary" rides with Will.

Five

Speaking of, and last but not least, the WEATHER. This was the overall nicest July we've experienced weather-wise in years. As I type this post, I'm relaxing with a cup of coffee on my parents back porch after coming back from a long walk with my mom. It's 75 degrees and there's a light breeze, and the backyard looks like a Disney movie: there are flowers blooming and vegetables ripening all around me, the tire swing hangs quietly, waiting for the kids to wake up and take it for a spin, and I can see a mama rabbit and two babies bunnies frolicking in the grass as well as a cardinal, a sparrow, and a hummingbird flitting between the bird feeder and the trees. I'm just not ready to go back to 90+ degree temperatures and 100% humidity...

Happy Friday, friends!

Triumphant Tuesday: First the Pain, then the Rising

Courtesy of the inspirational Glennon Doyle:

If we stopped being so afraid of pain, we would find our power.

If we stopped being so afraid of pain, we would become the parents our kids need. It's not our job - nor our right - to protect our kids from pain. It's our job to point them directly toward their struggle and say, "see that? That was made for you. Your journey is straight through your story. I see your fear, and it's big. But I also see your courage - and it's bigger. You can do hard things.

If we stopped being so afraid of pain we would become the kind of friends our people need. We don't need our friends to try to fix our pain - pain, like joy, is holy. We need friends who are brave enough to be still with our pain, who will sit - stunned and sad and powerless - with us. Because friendship is just two people not being God together.

If we stopped being afraid of pain, we'd become the kind of Americans our nation needs. We cannot afford to become numb to the pain of these difficult days. The pain has woken us up and united us. It is a painful gift. Our collective pain will become our collective power.

Our power to rise is inside of our pain in our relationships, our communities, and our country. First the pain, then the rising. First the pain, then the rising.

I came across these words YEARS ago, and they've quietly rested, untouched in a blog post draft, for nearly that long. Until I came across them at the end of June and realized both how much I needed them and how closely they match up with where I find myself "life-wise"...as a mother, a friend, and an American, but also as an individual. 

I don't deny that I am afraid of pain. Not physical pain, interestingly enough, but emotional and mental pain. I need to learn how to sit with pain, to really feel it, and then move forward - toward progress and, hopefully, eventual happiness - despite the hurt. Perhaps this will be my resolution* for the coming year.  

For a variety of reasons, I set myself free from resolutions about a year-and-a-half ago. Read the post in which I explain my thought process here, and if you want a good laugh, check the date of the post and then scroll to and read just the last paragraph. 

High Five for Friday (7.16.21)

 

One

After the 4th of July, our almost-week at the Lodge included a 40th birthday celebration for Tom, pulling/chopping down a few trees, building a new flagpole (from one of the trees that came down), lounging on the lake, tubing, fishing, playing disc golf and ladder ball, baking cakes and lemon bars and brownies and cookies, making s'mores, and indulging in both an authentic crab boil and a traditional Wisconsin Friday night (on Thursday) fish fry. 

                                           

The Lincoln Lodge is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit, and I always wish our stays were longer. 

I vividly remember coming here when Will and Hallie were little. When we had to watch them like hawks to make sure they didn't wander down to the lake, when our mornings and afternoons and evenings were structured around making sure they napped and slept well at night, when we had to bring pack-n-play cribs and bouncy chairs to keep them contained as well as toys and games and activities to keep them occupied, when we had to plan meals around what Will could eat, when I had a different kind of job that required me to go into town and work for hours a few times a week so I wouldn't fall too far behind. Those trips were harder...less vacation-like...in many ways, and I LOVE being here at the Lodge with them as big kids who are independent and self-sufficient and a part of just about everything that the adults are doing. But what I wouldn't give to rewind and start over with them as little bits. Everything about this year's trip has reminded me that babies just don't keep.   

Two

On my dad's birthday we drove south from Minocqua to Madison so we could celebrate with him. The boys played a great round of disc golf (where we also said a quick hello to my aunt and uncle who had been in Madison but were on their way out of town), and then we all met at the Union for popcorn, lemonade, and beer by the lake. We wrapped up the evening with an Italian dinner out and Chocolate Shoppe ice cream in. 

The following day we continued the celebration - now also celebrating Tom's 40th birthday as well - with presents as well as raspberry rhubarb pie (my dad grew both the raspberries and rhubarb himself), pecan coconut chess pie, and a wacky cake. 

Three

When not celebrating birthdays, we had a great weekend catching up after 18 MONTHS with my parents as well as my sister, bro-in-law, niece, and nephew. I took almost no pictures...

Making lemonade.

Will and Gramps playing in the weekly neighborhood pick-up
soccer game. It's fun to see this group of guys - Will, a couple
of older teens, a few in their 30s, and a bunch in their 50s, 60s,
and 70s - play together. The group let Will play when he was 12,
and it was cool to see them welcome him back two years later.

Listening to Gramps playing his ukelele on the back porch while I
enjoyed my morning coffee. The weather here has been amazing.

Four

Summer hair, don't care. 

Except I care a little, because it is OUT OF
CONTROL. It makes him happy though, so
I'm letting it make me happy too.

Five

Tux LOVED spending the first 12 or so days of the month with Kaylee (definitely his favorite person outside of our immediate family and probably his third favorite person overall behind Will and Tom), but he was so happy to see Tom when he made it home earlier this week. Leaving Tux is one of the hardest parts about our summer travels, but it gives us great peace of mind knowing that Kaylee (and her mama, my friend Mandi) takes such good care of him in our absence.

Happy weekend, friends!

Throwback Thursday...On Tuesday

Over the course of the last couple of months I've come across/gained access to a number of older photos. Some go back just a few years, some go back 30-35 years, and one goes back 65 or so years. Summer, especially when we're traveling*, can be tough for creating new content, so July is the perfect time for Throwback Thursday (on Tuesday, because I like to maintain my posting schedule) posts. Enjoy!

Somehow I never posted (or at least I don't think I ever posted nor can I find) these dance buddy pics, taken by the talented Casey Duke. These three seem so much older now, even though only two short years have passed...

I'm so grateful for the gift of watching my children - and their friends - grow older, and the gift of growing older myself. But I would give anything to go back...if even just for a moment or two.

Next up, a few oldies but goodies from Tom's childhood. He's the oldest of the four kiddos in his family, so that should help you find him in the line ups.

I feel like I've known Tom's family for forever - I met his siblings when they were 16yo, 14yo, and 12yo - but obviously I didn't know them when they were itty bitty so it's fun to see new pictures of them as babies and young children.

Last but not least, a pic of my mom and her younger sister as little girls. There were - are - so few pictures of my mom during her childhood years that each new one we come across feels like a gift. 

Happy Tuesday, friends. I hope today treats you like the Thursday we all wish it was!

By the time you read this, Tom's travels will have come to an end and he'll be home again, holding down the fort. Just an FYI... 😉