I’ve Been Distracted

There is nothing – nothing cuter than a bunch of boys who love each other. That kind of camaraderie is found in rare environs like, fighter squadrons, ministry groups and – wrestling teams.

Since my car accident last November, my mind has been in a fog – I found it hard to jump start my creativity and a sinking fear started to sink in – the fear that teenagers are joining twitter – and becoming my friends on Facebook – and finding that there is content on this blog about them.

And as I sit here I realize that I stand behind every typo-ridden post.

Behind every complaint about teenage uncleanliness, obstinate position, unfortunate decision making and general I-want-to-tear-my-hair-out confrontation is this – I love them and in every truce we make, I want them to know that.

Last night was Senior Night for the wrestling team and if how I felt after that ceremony is any indication of how I’ll be during graduation, then get ready for some raw emotion like you’ve never seen before.

The boys in the photo with me above are some that I love fiercely and the events of the last couple of weeks have been tough on them, their team, their coach and especially their parents.

I won’t go into detail but there was some behavior from some boys on the wrestling team (not pictured above) that caused ejection from the team, suspension from school and general disappointment from everyone.

Everything is good now – injustice was imposed, grace was bestowed, humility reigned and did those boys ever learn a lesson -

Tonight was the boy’s last mandatory practice and on the way home I asked how he felt.

He said it was bittersweet and that there was a lot that happened in that gym over the last three years. We reflected on the events of the last few weeks, from the lowest lows to well – an acceptance that once we do what we feel is right, the outcome is ultimately out of our hands.

The boy said it was an experience worth having, that he learned not only about wrestling the sport – but life in general – like when his coach made him wear a belt, or when he shaved for the first time, courtesy of his coach – or in this latest incident, how to accept the consequences for the decisions one makes. I was so proud of how he handled himself among his team mates. I can’t find the words to tell you.

He’s special. Then we went to get his hair cut. And I finally can quit nagging about his hair.

The end.

February 3, Today

Today I am at Vision and Verb. Please join me there…

My Introvert

As a child, my sister was extremely shy. So much so that she refused to go to school without me and since we were only 15 months apart, my mother held her back one year so that she would feel more comfortable starting school with her sister. Therefore, we were always together, had the same friends, and took the same classes. I’m not sure if it helped her to develop more self-confidence but it was nice to always have someone with whom to hang out – until of course our high school years when I started craving my own identity.

I’ve often wondered how things would have been for my sister had she started out on her own – independent of her security blanket.

Would she have been like my girl? Fiercely independent, calmly confident, secure in her own skin.

They are very much alike my sister and my girl. Both are extremely shy – some would say painfully so. I encourage the girl to always look adults in the eye and acknowledge their greetings. I tell her she doesn’t need to have a conversation but should always answer when spoken to.

And she does – for the most part.

I find that shy people tend to make others unsure of themselves. I find it so with the girl – people will approach and then sometimes feel rebuffed. It’s not her fault or theirs, but admit I wish it was different sometimes. She does teach me a couple things about myself – one of which is that it’s ok to not be liked by everyone. I’m a pleaser, she’s not. It is one of the many ways that I know she is a better person than I am.

And then there are her friends – it’s funny how she picks ‘em – or they pick her in some cases.

They’re a hoot – the whole lot and kit and kaboodle of them. It’s a wonderful blessed thing.

For Wordful Wednesday.

Dogfight

Hey you two – quit fighting!

Huh? Us?

I told you so! I knew you’d get us in trouble!

Sigh. It’s a day in a life don’t cha know? But they’re cute . . . it’s a good thing.

Little People Are Better Than Big People

I will be praying quite hard for all the children of the world between the ages of 12.5 and 18. These are the formative years, the fragile period of time when the choices they make will impact them in all of their adult lives – if their parents let them live that long. Some things that have gone “down” last week, and yes, there’s been “drama” and yes, my kids have been involved. I won’t bore you with the details since every single parent out there experiences the same things at one time or another. However – I will say this, I am so proud of my kids and this brings me to the conclusion that I have realized long ago – that they are better people than I am for I would have not have made the same decisions at their age. I was much more prone to making things difficult for myself.

They are a blessing – no doubt about it.

So now . . . how to tell you without really telling you about it? Just a short two years ago I was able to write freely but now they are older and – well – care about how they are portrayed on the Internet by their mother.

Go figure.

I’ll find a way . . .

Bar Brothers Of DC Redux

Yesterday I posted some photos of the Bar Brothers.

They are so much fun I thought I’d post some more photos today.

I looked at these photos and I think – I can do that.

Well, maybe not that.…

P90X is getting here on Friday! I’m getting mentally ready for my new hard body…

Yup.

A Win!

My boy – he won his wrestling match last week…

Just thought I’d mention…I’m all about good news this week. Happy Wednesday!

Bar Brothers & P90X

Chinatown in Washinton DC encompasses just a few blocks and compared to Chinatown in say – Honolulu – it is relatively small. We walked it in just a couple of hours and it would have taken a much shorter time had we not stopped and watched his young man hanging on some scaffolding. He stayed in this position for about 30 seconds.

Then he did this – abs and arms of steel…

Last week, I was looking for new inspiration for my work-out and on a whim, I purchased the P90X workout. I’m not working out until it arrives. No need to over-tax myself ahead of time.

This is a group of guys called Bar Brothers of DC. They apparently get together to climb on scaffolding.

It’s as good a reason as any to get together. Look at them…pretty cool.

This is their signature move – called the “muscle up.”

As we watched they had a contest to see who can do the most muscle ups.

They went down…

And up…

And down…my arms are starting to hurt…

And up…you get the point.

They did this until they dropped out one by one.

The muscle man was the winner and the last man standing – or hanging.

It was pretty incredible.

There’s a universal behavior among young males everywhere. They love to rough house and wrestle. I find it very endearing as long as no one breaks any dishes.

They have a website! http://www.barbrothersdc.com/. Check it out. There’s a tutorial on how to do a muscle up. I’ll meet you next week on H Street and we’ll do a couple ok?

Things We Did & Did Not Do

This weekend was full of promise when it first started four – now five – days ago. The kids were going to spend the weekend skiing far away from us – which means two things. 1. They will not miss us at all and 2. We had an entire weekend to do whatever we wanted.

Both of those things filled me with anxiety. I know I wouldn’t want the kids to be away at a fantastic ski weekend with their friends and pine for their parents. As much as that would make the parents feel needed, it could also mean that the kids weren’t having a good time. So why couldn’t they miss us just a little bit? Never mind.

And the fact that the husband & I had an entire weekend to ourselves meant that we just didn’t know what to do with ourselves. So ended up just winging it -

We went to a jazz concert Friday night. I changed my mind about going just about every other minute – mostly because I was wondering where their ski pants were. I left work to come home to help them pack and found three kids in my driveway playing hockey – not packing.

Anyway, by the time they left, I didn’t care if I went to a jazz concert or not. As it turns out, some friends also dropped their child off for the trip and we went to eat at a Mexican restaurant together. I’ve driven by the restaurant about a thousand times and never went in and I was pleasantly surprised. The food was good and cheap. I also had my first margarita since the summer.

I enjoyed it so much that I made the husband make me another when we got home that night.

The next day the husband and I took a ride to downtown Washington DC. We went to a Thai restaurant in Chinatown – and I had a pomegranate margarita. It was so yummy that I had another.

Ok, that’s four margaritas in 24 hours but who’s counting.

So what else did we do?

We watched the NFL playoff games.

We put away the Christmas tree – finally -

We did the laundry.

And that my dears, is the extent of our weekend without the kids. For some reason I think I’m getting old…

Left, Right, Center

You know when you feel like you missed something really fun? And you feel like – “I should have been there!” or “I should have gone to the party!” – or “Why wasn’t I invited?” – never mind that last one.

I found these photos in during my download and I thought – shoot, I missed a great party!

I was at the party but I had to leave just as they were starting to gamble. Drats:)

It was New Year’s Eve over at Neighbor Beth’s house and I was leaving to spend the last half hour of 2011 with the girl who was by herself at home. The husband was working and asleep somewhere in the US before other people began to get dressed to go out for the night.

I wasn’t imbibing what looked like the most delicious cosmopolitans because I was going to pick up the boy and his friend from one of their parties. I didn’t want them to drive – you know – teenage boys, New Year’s Eve and a car don’t mix well.

So I was running out after I snapped a few photos and didn’t think a thing of it. Until I saw this photo. And I got to wondering what happened at the party after I left – hmmmm…

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