Making Friends

I watched my two year-old yesterday. We were at my son's soccer games, when she and my four year-old had to keep busy for quite a few hours. My little girl ended up running up to a group of high school boys. They were busy playing soccer while their little brothers were in a "real" game. She ran up, and threw a football at them, and danced around, full of smiles. They couldn't help but smile themselves, and proceeded to play catch with her. She was in her glory! I watched as they played for quite a while; I was impressed with the young men.

I learned something that day. Wouldn't it be great if we could all be like my little girl? She saw no boundaries. She didn't notice that she was a girl, and they weren't, or that she was too young. She just went right up and invited them to play in her own sweet way. They all had fun!

We need to be like that. We need to see beyond race and economic boundaries, and invite others to play. Have you met your neighbor? What about your co-worker that is from another country, or economic class? Throw them a football, and see what happens. You may meet someone that will change your life for the better.

Educating

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

~ Groucho Marx

C.S. Lewis

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."

~C. S. Lewis

Uncomfortable

I was thinking the other day that the Dare Chair is pretty uncomfortable. It looks comfy, swanky, and lots of fun, but once you sit in it, you start to get nervous, and all sorts of self-doubt comes to mind. You probably want to get out of that chair as fast as you can! Hmm... let me talk you into staying for a while. Lean back, kick off your shoes, and put your feet up. Even if it is not the most comfortable chair you've been in, stay... you look fabulous in it!

While you're in the Dare Chair, think about your list of dares. Pick a dare, any dare. Does the task seem insurmountable? If so, think of it this way... if you never start your journey towards reaching your goal, never take that first step, where will you be a week, month, or year from now? Yep, right where you're at, with all of that time now gone. I'm not saying your life is bad, boring, or blah.... heavens no! I just know that all of us have desires and dreams tucked away, possibly forgotten, or perhaps not even realized, and it is time to unpack them. Just think, if you took baby steps down your path, you'll eventually reach your goal! You'll look back and know that every step was worth it. Remember... time flies.

So, while you're unpacking your dreams, be sure to pack your bags of courage, determination, and faith, and head down the road less traveled. You never know who you'll meet along the way. You may even find that little girl you thought you left behind when you graduated, got married, started your career, or became a mom. She's knocking and wants to know if you can come out to play.

Red Tent

This chick happened to turn 39 recently. I have no problem with age, so far. I've always been an advocate of cherishing your laugh lines, and the memories they represent. I think my husband's gray hair makes him sexy. I love the wisdom that shows in the face of an older woman; it's true beauty. BUT... what, may I ask, is with the MOOD SWINGS that now visit monthly? I don't mind aging gracefully, but there is nothing graceful about mood swings! I will be the first to admit that I am an emotional person; I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. However, when that emotion is as ugly as Linda Blair's character in The Exorcist, one must fret a bit. This is new territory for me... I must navigate carefully.

You know, in Biblical times, the women all went to live in a red tent when they were going through their cycle. Who abolished that custom, I must ask? I could get used to a week away with other women. Leave the kids with Hubby, bring some wine, and have a great week with the chicks. Can you envision it? Sounds pretty good to me! It must have been the men who put an end to that tradition!

All I can say is, "Bring back the Red Tent!"

Break the Chains

Sometimes we suffer because of many things over which we have no control: the color of our skin, poverty, our religion, our family situation, war. It would be easy to become a victim of our circumstances and continue feeling sad, scared or angry; instead, we could choose to deal with injustice humanely and break the chains of negative thoughts and energies, and not let ourselves sink into it.

~Zlata Filipovic, author of Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo

Teachers

When we become a really
mature, grown-up, wise society, we will put teachers at the center of the community, where they belong. We don't honor them enough, we don't pay them enough.

~Charles Kuralt

Okay, I may be a bit biased, but I really love this quote! ~Lisa

Checking In...

I thought I'd check in with you, ladies, and see how you are doing with your latest DARE. Have you been in the Dare Chair lately? If so, good for you! Keep up the great work!! I'd love to hear from you. Post a reply letting me know your progress!

If you haven't been in the Dare Chair, what is holding you back? Fear, time, energy, self-doubt? Believe me, I've experienced them all. Sometimes we need to stop thinking so much, and just go for it. When I went rock climbing, I was scared out of my wits. I volunteered to go first, even though I had never done it before. Why, you ask? So I wouldn't have time to think about it, talk myself out of it, and run the other way! I went for it, full force, without thinking. The first climb was awful. It was harder than I thought it would be, and I was scared to death. As I inched my way up the cliff, I kept telling myself, "You are so stupid! Why did you do this?! I never, never, ever, never, ever want to do this again!!!" I was terrified. There was one piont where two smooth walls met; they were perpendicular like the corner of a room. I was supposed to get to the top, which was well above my head. There was nothing to hold on to. I looked down at the group, (I was the only one climbing at this time... all eyes on me... no pressure!!) and yelled, "You've GOT to be kidding me!" No, they weren't kidding. They taught me how to stick my hands and feet into the crack in the corner, turn my hands and feet once they were lodged in the narrow crack, and push up. Ouch. I MADE IT TO THE TOP! I don't think anything has surprised me more. I accomplished something that I truly thought was impossible. As I stood at the top looking over all of the trees, and Lake Superior, I cried. It was a wonderful feeling. I am tearing up just tellling you about it! Once you get that feeling of accomplishment, there will be no stopping you! I now have a point of reference... if something seems too difficult, I just remind myself of that cliff. If I could climb that, I can do anything! I did a second climb, by the way, that was even more difficult. I enjoyed it much more. I was still scared, but it was a healthy fear, not a paralyzing fear that time. I can honestly say that I would like to do it again!

(If you are new to the sight, and don't know what the Dare Chair is, just scroll down the page.)

So, here's to you, ladies! May you find your dare, go for it, and accomplish more than you ever thought you would!

Peter Cottontail

So, I was trying to get my four year-old to bed on Easter night. Needless to say, he did not want to go to bed, and I was trying to get him to calm down. To keep us both from losing it, I decided to make him laugh. I came hopping into his room singing, "Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail". I was pulling out all of my tricks to get him to laugh. I kept hopping away, singing as loud as I could. When I finally stopped for a moment, I heard a noise behind me. There was my seventh grade son, sitting on the floor behind me with a horrified look on his face. I immediately fell to the bed laughing hysterically. My son said, "I'm in the wrong place, at the wrong time, again."

April?

Where has Spring gone? I was shoveling snow and chopping ice so I could get out of my front door today! I guess the funny thing is that it feels and looks like January, so it kind of plays a trick on one's mind... what a nice surprise that summer is only a couple of months away! Still, I scratch my head and think, this is April?

Easter Week

Easter week has arrived...

egg hunts, Easter church musicals, sundresses, Easter hats, and.... snow! It looks more like Christmas outside, than it does Easter! So, in the spirit of the occasion, and the weather, I have come up with a new version of the old Irving Berlin favorite, Easter Parade. Sing along, girls!

In your thermal bonnet

With all the fur upon it

You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter sleigh ride

I'll be all in flannel, when they look you over

I'll be the coldest fellow in the Easter sleigh ride

In the sleet and snow, the drifts of snow, the bitter wind will snap us

And you'll find that your knee deep in cold fluff

Oh, I could write a sonnet about your thermal bonnet

And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter sleigh ride.

Honey-Do List

The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that
perhaps they're too old to do it.

~Ann Bancroft

Risks

If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor. ~Neil Simon

She Took the Dare!

Hooray!

I have an announcement to make: A friend of mine took the dare to belly dance!! She has signed up for classes. Yahoo! Anyone else up for the dare?

Rainy Day

Rain, rain

Go away,

Come again

Another day,

Little Lisa

Wants to play

My mom used to sing this song to me when I was little. I remember staring out the living room window just aching to go play outside.

We've had one gray, rainy day after another lately, and I have found myself humming that song. Thankfully the sun is just beyond the clouds, and it will appear again soon. Snow is on the way this week... not a welcoming thought for Easter week, but that's what we get when we choose to live up north! So, we may be wearing parkas on top of spring Easter dresses, and trading in our sandals for winter boots. I don't think anyone appreciates summer more than Northerners!

As for today, I need to take lessons from my toddlers, and remember how much fun the rain can be. As my four year-old says, we need to go splash in some "muddles"!

So, cheers to you on this gloomy day. As for me and my house, we will thank the Lord for the rain, and find joy in the comforts of a warm, dry house.... and possibly the splashing of "muddles"!!