Drake

Drake is sixteen years old. It is hard to fathom. My mind just can't comprehend that the little boy with jiggly cheeks is now ready to drive a car. I mean, he broke everything he could grab, reach for, or nearly touch for the first three years of his life.

He started off as a miracle and has grown even more outstanding. He made a bet that he could give up sugar, and he hasn't had any for a year and a half. I told him he shouldn't use a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup wrapper as a book mark if he was trying to avoid sugar, and he said, "I do that because it challenges me. I wouldn't really accomplish anything if I didn't feel tempted to give in."

He mowed, cleaned gutters, vacuumed cockroaches out of an abandoned apartment, ripped out slimy, dirty, cupboards, and cleaned trash out of the dank basement of a vacant building to save up enough money to buy an iPod. Then, he upgraded his phone and promised to sell his hard-earned iPod to a friend. When he researched it later, he realized the price he had told his friend was way too low for it's value. When I suggested he explain to his friend that he had made a mistake and the price would be higher, Drake said, "No. My word is more important than a thing. I'll stick with what I said."

In fourth grade he had a crush on a girl at school. I asked if she was cute and he told me that she wasn't really very cute, but she was nice and good at all the stuff he was bad at. He said they would make a good team.

When I told him I was getting a cat to chase away our mice, he told me he didn't like cats. When I showed him the tiny, black kitten, he melted like a stick of butter, instantly named him Optimus Prime, and is often found rescuing the kitten from the neighborhood dogs or the tip top of trees.

Happy Birthday, Drake.
I'm glad you were born.

Date Night

Mike and I decided to have a date night, but, because we had to pick up many kids and provide them with nourishment at 9 PM, our date had to happen at 4. Although we weren't hungry, we dressed nicer than we had in ages, headed to a fancy restaurant and ordered a huge meal that we ended up taking home in styrofoam containers.

We began talking about what movie we wanted to see after lunch supper we ate, but, instead, we ended up talking about the light fixtures that we needed to replace in our house. We decided to skip the movie and head over to the home improvement store.

We looked and gazed and debated and, finally, picked two fixtures we both liked.

"Can you help us?" Mike asked the nearest Lowe's employee while pointing to the display on the ceiling. "We want two different light fixtures, but we can't find them in a box. We've looked everywhere, but can't locate them."
"I see what you are saying," the Lowe's guy said after searching for half an hour. "They aren't where they should be, but the computer says we have plenty of each of them. I'm going to have to call my manager to help."

"Um, Mike?" I whispered while the manager searched high and low, "I don't think I like the bigger light any more. The more I've stood here looking at it, the more I don't like it."
"Really?"
"It wouldn't look good with the smaller light, which I like better."
"Yes, I see what you mean."

"Ah ha!" the manager shouted, "I've found it!" And he proudly handed us the bigger light that we no longer liked. We smiled nervously and nodded. Then he told us, "Our other location has the other light if you want to go there." So we slowly walked toward the cash register until the manager disappeared into the plumbing aisle, quickly stashed the unwanted and highly sought after light fixture into a nearby wheelbarrow, and bolted for the door.

"Can you help us," Mike asked the Lowe's employee at the location across town. "The manager at the other store told us you had this light," he said pointing at the display on the ceiling, "but we can't find it. Believe me, we've searched."
"I see what you are saying, "the Lowe's guy said, "I'll have to call my manger over to help."

"Um, Mike?" I whispered while the manager searched high and low. "I don't like that light any more."
"I hate it too" he nodded. "Let's run."

"Ah ha!" the manger shouted, proudly handing us the no longer wanted light fixture.

So we picked up a load of hungry kids after a romantic evening of eating at 4, not watching a movie, wasting three hours picking out lights we didn't like, and stashing two fixtures into wheelbarrows across town from each other.

The romance is strong with us.

Downton Abbey Distress

In a desperate attempt to stay up late, my sons joined me on the couch as I watched my ultimate favorite show, Downton Abbey. It was recorded, and I had been looking forward to watching it for days. I was giddy with excitement, but I paused the show to do a quick synopsis of the characters and plot for my boys.

"The cook is upset because the kitchen just got a mixer," I said, trying to explain Mrs. Patmore's surly demeanor.
"Oh no!" Drake mocked. "Not a mixer!"
"That's a plot twist if I ever heard one," Josiah said.

Not to be brought low by their negativity, I paused the show again to explain more vital information.
"The Dowager and Mrs. Crawley are both awesome to watch. They hate each other and totally go at it when they are together."
"They fight?" Drake asked, excited.
"Yes."
"Really?" Josiah asked.
"Yes, and their dialogue is priceless."
"Wait," Drake clarified, "they fight with dialogue?"
"Yes," I confirmed.
"Oh no! Not a word fight," Drake mocked again. "The drama! The violence!"
"Not words!" Josiah said. "It's like a sword fight. Without the S."

They are no longer invited.

Negative Too Much

When my husband and I were newlyweds, we moved to Alaska for a short while. It was stunning. It was adventure right out the front door. It was rugged and wild.

While we were there we kept hearing about a place called Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska. People live there. It is a place of harsh conditions. If you look it up, you will see that the temperature is below freezing from early October to late May, and snow may fall any day of the year. The sun sets in mid November and rises at the end of January, which is called polar night. A jar of mayonnaise is $8.99, and a bag of charcoal is $25.15. If you want to drink some V8 Splash, that will cost you $10.65.


I keep Barrow, Alaska on my weather app on my phone, and I look at it when I feel like complaining. When there was a cold snap in May, I noticed that Barrow's high of the day was 27 degrees. When it rained several days in a row last October, I noticed Barrow had ice fog, which I had to look up, but happens when ice crystals become suspended in the air.

So when the temperature in Iowa reached negative too much, I decided to make myself feel better by checking in on Barrow. It is currently negative six there. When it is warmer in Barrow than it is in Des Moines, I am not happy.

I am holding my own personal protest by clothing myself in a sweatsuit from which I will not change until the temperature decides to be reasonable.

Now I feel better.  

Golden Ticket Year

For New Year's Eve, we always join another family we know and ring in the new year with a houseful of our offspring. Between the two families, there are always at least eight kids in attendance, and more if friends are invited. We do the typical eating and laughing and story telling.

Shortly before the ball drops, we gather the kids and parents all into one room and have a time of reflection. Through the years, these times have varied in their nature, but they have all been meaningful.  It is a time to ponder. It is a time to give thanks, and it is a time to collectively regroup for another go-round. 

The kids are all getting older, in fact, some are technically adults. So, we thought to ourselves, "What is it that these new adults and teenagers need most?" And, because we came across a pretty cool guy named Bob Goff, we got inspired with an idea he planted in our heads. We decided they needed tickets. 

One ticket says:  2014's PERMISSION TO FAIL. This entitles the bearer to SCREW-UP. Please use by 12/31/14.

This ticket is an acknowledgement that failing is unavoidable, expected, even encouraged. It is, in fact, a major ingredient in succeeding. However, we go through life mentally lambasting ourselves when we fall short of perfect. Society is hard enough on those who expose faults. So, we told them, here is permission to screw-up. It is not permission to be lazy, but to make a mess of things and still love yourself and be loved by us. 

The other ticket is golden and says:  2014's BLOW IT BIG. This entitles the bearer to take a risk, a chance, or go out on a limb, with the result being disaster, humiliation, or breaking of said limb. 

And the small print says:  Although consequences may need to be paid, the bravery of taking a risk is a cause to celebrate. WELL DONE.

This one is special because it is to be used when pursuing or encouraging dreams. It is to be used when you reach for something bigger than you and fall flat on your face; when you put yourself out there and it doesn't pay off. The goal is not the success but the stretch. 

I hope they use these tickets. I hope they let themselves off the hook. I hope they offer grace to themselves. And I hope they reach for something out of grasp. I hope they dream impossible dreams and pursue them with foolish abandon.  

Let's have a golden ticket year.