What I want you to know

   I've always shared stories about memories when I was younger with my daughter. I want her to know all about what makes me, me. I feel sharing stories with her bonds us together and gives us a relationship that is open, honest and special.
   She will be a senior this year and while I rejoice for the new adventures to come in her life, part of me wants to jump in a time machine and go back to when she was a little girl. When I close my eyes, I can still see her little round face, bright eyes and heart melting smile. Now, I see a little girl who has grown into a beautiful young woman.
   This year will be full of preparing for the future. Selecting a college, applying for scholarships and getting ready to leave home. More than anything, I want to prepare her for what's ahead on the road of life. I know it's a journey she cannot take holding my hand. I know it's a journey where she will experience things I haven't prepared her for and I know it's a journey she will face with independence and confidence.

The Summer I Conquered Fear

   I took a drive through our park the other day and a flood of memories washed over me as I drove past the swimming pool. Many a summer day was spent at the pool enjoying the summer break. As a member of the "fair skinned" club, I suffered quite a few sunburns over the years, but that didn't stop me from wanting to be at the pool every day.
I don't consider myself an Olympic swimmer by any stretch of the imagination. As a kid, I swam well enough to hang out at the deep end of the pool with my friends playing games and watching people do tricks off the diving board. When I was a kid, the city pool had a low dive and a high dive. In my mind, the high dive was hundreds of feet in the air. Just looking up at it made me dizzy. I feared the high dive and swore I would never climb those stairs and jump!

Don't sweat the small stuff!

   Humans....we are quite the interesting character at times. We can get wound up about the smallest of things. In hindsight, most of it is just a tiny dot in our timeline of life. In fact, I would be willing to bet the things we let get under our skin are things that won't even matter in a week, month or year.
   Our booster club held their annual sports banquet the other night. It's a night when we recognize the high school athletes for their accomplishments. We hold it in one of our gyms, everyone dresses up, has a meal and a good time...well...not always so much of a good time. I've spent the last few days asking myself how in the world you would not have a good time at an event that celebrates your kids.
   I've come to one conclusion...we are spoiled...we live in a society where we feel entitled and where "everyone" wins. Humm, that's three conclusions, but you get my point.

Remember When - May 6, 1989

   Twenty-five years ago today, I was a young girl madly in love with a boy who stole my heart. At the age of sixteen, I stood before God, my family and friends and married the love of my life, Jeff.
   When I think about May 6, 1989, I think of the first line in Alan Jackson's song, "Remember When". The words ring so true and sum up how I felt that Saturday afternoon.
    "Remember when I was young and so were you and time stood still and love was all we knew."
   At that very moment, I realized sixteen was too young to be married in most people's eyes. All that mattered to me was the love Jeff and I shared. I believed we could overcome any odds stacked against us because of our age. We were both scared, nervous and unsure of the future. Today, we celebrate twenty-five years of marriage.

Selfie - Vanity or Fad?

   The first time I watched film slide out of my Dad's Polaroid camera, I was intrigued. In only five "short" minutes, our image would appear! No more trips to have the film developed! We had arrived!
   Thanks to the incredible advancements in technology, we can take our picture and see it all in an instant. After all, who has five minutes to sit around and wait for an image to appear on an archaic piece of film? The digital revolution has turned everyone with access to a digital camera or smart phone into a photographer who is an expert in the art of "the selfie". No more wasting film trying for that perfect shot. Out of 50 pictures you take with your smart phone, you might just find one you like. Of course, then comes the editing, adding filters and such. We have to look good, right?

The Odd World of Dreams

   The dictionary defines a dream as, "a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep." Dreams can be both fascinating and frightening. They can be so vivid and real, when you wake up you have to convince yourself it was only a dream.
   There are thousands of websites devoted to interpreting the meaning of dreams. Google dream meanings and you can spend hours upon hours trying to make sense of your thoughts and actions in a dream. Some explanations are quite comical while others are written by fear-mongers who want you to believe you are crazy! Google with caution!
   For the past month, I have had some of the most vivid, bizarre, funny and sad dreams. I wake up a few times during the night and can remember them in immense detail for about 10 minutes. After that, it becomes a bit of a blur.  A friend suggested I begin writing my dreams down in a journal as soon as I had the opportunity. I took her advice and what I found is very interesting.
   Tornadoes have appeared in my dreams lately, which isn't unusual due to the season and what is on the news all the time. The dream meaning dictionary suggests dreaming you are in a tornado means, "that you are feeling overwhelmed and out of control." I can think of areas in my life where I feel overwhelmed and being the control freak I am, not being in control of somethings in my life drives me crazy!

The Bucket List - Top Ten

   I recently had a discussion with a friend about making a "Bucket List". I think everyone has a bucket list stored somewhere, either in a journal or in their mind. It's great to have a list of things you would like to do, accomplish, go or see before you leave this earth.
   I like the idea of actually writing my list down on paper. Somewhere I can see it everyday as a reminder of what I want to do. If it's out of sight, it's virtually out of mind. The whole, "I'll do it later" concept can sneak up on you and before you know it, you are out of laters.
   I condensed my list to ten things and thought I'd share them with you. You can hold me accountable! So, here goes!