I just had to take a moment to acknowledge God's hand in my life. He knows what I need and when I need it, and time and time again, I've discovered that what he has in mind is WAY better than anything I have planned. I try to remember that when he asks me to do something...that I may be just one little piece in his tapestry, but I need to decide if I am going to be the piece that breaks off and has to be tucked into the material and forgotten, or if I'm going to be an anchor.
When I'm feeling down, I feel like staying in my little world and not talking to anyone. But I discovered that the Lord has a better solution...reach out and bless someone else's life. I often feel frustrated when trying to do this, though...what do I know about what anyone else needs? And what good am I to anyone else when I can barely manage my own life? I feel like I stand before the Lord, empty handed and unworthy. Yet occasionally he will place opportunities in my path to help another, and when that happens, the challenges I have shrink and shrivel, and I feel so humbled to be able to help someone else. I offer the following only as examples. I don't wish to brag or be prideful, only to express my gratitude.
I couldn't sleep Saturday night because I couldn't stop thinking about someone. I finally got up and found her information in the directory, and determined that if I couldn't locate her at church that I would call or visit her right after church. I found her at church, and found out why she had been on my mind, and because of that encounter, I had an opportunity to help and to bless someone else. This is just what the Lord knew I needed, and an opportunity I had been praying for. Then later in the day, I was able to offer a listening ear to another dear friend. I'm so grateful that He hears me. I can see more insight daily into the commandment for all of us to be one...to stand together, support one another, and share our lives in a tapestry that reflects his Glory.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Scuba Diving
I watched a video my daughter showed me about someone's scuba diving adventure, and looking at the sea life made me think about the first time I went scuba diving. Coincidentally, I recently found the journal that had the information about that experience. It was back in February of 2000. We were on a leadership trip to Ixtapa/Zijuatanejo for our Home Instead Franchise. I took Kelly, Joe and Laine with me on the trip. Oh, it was so beautiful! I fell in love with Zijuatanejo. The hotel we were staying in was built on the beach, and designed with lots of stairs, so we were constantly climbing stairs to get around. I actually lost 5 pounds on that trip, but that wasn't the only reason I liked it.
Patrick and David went scuba diving and came back to tell me all about it. I really wanted to go, but I have two problems...I'm claustrophobic, and I'm a little afraid of deep water (from watching someone almost drown when I was young). I went through the training class and decided to try diving. We went out onto the water, and began to dive. No one else seemed to have any difficulty, but when I started to go down, I began to panic as I realized how much water was above and below me, and it became hard for me to breathe. I quickly went up to the surface. Miguel, our dive coach, followed me up. I told him I couldn't do it. He put his hand on my arm and told me to just breathe deeply. After I calmed down, he asked if I would like to hold on to him, and I said yes.
True to his word, he let me hold onto him the whole dive trip. We were supposed to dive to about 30 feet, but we ended up going to about 40, and what was supposed to be a half hour turned into nearly 50 minutes. The fish were stunning. We even saw smaller sharks and tiny little critters and fish near the coral reef. While we were down there, I spotted an octopus and showed everyone else. I continued to hold on to Miguel, but my fear had subsided somewhat, and when it was time to go back up, I discovered that I was dismayed.
It was a memorable experience. I was really proud of myself for facing my fears and doing something that ended up being amazing. Scuba diving is an expensive adventure, but I still hope I get to do more of it someday.
A sad but interesting tidbit about that trip was that the day we departed from the states, there was an Alaska Airlines plane crash the previous day. The media was at the airport, and an AP guy took a picture of our family. The Alaska staff was tired, emotionally strained and quiet. On the plane, the stewardess couldn't get through her script without breaking up. We met people who had lost someone in the crash. 88 people died that day.
Patrick and David went scuba diving and came back to tell me all about it. I really wanted to go, but I have two problems...I'm claustrophobic, and I'm a little afraid of deep water (from watching someone almost drown when I was young). I went through the training class and decided to try diving. We went out onto the water, and began to dive. No one else seemed to have any difficulty, but when I started to go down, I began to panic as I realized how much water was above and below me, and it became hard for me to breathe. I quickly went up to the surface. Miguel, our dive coach, followed me up. I told him I couldn't do it. He put his hand on my arm and told me to just breathe deeply. After I calmed down, he asked if I would like to hold on to him, and I said yes.
True to his word, he let me hold onto him the whole dive trip. We were supposed to dive to about 30 feet, but we ended up going to about 40, and what was supposed to be a half hour turned into nearly 50 minutes. The fish were stunning. We even saw smaller sharks and tiny little critters and fish near the coral reef. While we were down there, I spotted an octopus and showed everyone else. I continued to hold on to Miguel, but my fear had subsided somewhat, and when it was time to go back up, I discovered that I was dismayed.
It was a memorable experience. I was really proud of myself for facing my fears and doing something that ended up being amazing. Scuba diving is an expensive adventure, but I still hope I get to do more of it someday.
A sad but interesting tidbit about that trip was that the day we departed from the states, there was an Alaska Airlines plane crash the previous day. The media was at the airport, and an AP guy took a picture of our family. The Alaska staff was tired, emotionally strained and quiet. On the plane, the stewardess couldn't get through her script without breaking up. We met people who had lost someone in the crash. 88 people died that day.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Trains
Isn't it funny how our senses can trigger the recall of things that happened to us in the past? For example, hearing trains early this morning brought back more than a few memories. I've always loved trains. I was born in San Diego and lived there for the first six years of my life. We lived on the side of a canyon, and back behind us, somewhere across the canyon, there was a train track. I can distinctly recall this old apple tree that I used to sit by, with my ear to the tree, listening to the train through the trunk.
I remember the first time I ever rode on a "real" train with my kids. We had an office of our Home Instead business in Modesto. Patrick had gone up to Modesto the day before, and I went up there on the train with Kelly (2) and Joe, who was about 6 months old, I think. Joe was in a car seat, I had the diaper bag, another bag full of work related materials, and Patrick's suit jacket, which he had forgotten at home. I hung up the suit jacket in a designated area, and then tried to figure out how to keep track of my active and independent daughter while keeping an eye on our things and Joe. By the time we reached Modesto, I was exhausted and frazzled. I got off the train (which only stopped briefly), pleased that I had managed not to lose anyone or anything, only to discover as the train prepared to pull away that I had forgotten Patrick's coat. Patrick was not known for being patient with forgetful people, and I started to panic and called out to the conductor to wait. I think he thought I forgot one of my kids on the train, because he stopped the train and obtained the coat for me. I was so grateful that I cried. Phew!
Another train memory I have is related to Joe. We were driving back from visiting my parents, and we were in Mojave. Joe was about 4 at the time, and he was completely obsessed with Superman. We had been talking on the trip about a scene in one of the Superman movies where he squeezes coal and makes it into diamonds. Joe was intrigued and wanted to know if coal really makes diamonds. I told him, yes, and explained how it worked. Then he insisted that he wanted coal for himself. We knew that coal sometimes fell off of the trains as they traveled, so when we stopped for fuel, we walked the track looking for coal. We found a few pieces and gave them to Joe. He actually gave one of those pieces to his friend Amanda, explaining that it could make a diamond. My friend Lora and I joke sometimes about her daughter and my son being engaged because he gave her a "diamond."
In June 2004, I took Kelly and Joseph to Washington, DC. I had never been there, but I wanted to go and I wanted Kelly and Joe to experience it. We rode the subways everywhere that we couldn't walk. Because those subway stops were so fast and the doors closed so quickly, I was very anxious about one of the kids being left on the subway and had given them specific instruction about what to do if that happened. Fortunately, it never did! But I thought it did a few times, because one of the children would get behind me as we got off and I'd turn around to look for them and not see them. I always felt like my heart would jump out of my chest when I couldn't see them. We had a great time and saw lots of monuments and memorials, took the last tour of the capitol building before they closed it for President Reagan's funeral, and really loved being there.
My most recent memory was when I traveled to Hanford on the train with a leadership class. I was able to sit in the lead car and watch from the front of the train as we traveled through the valley. I loved it!
I've always dreamed of taking the kids on a cross country trip on the train. The cost of it is just too prohibitive with four kids, but maybe when I get rich....
I remember the first time I ever rode on a "real" train with my kids. We had an office of our Home Instead business in Modesto. Patrick had gone up to Modesto the day before, and I went up there on the train with Kelly (2) and Joe, who was about 6 months old, I think. Joe was in a car seat, I had the diaper bag, another bag full of work related materials, and Patrick's suit jacket, which he had forgotten at home. I hung up the suit jacket in a designated area, and then tried to figure out how to keep track of my active and independent daughter while keeping an eye on our things and Joe. By the time we reached Modesto, I was exhausted and frazzled. I got off the train (which only stopped briefly), pleased that I had managed not to lose anyone or anything, only to discover as the train prepared to pull away that I had forgotten Patrick's coat. Patrick was not known for being patient with forgetful people, and I started to panic and called out to the conductor to wait. I think he thought I forgot one of my kids on the train, because he stopped the train and obtained the coat for me. I was so grateful that I cried. Phew!
Another train memory I have is related to Joe. We were driving back from visiting my parents, and we were in Mojave. Joe was about 4 at the time, and he was completely obsessed with Superman. We had been talking on the trip about a scene in one of the Superman movies where he squeezes coal and makes it into diamonds. Joe was intrigued and wanted to know if coal really makes diamonds. I told him, yes, and explained how it worked. Then he insisted that he wanted coal for himself. We knew that coal sometimes fell off of the trains as they traveled, so when we stopped for fuel, we walked the track looking for coal. We found a few pieces and gave them to Joe. He actually gave one of those pieces to his friend Amanda, explaining that it could make a diamond. My friend Lora and I joke sometimes about her daughter and my son being engaged because he gave her a "diamond."
In June 2004, I took Kelly and Joseph to Washington, DC. I had never been there, but I wanted to go and I wanted Kelly and Joe to experience it. We rode the subways everywhere that we couldn't walk. Because those subway stops were so fast and the doors closed so quickly, I was very anxious about one of the kids being left on the subway and had given them specific instruction about what to do if that happened. Fortunately, it never did! But I thought it did a few times, because one of the children would get behind me as we got off and I'd turn around to look for them and not see them. I always felt like my heart would jump out of my chest when I couldn't see them. We had a great time and saw lots of monuments and memorials, took the last tour of the capitol building before they closed it for President Reagan's funeral, and really loved being there.
My most recent memory was when I traveled to Hanford on the train with a leadership class. I was able to sit in the lead car and watch from the front of the train as we traveled through the valley. I loved it!
I've always dreamed of taking the kids on a cross country trip on the train. The cost of it is just too prohibitive with four kids, but maybe when I get rich....
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Chair
(This is a poem I wrote several years ago. Someday I'd like to write a short novel based on this.)
They talked and laughed -
Like crazy kids, grandpa said -
As wind swept the porch of the tiny town,
And they watched, she from her chair
With grandpa standing near,
As the desert sky - swept and swirled
Like a child's finger painting -
Filled with birds shooting
Into the round, red sun, and darkness
Put it's stubborn child to bed
And the sun behind naked mountains hid.
Then like giddy soldiers
They shared their battle of the day
And grandpa would such stories tell!
Then when telling was done,
They'd carry the chair toward home and bed.
The years swirled and swept by
And still year after year with their chair
Talking and laughing they climbed -
Like the warm sand they drifted -
Up the worn path to the top of the hill.
Now grandpa was the one to sit
And she watched quietly as his life faded
Like a vanishing dust cloud.
He ought to move, she thought aloud,
A little closer to where she lived
But he just nodded his shiny head
And watched the stars come out instead.
They talked and laughed -
Like crazy kids, grandpa said -
As wind swept the porch of the tiny town,
And they watched, she from her chair
With grandpa standing near,
As the desert sky - swept and swirled
Like a child's finger painting -
Filled with birds shooting
Into the round, red sun, and darkness
Put it's stubborn child to bed
And the sun behind naked mountains hid.
Then like giddy soldiers
They shared their battle of the day
And grandpa would such stories tell!
Then when telling was done,
They'd carry the chair toward home and bed.
The years swirled and swept by
And still year after year with their chair
Talking and laughing they climbed -
Like the warm sand they drifted -
Up the worn path to the top of the hill.
Now grandpa was the one to sit
And she watched quietly as his life faded
Like a vanishing dust cloud.
He ought to move, she thought aloud,
A little closer to where she lived
But he just nodded his shiny head
And watched the stars come out instead.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Enjoying the Journey
I'm going to let you in on a few secrets about me when I was young. Shhhh...don't tell anyone!
I used to read the ends of books first. (gasp!)
Oh, and here's another one...I started my mazes from the finish line. (No!)
I'm a planner. Though not always organized, I always had a plan for every situation. And because of some very bad things that happened to me in my life, I always had one or more back up plans. I wanted to know the end from the beginning. Now Stephen Covey will tell you this is a good thing. And in certain ways, it is good. But there are some experiences, particular benefits that come from facing the unknown.
I've been facing the unknown for many years now. Multiple unknowns, in fact. I might even go so far as to say countless, but mostly because I'm too lazy to add them all up. Let me tell you, with all those uncertainties staring you down, giving you sleepless nights and anxiety attacks, you come to realize that not every unknown thing is an enemy. That many things you do not know are neutral, and some are even positive. There is growth in uncertainty. There are gifts and treasures that you might not expect. One of those for me has been that I have come to savor the journey a bit more. When there's no endpoint to focus on, or the endpoint is shifting or unclear, then the journey becomes your focus.
Some of those joys have been people to love and finding people who love me in spite of my faults. Realizing that I'm not a complete failure (which came as a surprise to me after many, many years of feeling like and being told I was a failure). Discovering a head for business and a heart for service within me. Rediscovering my children and the joy they bring me, a deepening of my faith and my reliance on the Lord. Obtaining some healing and release from old, harmful patterns of thoughts that were leading me daily to an unthinkable end.
Even in the midst of major losses (my marriage, friends moving away, a friend and several family members who died, losing all the businesses I had ever owned, etc), I discovered that moments of peace and evidences of the Lord's tender mercies surrounded me. The beauty of the earth and God's love notes all over it would sometimes go unnoticed when I was fixated on my plan. Without my plan, and trusting in God's plan, the world would jump up and tap me on the shoulder when I was least expecting it, with a message just for me that often took my breath away. Breezes that stirred my wind chimes, orange dragonflies that hovered close to my head, glimpses of wildlife, stunning scenery, beautiful sunrises and skies...these hold meaning beyond the mundane when my heart is open.
It took facing the unknown for my heart to open. I had tucked it away where it couldn't get hurt anymore. A few people had snuck past my defenses, but I was wary from trampling. I had to learn who I could trust my heart to. I learned new ways of thinking about myself and others. I faced hard truths about myself, like my tendency to be attracted to people who were harmful to me. After learning trust, I learned to hope, something I had given up on without even realizing it. Through this process, I found this irrepressible, exciting feeling called joy!
I find it hard still, sometimes, to resist the pull of wanting to know the end from the beginning. ("But what's going to happen??? Where is all of this leading?" Can you hear the whining? LOL) All I really need to know is where I want to end up eternally, and who I need to be like to get there, and that the Lord is there to support me through this, the journey of my life, come what may. Wow, there's so much work to be done. This seems trite, but it's really not...we can't change the past, and as hard as we might try, our tomorrows are always just beyond our reach. It's really only today that the work can be done, in the present that we love, live, forgive, laugh and give. The journey is made up of todays. Why not seek to find joy in the journey?
I used to read the ends of books first. (gasp!)
Oh, and here's another one...I started my mazes from the finish line. (No!)
I'm a planner. Though not always organized, I always had a plan for every situation. And because of some very bad things that happened to me in my life, I always had one or more back up plans. I wanted to know the end from the beginning. Now Stephen Covey will tell you this is a good thing. And in certain ways, it is good. But there are some experiences, particular benefits that come from facing the unknown.
I've been facing the unknown for many years now. Multiple unknowns, in fact. I might even go so far as to say countless, but mostly because I'm too lazy to add them all up. Let me tell you, with all those uncertainties staring you down, giving you sleepless nights and anxiety attacks, you come to realize that not every unknown thing is an enemy. That many things you do not know are neutral, and some are even positive. There is growth in uncertainty. There are gifts and treasures that you might not expect. One of those for me has been that I have come to savor the journey a bit more. When there's no endpoint to focus on, or the endpoint is shifting or unclear, then the journey becomes your focus.
Some of those joys have been people to love and finding people who love me in spite of my faults. Realizing that I'm not a complete failure (which came as a surprise to me after many, many years of feeling like and being told I was a failure). Discovering a head for business and a heart for service within me. Rediscovering my children and the joy they bring me, a deepening of my faith and my reliance on the Lord. Obtaining some healing and release from old, harmful patterns of thoughts that were leading me daily to an unthinkable end.
Even in the midst of major losses (my marriage, friends moving away, a friend and several family members who died, losing all the businesses I had ever owned, etc), I discovered that moments of peace and evidences of the Lord's tender mercies surrounded me. The beauty of the earth and God's love notes all over it would sometimes go unnoticed when I was fixated on my plan. Without my plan, and trusting in God's plan, the world would jump up and tap me on the shoulder when I was least expecting it, with a message just for me that often took my breath away. Breezes that stirred my wind chimes, orange dragonflies that hovered close to my head, glimpses of wildlife, stunning scenery, beautiful sunrises and skies...these hold meaning beyond the mundane when my heart is open.
It took facing the unknown for my heart to open. I had tucked it away where it couldn't get hurt anymore. A few people had snuck past my defenses, but I was wary from trampling. I had to learn who I could trust my heart to. I learned new ways of thinking about myself and others. I faced hard truths about myself, like my tendency to be attracted to people who were harmful to me. After learning trust, I learned to hope, something I had given up on without even realizing it. Through this process, I found this irrepressible, exciting feeling called joy!
I find it hard still, sometimes, to resist the pull of wanting to know the end from the beginning. ("But what's going to happen??? Where is all of this leading?" Can you hear the whining? LOL) All I really need to know is where I want to end up eternally, and who I need to be like to get there, and that the Lord is there to support me through this, the journey of my life, come what may. Wow, there's so much work to be done. This seems trite, but it's really not...we can't change the past, and as hard as we might try, our tomorrows are always just beyond our reach. It's really only today that the work can be done, in the present that we love, live, forgive, laugh and give. The journey is made up of todays. Why not seek to find joy in the journey?
Monday, February 14, 2011
Family Fun
I brought my boys "Del Taco" today for lunch and made their day! I gave Kelly a bit of money so she could treat a friend to lunch at school. And I took Laine with me on a lunchtime errand to buy origami paper for one of her classes, so we shared a burrito bowl from Chipotle in the car.
Later today, we'll be going to get chocolate...my personal favorite!
I'm so grateful for my kids, for the love that they give me every day, and I'm so thankful that caring for them helps me to be a better person. Someday I'd like to share my Valentine's Days and every day with someone really special...an eternal companion. But for now, sharing my days with my sweet children brings me amazing joy!
I discovered some interesting things while preparing this post. I looked at my blog statistics and discovered much to my surprise that I have readers in 10 different countries and 34 states. I thought very few people actually read my blog. Makes me wonder what's attracting them to my page! I maintain this blog so that out of town family and friends can keep up on what's happening in our lives. With our personal and professional connections, I've made friends all over the place. Still, I was shocked that we had that many readers so geographically diverse! I actually make the blog entries and then copy the entries into my personal electronic journal. I'm a very bad journal keeper, but I think it's easier when I'm writing for a real audience to be more consistent.
Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog. I hope I don't get all self-conscious now that I know people are reading it. :-)
Later today, we'll be going to get chocolate...my personal favorite!
I'm so grateful for my kids, for the love that they give me every day, and I'm so thankful that caring for them helps me to be a better person. Someday I'd like to share my Valentine's Days and every day with someone really special...an eternal companion. But for now, sharing my days with my sweet children brings me amazing joy!
I discovered some interesting things while preparing this post. I looked at my blog statistics and discovered much to my surprise that I have readers in 10 different countries and 34 states. I thought very few people actually read my blog. Makes me wonder what's attracting them to my page! I maintain this blog so that out of town family and friends can keep up on what's happening in our lives. With our personal and professional connections, I've made friends all over the place. Still, I was shocked that we had that many readers so geographically diverse! I actually make the blog entries and then copy the entries into my personal electronic journal. I'm a very bad journal keeper, but I think it's easier when I'm writing for a real audience to be more consistent.
Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog. I hope I don't get all self-conscious now that I know people are reading it. :-)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Love
This is my Valentine message to all the people who love my children. If you love my children enough to smile at them, call them by name, and say something nice to them, you are on my good list. If you love them enough to offer them specific encouragement and appreciate their talents and overlook their faults, then I love you!!! If you love them, teach them, support them and sacrifice for them, you are in my heart forever.
Some people who say they love my children comment on their weight, their faults, haircuts, their need to improve. I love you, too, but let me just say, they have enough people giving them negative feedback and criticism in their lives. What they need (what we all need) is the uplifting word, the shining moment of approval that can give them the courage and strength to address correcting the problems that they're already intimately aware of. They need to know they are loved, then with the buoyancy that comes from love, they can be lifted up enough to see better how to BE better.
Thank you, to each of you who lift us up with love. We love you!
Some people who say they love my children comment on their weight, their faults, haircuts, their need to improve. I love you, too, but let me just say, they have enough people giving them negative feedback and criticism in their lives. What they need (what we all need) is the uplifting word, the shining moment of approval that can give them the courage and strength to address correcting the problems that they're already intimately aware of. They need to know they are loved, then with the buoyancy that comes from love, they can be lifted up enough to see better how to BE better.
Thank you, to each of you who lift us up with love. We love you!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Hip, Hip, Hooray!!
We just found out that Joe got into Bullard High. Hooray!!! Since we're in the Fresno High area, we were holding our breath until his transfer was approved. This will make life much simpler next year, and he'll be in a great school. See? God answers prayers! We were praying hard for this blessing. Thank you, Heavenly Father!
Geography
You know what's really cool? Geography! I think it's fascinating. The solar nebula theory, plate techtonics, and how subduction makes volcanoes in addition to how plate movement causes earthquakes...it's exciting and very interesting to me. I love that there are still many things to learn about the geography of our planet. I'm really enjoying my class. Can you tell?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Blessings Unnumbered!
I've been reflective since returning from Omaha. While there, I attended a board meeting where we were able to make decisions about which organizations would benefit from the money accumulated in the foundation. We're approaching a million dollars officially given away! I feel so blessed I that I get to participate in this process. I am humbled that the decisions we make as a group bless so many lives.
We are able to provide food to the elderly, provide respite care to caregivers worn out from the daily stresses of caring for others, supply necessary equipment and supplies to seniors who are in the position of having to choose between these essential items and food, repair homes that have fallen into disrepair, facilitate transportation to and from doctors' appointments and therapy...the list goes on and on. Seniors all across North America are benefiting from the work the foundation does.
It feels so good to be an instrument in doing good in the world! I just love helping people and I'm hopeful that someday I'll be able to establish my own foundation/non-profit.
We are able to provide food to the elderly, provide respite care to caregivers worn out from the daily stresses of caring for others, supply necessary equipment and supplies to seniors who are in the position of having to choose between these essential items and food, repair homes that have fallen into disrepair, facilitate transportation to and from doctors' appointments and therapy...the list goes on and on. Seniors all across North America are benefiting from the work the foundation does.
It feels so good to be an instrument in doing good in the world! I just love helping people and I'm hopeful that someday I'll be able to establish my own foundation/non-profit.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Freezing!
I'm heading to Omaha next week and I checked the weather...4 degrees on the day I get there and the next day, warming up to 7 degrees on the last day of my visit. Overnights it will drop into negative territory. Brrrr!!! I have very few cold weather clothes in my closet, and I had to go out and buy a few things so I don't die of exposure.
It reminded me of when Kelly was a baby, about 4 months old. We went to Portland on business in January. I frantically packed tons of layers of clothing for Kelly, plus blankets and socks. I was so concerned that she would be cold. When we arrived at the airport in Portland, the announcer said it was negative 12 degrees outside as I grabbed our suitcase off of the baggage claim carriage. I put layer after layer on my little girl, her hat and her coat, and then reached into the suitcase to find a sweater or a coat for myself. It was then that I realized that I hadn't even packed a long sleeve shirt for myself, much less the sweater and coats I knew I would be needing in five minutes.
When I stepped outside, I couldn't believe how cold it was. My back seized up with shivers and only the front of my body where I was clutching Kelly to me was the slightest bit shielded from the bitter cold wind. I couldn't even speak because I was so cold. Fortunately it was only about 11 pm, and we were able to find a Walmart open to buy a coat and a sweater, but that whole trip I was the coldest I have ever been. I discovered back at the hotel that I hadn't packed even an extra pair of socks! The silly adventures of a new mom. :-) Remind me to tell you sometime about the first time I discovered the importance of ALWAYS making sure you have a diaper bag.
It reminded me of when Kelly was a baby, about 4 months old. We went to Portland on business in January. I frantically packed tons of layers of clothing for Kelly, plus blankets and socks. I was so concerned that she would be cold. When we arrived at the airport in Portland, the announcer said it was negative 12 degrees outside as I grabbed our suitcase off of the baggage claim carriage. I put layer after layer on my little girl, her hat and her coat, and then reached into the suitcase to find a sweater or a coat for myself. It was then that I realized that I hadn't even packed a long sleeve shirt for myself, much less the sweater and coats I knew I would be needing in five minutes.
When I stepped outside, I couldn't believe how cold it was. My back seized up with shivers and only the front of my body where I was clutching Kelly to me was the slightest bit shielded from the bitter cold wind. I couldn't even speak because I was so cold. Fortunately it was only about 11 pm, and we were able to find a Walmart open to buy a coat and a sweater, but that whole trip I was the coldest I have ever been. I discovered back at the hotel that I hadn't packed even an extra pair of socks! The silly adventures of a new mom. :-) Remind me to tell you sometime about the first time I discovered the importance of ALWAYS making sure you have a diaper bag.
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