STATE BOUND!!!
I am a proud mama! Johanna and I are heading to Boise (yes right now). Johanna will represent her school at the state track meet for the 400 meter!!!!
It is going to be a great weekend!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of the mothers world wide!!!!
According to the Wikipedia, “Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday in the United States. She was successful in 1914.”
On this beautiful Mother’s Day, I share with you a story…..
On Friday, May 10th, I woke at 5:30 am and began to start my day. However, this was not like any other day. This day was the start of the Idaho 2A Regional Championships in Kamiah, ID in which my baby girl (okay as a teenager maybe she is not a baby but of course will always be my baby!) was going to represent her high school in the 400 meter and the sprint medley.
We loaded up the car…. 1 small red suitcase, 1 black duffel bag, a cooler filled with lots of yummy fruit, proteins and snacks, 1 bag of magazines (for me), 1 bag with school books & homework (for kiddo) and 2 pillows. And of course, Kitty (if you know us, you know who is Kitty)! And let’s not forget, 1 dog crate and 2 doggies.
We dropped off the doggies at a friend’s house (thank you Jason M) for the weekend and picked up two of my daughter’s teammates. We began our 3.5 hour trip excited for the adventure and a bit nervous (the kiddos) of the task at hand. However, the trip was cut short after 22 miles. Our car overheated about 22 miles outside of Coeur d Alene, Id - not even an hour into our trip! So after filling it with anti-freeze and it still smoking, we decided that it was best to head back into town. Thankfully, one of the teammates had an extra vehicle to use for the weekend. We unloaded our car and load her car and we were off. Our trip was a bit delay & our spirits a bit dampen but we were on our way. After a bit of construction along our route, we arrive in Kamiah just in the nick of time.
It is interesting with tracks meets, you hurry,hurry, hurry, hurry to get to the meet only to wait, wait, wait, wait. 
The first night ended with disappointment for Johanna. Being harder on herself then anyone else, she felt like she had caused her team a loss in a sprint medley. She felt that her hand off was slow and she was a bit confused on how to cut into the race lanes. Finally at 9:30 pm (such a long night), we all headed to a local pizza place for a team dinner. We filled our stomachs with hot & yummy pizza and salad and then ended the evening with a great team talk by Coaches Jake and Caleb.
Of course by now, you are wondering where is the wonderful Mother’s day story.. hang on, I am getting there! (please stay tune). But before I get to the story, I want and need to thank several people… thank you Jason M for watching the doggies so that we could make the trip, thank you Megan for allowing us to take your car to get us to regional, thank you to all of Johanna’s teammates, thank you to Johanna’s mom – Mrs. Skarda for putting up with me all weekend and for dealing with my snoring in the hotel room and thank you to the following parents that were there to support their own children and for encouraging Johanna and I in the journey: Anna’s parents – The Verhaeghe; John and Michael’s dad – Mr. Graves; Leif’s dad – Mr. Fredericks; Josh’s dad – Mr. Moehring; and Sam’s mom – Mrs. Redline. And Lastly, thank you to Johanna’s coaches (Coach Miles, Coach Jake and Coach Caleb) that have worked very hard to get her ready to push herself towards her goal.
Now, back to our Mother’s Day story….Saturday morning arrived with sunny & bright skies. After waffles, sausage, coffee and a not so rushed morning, we headed back to the regional championship. The day was long and hot…..but at 3:12 pm, my baby girl gave me the best Mother’s day present.
My Johanna lined up in lane 3 (her basketball number) for her 400 meter. She seemed filled with nerves & excitement. I stood close to the finish line…shaking with worry, full of tears and filled with pride. The race gun went off and she was off… strong, steady and fast. She looked graceful, fast and dedicated.
But I too was off… see as a mom, I know that my baby after giving her all, fades out towards the last bend so I raced to get to that spot to encourage her when she feels that she doesn’t have any more to give. Nobody, not even Johanna knew that I was ‘running’ part of the race with her. I wanted to be at the last corner when she got there to help her see that she had more to give. And when she turned the last corner, there I was! And the girl pushed it into high gear!
The moment that she crossed the finish line is something I will never forget…… words can not express the emotions of the day…. to see your own child excel and to see that when your own child make a goal and complete it is amazing!!!!
She was hugged by her Coach and teammates…. and I waited (again waiting with track). She earned the right to celebrate in her own way… hugs with teammates, tears of exhaustion and lots of jumping up and down in excitement!
And finally, I heard the words “Mama, I did it… I did it.”
I squeeze her tight and told her through tears how proud I was of her! But just when I thought I couldn’t be more prouder of my kiddo, she shared with me this…..
“Mama, do you know what made me run harder? Last night, Johanna (a teammate) and I were looking up running quotes. And I found this one – I run because I can. When I get tired I remember those who can’t run and what they’d give to have the simple gift I take for granted. That quote reminded me of the little boy from my camp that is in a wheelchair. I ran today for him.”
And with that my baby girl – a freshman & new at track – is heading to state! So on this Mother’s Day, I am thankful for my amazing, smart, talented and sweet daughter…. thankful for her hard work and dedication in school and in her activities… thankful for her kindness for others and thankful that she strives each day to be a better her!
I love my baby girl Johanna and am so proud!
Hello all… I am back (as if I went somewhere , really?- ha). It has been ages since I was last on here – well not really ages but certainly a long, long time! Blogging, in my opinion, is a new and creative method to get your thoughts and feelings out. So with that thought, one would question why I couldn’t get on here daily. I am not really sure what has kept me away…….
But while I ponder the reasons why I haven’t been able to blog, I thought I would get back to blogging by sharing my opinion on…..
LOWE’S – a nationwide home improvement store.
In the almost year since I started this blog, I have typically stay away from using specific names of individuals, organizations or companies in my blogs; unless I have gotten permission. I established that ‘rule’ because my blog is not really about other people or companies but rather my own ideas, thoughts, opinions. A selfish view maybe but in my opinion important.
However this time I am using the exact name because of my strong opinion on the matter….LOWE’S
A little less than a week ago, I journeyed into Lowe’s to look for a few items to hook up a washer and dryer (more on that story later). A friend (thanks JM) had taken the time to diagram what I needed to complete the job – so I was armed and ready. Stepping into Lowe’s, I was stunned with how large the store was. Rows and rows of supplies, equipment and other items to improve your home, yard, etc. And so I walked…searching row after row for 3 items to hook up my washer and dryer.
Through my search of 3 simple ideas at Lowe’s, I got the overwhelming idea that unless you are a contractor, Lowe’s is a confusing place where there is little assistance offered and the difficulty to locate your items is difficult – impossible at best. Lowe’s is difficult to find anything – the store section headings are too high, the individual item displays are hard to read (too small) and the location of items are confusing at is doesn’t make sense – dryer hoses are located by the appliances but other washer/dryer items – hot/ cold hoses and w/d drain hoses are located in plumbing?
But the most disappointment part of my journey into Lowe’s is the complete lack of assistance that I was offered. I was walking around – clearly confused for at least 20 minutes before I HAD to reach out for help. No Lowe’s employees offered to help me locate the items that I needed until I reached out to them. And then the only assistance was to tell me what row I could find the items. Note, I already discussed how poorly the store is laid out and how badly the store headings are.
So I was already confused with the layout and the difficulty of locating items and the employees that I reached out to just tell me where to find the items and that are it. No employees took me to the area where I could find the items. No employees took me to the items that I was looking for. Frankly, no employees even offered the typical customer service offer “how can I help you?” I am extremely disappointed in my local Lowe’s and disappointed in the employees that were on the schedule the day that I came into the store.
Of course, I realize that Lowe’s is a giant corporation and my choice to no longer spend my money at their store won’t really effect them, but the point of this blog is to vent my feelings. And it is also my hope that others might read this blog and think better about using the services of a company that can’t be bothered to help!
So I pose the question to all of you:
What are your experiences (good or bad) with Lowe’s or any home improvement store?
Last night, a popular saying popped into my head - “People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.”
Now this saying could be used to described any number of people that have come into my life over the course of my life. Of course, some negative and some positive…and so, I still don’t know why.
But last night the saying popped into my head because of someone that I bumped into that was once a very important person in my life.
This past summer, kiddo and I welcomed into our home a very cute and lovable 7 year old foster kiddo. David (not his real name) came into our world because his mom and dad had substance abuse issues/legal situations that they needed to get handled and couldn’t do that and take care of him and his needs.
So we spend summer with David; swimming at the lake, roasting marshmallows playing baseball, and so much more. Each morning, David would bounce out of bed, make his bed and come to my room to ask for breakfast. We would make breakfast together and then talk about what the plans for the day were. He made me giggle with all of his questions. And each night, Johanna or I would tuck David into bed with a story and stories about the day.
But we slowly realized that David had needs that required more help than our family could provide. So after a bit, it became clear that David needed to go and get help. So our family made the painful decision to assist with getting assistance for David. And then he left our family to get help, get well…..
And last night, we bumped into David at a local play. David was back with his mom, had grown taller, his hair had gotten darker. Thankfully he still had the amazing smile that warmed my heart every day. His mom told us that he saw us during the play and wanted to come see us because he loved us.
And as happy as I was to see him, my heart broke a little with all of the questions that were running around in my head….was he being cared for? Was he being loved? Did he have the right meds to take? Was he being fed? Was he going to school?
But after drying my tears in the bathroom, I realize that although, I would always wonder about David and how he was doing, I did the best I could for David when he was with him and now we just had to hope and pray that he would be safe, happy and loved through his life.
And so now I know that the saying “People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person” popped into my head because of David.
Private
So….some news…..
I started this blog last summer as a creative and new way to express myself. Write my emotions – good and bad. Vent about injustices in the world and in my life. Complain about the little and big things that bother me. And most importantly share the wonderful people, things and events in my life.
And I admit, this blog has at times been like a diary at times and a timeline of events at other times. Unless it was appropriate, I never share names or specific details so as to not wanting to cause unnecessary drama or hurt feelings. Mostly, I just wrote – wrote what came into my mind, wrote what my option was on matters, wrote what was happening in our lives and wrote what I thought or felt (most often right as something was happening or had just happened).
And with that this blog, became exactly what I had hoped – a unique, creative, new and fun way to express myself.
However, an unfortunate situation in my life has created the need for me to make changes to this blog. Sadly, I need to make this blog private. I won’t get into great details as to the who, what, where and why but let’s just say that distance needs to be created and there are only a few areas in which I am able to do that in order to help the situation.
So what does that mean to you? If you enjoy my blog (and I hope you do), then reach out to me by commenting on this blog, email, phone, text or in person and I will add you to the list. If not, then by this time next week, you will no longer have access. It is my hope that my blog does not have to stay private for long as I enjoy the random comments from the public and the great feedback from family and friends but this is what it is for now!
