From here, the fog looks like a soft blanket

I am flying right now and I mean literally flying over beautiful rock formations and snow topped mountains.   I wish I could say it was in a private jet with someone serving me crepes and mimosas while I caught up on all the movies I want to see OR in a small plan piloting it on a site seeing adventure, but alas I am flying in a Super-80 (yuck) to our corporate office for a couple days of meetings.  It helps that our corporate office is in Palo Alto, CA and the weather should be great of course.  It doesn't help that due to the Comedy of Errors that is my life I didn't get to eat this morning or have my tea but I digress.

It all looks so peaceful from up here, the pilot just said we could see the Grand Canyon in the distance.  I have only ever seen the Grand Canyon from the sky, it is on my list of places to visit in person...I want to walk on the sky bridge and look down before rafting down the river.

Back to being peaceful.  On this cloudless day, I can almost see the wild animals on the peaks or plateaus   The red rocks and white snow remind me of Estes park, not that there were red rocks as much as the peace and reminder of how very small we are.  I know there are people down there, roads, offices, houses, schools, but from up here?  Up here there is simply miles and miles of canyons and mountains.

It is unfortunate that I needed to be thousands of feet in the air to remember the peaceful feeling that I had while climbing the continental divide (talk about feeling small) or sitting by the pool in Mexico, or on the beach in Florida...I am going to take advantage of it none the less.

Find your peace today, even if it is for a few fleeting moments and without crepes or climbing equipment.

Finding Your Home

A month again...oops.  It's not that I don't have things to write, it is more like I have too much to write!

Anyway, I live my life with a soundtrack.  I had a boyfriend in high school who asked me if my family will randomly break out into song...yes.  Yes we will.  And often.  Back to my point, I have talked before how the kiddos go to this amazing school that teaches you to be Men for Others.  I was reminded of that again this week.  How does that tie into my soundtrack?  Give me a minute, I will always come around to my point.

This week, the basketball program - Freshman through Varsity, coaches included - did something that brought tears to this 'I don't cry it is a sign of weakness' heart.  They shaved their heads from a #3-#5.  Teenage boys, in the heart of Sadie Hawkins time, shaved their heads.

Why?  Because one of the freshman player's little sister has cancer and is starting chemo and they wanted to show their support.  These boys didn't think about what their short hair looks might be, didn't worry about what others might say.  The kiddo? Well his hair is already a #3 so he didn't have to shave his but said he would have.  I showed up to the Varsity game last night and the head coach had his head shaved, the other freshman coach I almost didn't recognize as he was all but bald.

So what is my point?  I was listening to music, dancing around my kitchen while the promised brownies cooked for the most important men in my life, and Home came on.  It hit me again, my boys are home.  Their school that we spent all of dinner talking about, the school they get to at 6:45ish every morning, the school they are at for no less than 12 hours a day.  The school that they have found friends, young and old, mentors, also young and old; the school where they have found family.  These Men for Others are home; and this week the home shaved their heads for one of their own in their home.

Teenage boys might not be the easiest to understand, the easiest to be patient with, the easiest to understand, but this week?  They certainly are the easiest to emulate when it comes to finding family and a Home.

IT IS WORKING!!!

Before the past couple years, I didn't have much experience with transplants.  I didn't know the process, the difficulty, I could only imagine the hopelessness felt by the recipients and their families as they waited.

Then came the heart and the kidney.

Late last year they found a heart.  It didn't work out - God had other plans, but today?  Today the kidney was found AND IT IS WORKING.

Trey is the brother of a dear family friend that my mother has one of those more like family than a friend relationships with, and has for a few years.   Today his wife, his 4 kids, his family and his friends get to celebrate because the kidney is working. Here is his story:

At 19 years of age, due to kidney failure, Trey received a kidney transplant from their father. In August of 2010, he discovered he had renal cell carcinoma in this kidney. Thankfully, there were no signs of metastasis. He underwent surgery in an attempt to remove the tumor but save the kidney. Unfortunately, the entire kidney had to be removed. Since that day, Trey has been on dialysis three nights a week. While they are grateful for dialysis as it keeps him alive, it causes serious damage to his body and greatly decreases his quality of life. His sister, Ashleigh, was the anticipated donor. However, due to a previous transplant and blood transfusions, Trey has developed an extremely high antibody count, causing her and 11 other family members to not be a match. 

They worked with the Mayo Clinic, until yesterday.  Yesterday Trey and the family headed to Chicago to take part in a 14 person chain for a new kidney.  Today, THE KIDNEY IS WORKING.

I believe in God, I believe in Angels and I believe in the power of prayer.  We have asked for prayers and I know God works at his schedule (want to hear God laugh?  Tell him your plans!), and today our prayers were answered and not only did Trey get a kidney, the kidney is working.

We are still waiting on a heart, but I know God has a plan, even when we aren't patient enough for it.

Today?  Today we celebrate the kidney.  AND IT IS WORKING.

Plant Your Feet - 5 seconds of amazing is totally worth it

Recently, I spent a lot of time in a basketball gym.  As I watched from the stands I saw boys set themselves up, hard, in the lane, hands crossed low and feet planted firmly, waiting for the oncoming offensive to try to charge over them towards the basket.  Bodies hit, feet held firm and as the defender fell the whistle blew -CHARGE AGAINST WHITE.  The Blue jerseys and fans cheered - turn over on white.  The crowd goes wild and the coach gives a high five from the stands.  Way to go kid - how much we can learn from you!!!

It might hurt, and you will fall if you do it right, hard, feet up in the air and wind knocked out of you.  If you have ever planted and received the powerful charge you know that it can feel like the world is crashing on you and yet you get the ball.  You stand up and are in control.  This is one of the greatest calls you can get as a baller.   You will be the hero of your bench for that 5 seconds.  Hero of the stands.  Hero of your school. You might not smile on the outside as you take those low fives running back on offense but inside you are smiling and cheering.  5 seconds of amazement.

As adults, too often we worry about what everyone else might think.  We don't plant our feet and stand our ground and take that charge, get up and smile inside.

Let's do it.  Take your stand.  Plant your feet. Get the wind knocked out of you.  Be a hero for your friends, your family, for yourself.  Smile inside and run back on offense.  Learn from that kid in the lane, 5 seconds of amazing is totally worth it.

Embrace the Wonderment (and make bread for monkeys)

As the sun starts to rise Christmas morning it glistens off the light dusting of snow as if the ground was covered with diamonds and pearls on this glorious day.

Or, I live in Texas and I woke to the gentle sound of a thunderstorm and much needed rain waters the dying grass....

Before I "make the bread for the monkeys" -  I do love the way things are said in my house- I wanted to leave you all with one thought.  No matter where you are or what it looks like outside, greet the day with the childlike wonder of a toddler knowing Santa left presents under the tree or as we all should knowing Jesus was born for us today!

Embrace all the wonderment, joy and love this day brings - Merry Christmas and God Bless my friends!

The world needs more...

Bears.  The world needs more bears.

This was a conversation had with good friends last night over a drink and Shepherd's Pie at a local pub.  Everyone know pubs have the best meat pies and if you don't know what I am talking about you are either missing part of your life or you are a vegetarian.  To each his own, even if you are missing out.

Where was I?  Oh right, the world needs more bears.  This came about over a discussion on what you should and should not need to get a license in order to do legally.  My little group last night was made up of intelligent (not all the times, we all have our pretty moments thanks) women who have successful lives, families and friends.  What is it about bears?  Well, if there were more bears maybe the not so smart people would wander into the woods and the bears would take care of the problem for us.  That lead to a discussion of Philmont and then we just went all over the place from there.  Our conversations are often stream of consciousness so there is no telling where a simple topic might head.  Back to the bears.  Before someone gets all upset that we meant bears to literally eat people, really I take it to mean 'Bears' to separate the men from the boys, or women from the girls.

My great Aunt had a huggy bear on her bed that always was there for a hug.  My brother had a Wooly Bear (admittedly I don't know how to spell Wooly) that hugged him as a child and mom still has in the spare room.  I had a stuffed black bear that the same great Aunt gave me and I gave to the kiddo when he was young; yes, I still have it.  The tall one used Pooh Bear as his huggy friend growing up - we still have a statue of him.   I am not a touchy person, never have been and don't think I ever will be, but even I will admit sometimes a bear hug from a loved one makes all the difference.  It's called a bear hug for a reason.

I live my life by the saying Sometimes You Eat the Bear, Sometimes the Bear Eats You.  This is how I get through those very rough times, trials of life, work, kids, faith, you name it.  There are days when I am convinced I am bear food and others when I have a new bear coat, boots and purse.   The Bear is always a part of my life, challenging me to go one step further, knocking me down at times, giving me something to strive for, a challenge to 'eat' (rhymes with beat); the bear is always there.

So yes, the world needs more bears.  Bears in the 'woods' for crowd thinning, Bear hugs to get through life, Bears to challenge us.  Remember friends, Sometimes You Eat the Bear and Sometimes the Bear Eats You.  Either way, we need more bears.

Everyone Deserves a Lifetime - EVERYONE

***Updated December 14, 2012 - And today, innocent victims had their lives taken from them by a senseless gunman who decided it was better to slaughter innocent children and adults then take their own life.  It wasn't cancer that took these lives, it was a selfish human who decided it was okay to take innocent lives before their own.  With all the danger in the world out of our control, what made this person decide they could play God and introduce more?  Somehow, this blog post just seems more poignant than ever.  Everyone deserves a lifetime, EVERYONE.  Bless those angels and their families. ***

This year, I participated in the Susan G. Komen 3 day for the Cure.  It was a 60 mile, 3 day journey with one goal in a mind, a cure for breast cancer.  I met so many wonderful women, men and kiddos out there walking, supporting us, and cheering us on; that alone was worth the pain that we felt the end of each day, or the tears that would come on with warning and not want to stop.  I felt my Grandmother's presence with me along the way, sometimes she was asking me what I was thinking without a car and sometimes she was on my shoulder telling me that I could make the next mile.

While on the journey, I had plenty of time to think about what is important in life as the mantra for the walk is Everyone Deserves a Lifetime.  What is a lifetime?  It is the days you are alive?  The simple minutes and hours you spend breathing on this earth?  It is the time after childhood when you have to take care of yourself..."when I am grown up and can do whatever I want" so to speak?  Is it a collection of good moments that you look back on and smile? Or is it those rough moments you learned from or just survived? Is it the people you meet, those you remain in contact with or those who fade away.  What is a lifetime?

I like to think a lifetime is all of those things and more.  Our family, the friends, strangers, acquaintances; the good times, the bad; the kid years and adult years; the past you learned from and the future you dive head long into whether you want to or not.

All that to say, a lifetime is personal to each one of us, and I know everyone deserves one.  Go live yours - it is always worth it and you more than deserve a great one.