Grateful...

I'm just feeling very grateful today, so I thought I'd share...

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. (Buddha)

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. (Denis Waitley)

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines. (Leroy Satchel Paige)

Braving the rapids...

Ah, isn't vacation fun?

We took Jessie and Derik on a white water rafting trip yesterday up at the BSA high adventure base camp near Salmon, Idaho. There were eight of us on the trip--my father-in-law Don, my brother Jim, my sister-in-law Tammie, my brother-in-law Dustin, Kyle, Jess, Derik, and me.

After an enjoyable first hour or so, our guide steered us onto a rock and into a whirlpool, the boat ending up vertical instead of horizontal (though it didn't tip all of the way over, thank goodness). Almost everyone was vaulted from the boat into the rapids, and it was dang scary! Jess, Kyle, and I somehow managed to stay in the raft (but then Jess and Kyle were thrown from the raft a few minutes later, and Jess swallowed a bunch of water). Jim, Don, and Tammie were all caught by the whirlpool's undertow and thought they were goners, though the river was nice enough to eventually spit them out--cold, half drowned, and shaken, but still alive. Dustin ended up under the raft in the whirlpool and was the one who pushed us free. Derik managed to swim unharmed through the rapids, and we picked him up down stream a ways. Apparently I, with all of my mother instincts kicking in, repeatedly screamed "where's Derik?!!?" as we were righting the raft and trying to retrieve people, not stopping until Jess pointed him out bobbing along past the rapids down stream; I don't remember doing it.

After a few minutes that seemed like a nightmarish eternity, we were able to retrieve everyone and finish the trip, but it was one heck of a scary experience! I don't know how willing either of my children will be to go on a raft trip again any time soon. Derik says the trip was fun, but if he ever does it again, he'd like to do it on a calmer river. The jury is still out for Jess on whether or not she'll willingly ever step foot in another rubber raft for the purpose of braving the rapids. I can understand that.

The weird thing is that it was still a fun trip--minus the almost drowning part--and it was extremely kind of Don to set up the trip for us. Today I'm simply phenomenally grateful that everyone's alive, so grateful I can't begin to express it! Talk about guardian angels!!!

Progressing...

I had an experience a couple of weeks ago that I've been pondering ever since and find really quite charming. Jess and I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a 5k race/walk to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. My father's mother and my mother's sister both died from breast cancer, and it's a cause I truly believe in. We had the opportunity to train and raise some money, and then race day found us bopping around a 5K path with around 14,000 of our closest friends. It was a great experience for both of us.

During the race, there were people of all ages from all walks of life from the community cheering us on. My favorite moment of the race was about half way through. We had walked past countless groups of cheer leaders yelling things like "you're doing great" and "you guys are awesome" or "keep up the good work!" But at one bend, there were three early twenty somethings--two girls and a guy--that were just standing there. As we passed, the young man said, "You're progressing--I like it."

We were taken aback for a minute because it was such an odd thing to say, and then we just started chuckling. Of all the things that were said to encourage us, that one was probably the most real, and it's definitely the one that stands out in my mind. His comment carried us through the rest of the race and into the coming week.

As I've considered his comment the last couple of weeks, I've decided that it contains deep wisdom for me that he probably didn't intend. I've always been fascinated by Paul's race imagery in the new testament, and I very much try to live my life in a way that will some day allow me to say, as Paul, that I have run a good race, fought a good fight, and kept the faith. But running a good race has to be a sustained effort of years filled with purpose and focus, not spurts of effort amidst a life of coasting. It's easy to do our best in those moments in life when something grand is spurring us on and inspiring us; but those moments don't often happen, and most of life is quieter and slips past us with less fanfare.

In considering the comments of our cheer leaders on the race path, I think the Savior is actually more like the young man than the other cheerers. His message for us from day to day really is "you're progressing--I like it." Then he adds KEEP IT UP AND DON'T QUIT, AND EVEN IF YOU STUMBLE, TRY AGAIN. He doesn't want us to use ourselves up all at once; he wants us to live a life of sustained dedication that quietly adds up to becoming more like him--no pressure, just becoming something better one step at a time.

So my message to you for the day comes from that great young sage in Plano, Texas, who doesn't probably even realize how wise he is: "you're progressing...I like it!" Isn't life great?!!?

New Permit...

Well, life continues to change. Jess started driver's ed last Monday and took her permit test Saturday--and she passed. So in a about a week, my little girl will have a learner's permit and will be officially able to get behind the wheel of a car. I have successfully kept from panicking so far, but we'll see how it goes when the permit actually arrives. I think it's not a learner's permit, but actually a legal directive for me to go completely grey. This is not actually happening, this is not actually happening, this is not actually happening...

A Little Crow With A Healthy Side Of Fresh Perspective...

Anyone who talked to me a couple of years ago as we were moving to Texas instantly discovered that I had no clue why we were moving here, and frankly I wasn't very excited; it certainly is not a first choice of place to live for either one of us. BUT because Kyle and I both felt that it was the right thing to do, we packed up and left Colorado. Moving to London shortly thereafter was a welcome and unexpected twist. But now, almost two years later, we're back in Texas and still wondering what we're doing here.

So why do we feel this way, you ask? Well...though the people in Texas are truly wonderful (and I mean that sincerely), the heat and bugs simply don't appeal to either one of us. That and the distinct lack of mountains just don't add up to our dream place of residence. Seriously, when we moved to Colorado after Derik was born, we said we'd never move back. Yet here we are.

SO, I am actively looking for ways to love Texas and enjoy this new adventure, and this week I found one. Spring here is beautiful! The state flower is the bluebell, and they're everywhere right now and absolutely gorgeous.

So Monday we had a family night photo op to enjoy all the beautiful flowers. And do you know what happened? The experience reminded me that life is what you make it and it really IS an adventure, no matter where you live; you simply have to find the adventure. You think I would have learned that lesson from living overseas--guess I'm a slow learner.

And, hey, the ant bites are already healing...