Ducks, Gravity, Death, and Bubbles

Playwright David Monet said, "We all die in the end, there's no reason to die in the middle."

Everything feels like it's dying around me. I know, that's a dismal outlook. But give me a moment, my favorite cat, Ed, is dying. One of my baby ducks just died (Not the one in the picture...and I know they're ducklings but baby duck sounds cuter). And my heart gets heavy thinking of friends dealing with far weightier losses than these.

On a daily basis time and gravity have their way with me. The age fight feels just an inch away from looking like a train wreck. And it's been raining for freaking I don't know how many days!

Okay, but it is spring, there are beautiful flowers in bloom. And in fuller beauty is my family, and my husband. I am blessed in many more ways than this world is cursed.

So, about not dying in the middle. I ordered ducklings, as you've gathered by now. I don't have experience with ducks, but we have friends that do (and just for the record, that dead duck wasn't my fault....). I took a risk. Went on an adventure if you will.

Same way, a few weeks ago at a writer's retreat I jumped in a row boat to enjoy a little time alone on the water. I almost let standing water and spiders in the boat (the kind that run with superpowers on the water) stop me from the fun. I forced persistence. Nothing a smack with my flip flops couldn't handle...a few times along the way, with banging echoes across the pond. Those sitting on benches along the water's edge ended up entertained, not my intention, but okay. It was fun and I was so glad I didn't die in the middle (I'm referencing the quote, not my swimming ability).

I think this persistence is God bubbling up inside me and I choose to let Him stay...and bubble.
I'd be a liar if I said I always let Him bubble in my life.
Sometimes the rains really get to me. But not this time.

PS- About Ed. I may choose to live in denial and believe that he simply moves to California. From there he will update his Facebook with all of his surreal feline adventures. You can ask Edward Lee to be your friend on Facebook if you want to see what he does when he...makes the big move.

Running and Saving The World

One thing I needed to get done today was mail my Mom's Mother's Day gift and parents' anniversary gift (they fall on the same day this year). One thing. But several work duties, challenging phone calls, and errands in between buying the last item to put in the gift box and the send-off at the post office. About 90 percent of the day's duties were abnormally frustrating today. So when I arrived at the post office where the sign read closed at 4:15, and my watch said 4:16, and the window is under steel lock down I realized that I may have anger issues.

When I am boiling up like this the best thing I can do for the world is go running. Some people recycle to save the world, but my largest physical contribution is running. I am doing everyone around me a huge favor. Not everyone understands this though. Take for example, the people in vehicles that seem angry that I'm also using the road and don't give me any real safety buffer. Or the recent passenger who flipped me off for no good reason I can figure (for those of you who are unfamiliar with such gestures, that's a middle finger, the bird, an f-you!). Really? Did I deserve that?

Whatever, back to today. When I got back to my home office I managed a few email items, and conversations before I grabbed my iPod and running shoes. Very soon the words of the song Forever Young calmed and encouraged me. I started thinking about eternity and stopped yelling out loud to God about crazy life on earth (as if He hasn't noticed). Soon after that the happy exercise chemicals starting kicking in.

Back at home I completed a few little home repair projects with the boys' help and planted some flowers with more energy. I was a completely different person.

I know that taking care of myself physically (and in turn emotionally, mentally) does this for me. I've known it for many years and know that it is a must for me to be the best person I can be. You know, so I can save the world and all that.

So, why do I forget? Why do I put off what I know will benefit me?

Each time I get out of kilter I am baffled by myself. It's the same way with me and God. I wonder why sometimes He seems so far away. But I haven't been listening to His words. He left me a few written ones and lots of evidence of His work here. Yet, I put off what I know will benefit me.

Thank God I am reminded, refreshed, and on track again at the moment.

photo of Westley Lee (you'd rather see a picture of him running than me, trust me!) by Trevor Lee, www.tmleephotography.blogspot.com

Things Not As They Appear

As you can see by the photo we went on a road trip. And those of you who know us know how typical and eventually funny our travel stories are.





There is so much I have wanted to write about for weeks but haven't felt like I could do it justice. As I've thought about the many things I've experienced recently I feel like I can group several of them in the category of things are not as they appear.





In the New Orleans French Quarter storefronts are really dirty (cool & creative yes, but so dirty). The many tiny one-way streets and narrow walkways have a special ambiance but they also wreak of garbage....and more than a few people you wouldn't trust with your children. But our hotels.com find ended up being this Bourbon Street pearl hiding beautifully inside an unassuming shell. It was awesome! We enjoyed our time in this amazing city, Jackson Square, Cafes, incredible street musicians, all amidst the dirt (here we are at Cafe' de Monde, delish!)






Still in the things are not what they appear category. fast forward to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. It shone bright with a massive zip line across a lake, beautiful bike trails, kayaking and white water rafting, all for one low price higher than Cedar Point. We soon discovered that the first thing we wanted to do, the huge zip line, was down for repairs indefinitely. The bike trails were closed due to recent rain. The rafting was booked, with one time slot left in the day..... BUT we enjoyed 'rock' climbing a lot, what a great work out! And Kayaking on the river where there was a crazy amount of turtles was really great.

Same category... rewind to an hour before we left for the trip (first stop Houston) when I got a call from my parents that my Grandmother, soon to be 94, had died that morning. She was the reason for our Florida leg of the trip. I was so sad. We missed seeing her one last time. But as sad as all of my family, lots of Italian cousins, aunts, uncles, everybody....so sad to lose her, as I looked at her lifeless form I knew she was no longer old, frail, and limited. She

was in eternity. I can only begin to imagine how incredible things are for her now.

Indeed, things are not as they appear.

And about the Hood Up photo....the van was overheating on the last hour before our Florida stop which required pulling over every 15 minutes to pour water bottles and melted ice from the coolers (a fun sight for passersby), into the leaking radiator. Once we got to my parent's house Dave tried replacing the hose which didn't prove to be the issue. So, he found a mobile mechanic at the auto parts store. This model guy shows up in an old '79 Chevy van, turns out he's not a model. He's a mobile mechanic. But a few of us stood around watching just to make sure.

Things are not always as they appear.

Throughout our travels we frequently encountered some people who fit this category. Well, not the looking like models so much as just seeming way different than they really were. And some of them surprised me in great ways. The more I talked with them the more I found beauty inside.

That's inspiring. I want to be like that.

God, help me be like that. Better on the inside than I ever appear.

Ghetto Van Moves Down the Road

"What?! You're selling the red van?!"

I'd heard this from more than one wrestler on the day that we put the red ghetto beast up for sale.

And I suppose when a vehicle is 20 years old and has gone on as many wrestling trips as this one has, its bound to have garnered some attachments.

"No, you can't sell it." (says a face in denial).

One of our boys thought we should bury it half way into the ground in the front yard, along with other Astro vans that bite the dust in the herd. The same boy thought it might be a 'viable' option to let her go out with a bang at the demolition derby.

As one of the bill-paying individuals in the household I thought we should place an ad that read something like:
Astro conversion van for sale, mature (250,000 miles) and actually dependable with many special features: child proof sliding door (only opens from outside), theft proof passenger door (only opens from inside), fold down bench seat (allows one older child to sleep diagonally), variable speed automatic window controls (sometimes they take several minutes to get back up), optional power locks (sometimes chooses not to lock some doors), theft resistant cargo doors (there's a nail-breaking trick to opening the dented rear door that chooses not to lock).....and there's more! Call 419-GHETTO-VAN

So many great ideas. None of them happened because the treasure sold in one day's time. Going, going, gone!

Next morning, the 13 year old Astro van wouldn't start.

Photo compliments of www.trevorleephotography.blogspot.com

Bittersweet and Bobbing

A flurry of emotions flooded me, none of them good.

Oozing over with anger and sadness at the State Wrestling Tournament in Columbus last weekend, I was fit to be tied, or smacked, or something.

My senior son, Wes, had lost his second match due to a foot injury in the first round. He was predicted to take 2nd and now his high school career was done. This was the first in nine years of four high school wrestling sons, that two of them qualified for State the same year. It held such promise!

I threw my stuff in the trunk (that required 5 slams to shut) and sat in the car for a long time trying to cool down before I headed back to the hotel in Nascar fashion. Doing quite well, I might add...with the Nascar part....I was northbound on 315 when I noticed something bobbing in my rear view mirror. You guessed it, the trunk lid. I couldn't safely pull over and nothing was in danger of falling out unless there was a half pipe around the corner. So I just kept clipping along with traffic while I pretended not to notice people staring and pointing. I just hoped my chocolate supply didn't bobble loose.

I grin now, but boy was I angry. At God. Yep, I usually go straight to the top for this stuff. I know He could have blessed Wes, but He didn't. Not in this way anyway. It made me seriously angry.

Dexter (sophomore) was 17 seconds away from being done in the tournament himself, and down by 3 points. I was starting to feel the tears of defeat when Dexter reversed the kid (2 points) and locked in his crazy wrenching tilt where he literally leverages his entire body on the kid until he turns him to his back - and it worked! He scored two more points in the last two seconds to win the match! This was a near heart attack I tell you. I bawled. I had friends and family crying. I had people who didn't even know me crying. It was an amazing victory for Dexter and he went on to place 7th in the state.

A bittersweet weekend to be sure.

Today a friend hit a point home for me, and I needed it. She said, (my paraphrase) "Shelley, sports teach life lessons, and the rewards they get later in life applying those lessons are the ones that matter."

I knew this, I really did. I wrote something like this in my wrestling book. The people they become, the commitment and work ethic they learn, this is what matters. I know. But somehow today when she said it, it was like I finally hit the ball that was pitched to me, and I smacked it out of the park.

OK God, I get it. I still don't really like it and I'll probably need reminded again, but I think I get it.

Cars Falling Like Dominoes Solution

The college duo -Mitch & Cody, were right on time getting out the door to drive to class, no time to air up the flat tire they found on Cody's car. So, they marched over to Mitch's car while Mitch said something like, "Ya Turd, we've taken my car for the last four days!"

But his car's battery was dead, so he had to get mouthy about something else now.
By the time I saw them, heard them actually, they were pulling out of the driveway in the 1990 Ghetto-Astro conversion van. Their mission: to give new meaning on campus to the word 'class'.

I was supposed to use Trevor's car to get to a work meeting because the van was in the shop. Trevor noticed a low tire on his car too and went out to work it. He came in too quickly asking how to use the battery charger. His car was dead too.

Yes, we were 0-3 on the lot.

So, Dave had to stop home for his lunch to jump start and charge up vehicles, while on his way to exchange the van for the car he was driving that needed other repairs.

Our solution possibilities?
1) buy the car pictured here (a girl's gotta dream)
2)hitch-hike (this is not safe)
3)fire up the mini bike & strap on the helmet (safer)
4) play musical cars (this is our personal favorite and wins every time).

Today all the dominoes are standing. It's a good day.

Relax

We're in the most intense time of wrestling season, and life is just plain busy. I don't have time to write a fresh creative blog story (obviously right, look at the date of my last post...).

So, I'll update you with the news that I just turned in a finished little book project for Barbour Publishing (a gift book entitled You're Sweet), the family & wrestling team are doing great, and our kitten is in fact, alive, after escaping into the winter for a night.

I thought I would do a quick little picture story for fun.

I need to relax a little more like this. Just in the middle of life....relax.

Dave and I did go to Maumee Bay for a night last weekend for our 24th Anniversary. We slept a ridiculous amount of time with this view out our window. That was one of the nice deep breaths in life.

A short time later reality awaited me at home...

Did I mention that I want to relax like this?