Young boys somehow seem drawn to football (and the like). Much like toy guns, you don’t even need to expose them to it for them to find away to get their hands on one. It begins at a young age…
…and grows from there. Until, the day you thought you saw so far off in the future is here. Your boys is no longer the cute little boy on the field holding a ball that is almost as big as him. His youthful years are just a blurred image in the background. [Read more…]
On our recent trip into the backcountry, I was forced to confront my demons of inadequacy. Although I am not the best at MANY things, I have often found that my ability to push myself and muster all of the strength that I have into making up for my shortcomings has often gotten my by. But on this such trip, I was lacking the push through the discomfort and unable to harness my strength. My hip flexors where screaming and the 35+ pounds of weight in my pack wasn’t helping. To make matters worse, my red blood cell count was low on account of prolonged menstrual bleeding (20+ days of it) and the hormone my doctor put me on the slow the bleeding was having a diuretic effect which only served to make staying hydrated even harder as I was taking diamox for altitude sickness.
When theMAN informed me that we would be cutting our first trek short and staying at a site closer to our starting point, I felt like I’d let him down. The tough gal he’d once dated was now wimping out. I was angry — at myself — but it took a bit to recognize just who I was mad at initially. Trying desperately to harness the anger for a final push, I started to let it get the best of me. This only served to slow me up for my emotions were weighing me down to the point of self-destruction. Fortunately, we arrived at a lovely camp site and were afforded the luxury of more time to just relax and take it all in. With slightly less than 7 miles covered and an elevation gain of 9,062 feet, it was well-deserved.
On Day 2, we traveled nearly as far but only had about 5,000 feet of elevation gain. My body felt a little better but I still couldn’t keep up the pace. Although the next day would take us up to over 11,000 feet elevation, I decided to stop the diamox and see what would happen.
Fortunately, I did okay. Day 3 was a turning point of sorts. My hip flexors were less grumpy and my energy level was better. Of course, it also helped that theMAN took back some of the shared items such as the poles to the tent and the water filter. We also made a point to rise early and get on the trail before the heat of day kicked in.
We were picking our campsite with hours of afternoon left to just relax and enjoy the view of Kearsarg Lake with the Pinnacles in the background. After lunch and setting up camp, we went down to the lake where theMAN relaxed on a rock in the sun and I found a nice place to take my yoga practice.
The following two days, we made our way back towards the start. Feeling much better, I was able to steal back a little bit of the weight. Although theMAN would gladly have carried it all, I know that his body doesn’t take the descents as well as the climbs.
We had a fabulous trip and even got to see our first bear (not once but twice) out in the back country!
Being a mother has been the most rewarding (and challenging) part of my life. This, of course, includes being step-momma to my wonderful DD. Nothing compares. It’s joy, it’s worry, it’s hope, it’s all kinds of LOVE. And far more than just that.
I remember when I laid eyes on BoBo, my firstborn, for the very first time. My heart and spirit felt an enormous rush of goodness. LOVE, like I had no idea even existed overtook me. The 47 hours of labor (and 3 hours of pushing) that I had just endured was forgotten… for that moment anyway. It certainly was worth it.
Unlike the other babies his age, BoBo seemed to defy all odds and test all limits. He kept me on my toes as he crawled towards every ledge, and later climbed to the highest of peaks. I had my hands full keeping this little love safe. He was ALL BOY for sure!
Six and a half years later, I gave birth to another son. The labor was completely different. Trusting that something was amiss, I requested induction. It turns out, I was 110% right. THICK, OLD muconium meant my baby was in distress. My OB initiated a rigorous plan of doubling the infusion rate of the Pitocin each 30 minutes until YaYa’s delivery. Just like his older brother, YaYa was beautifully perfect. After giving us a little scare on Day 1 by turning an unwelcomed shade of blue, he spent a week in the NICU/Level II Nursery for IV antibiotics. It was a joyous moment when we finally got to take him home. Just minutes after he received his last dose of antibiotics, via injection due to his IV going bad, BoBo and I wheeled little YaYa out of the hospital screaming at the top of his lungs. His lusty cry insured those lungs of his remained free of lingering infection.
Our little family was complete and my heart was overflowing with love.
Life continued. DD finished college and was soon showing up on our TVs every afternoon. BoBo applied his ALL BOY energy to every sport he could think of, while YaYa and I gave our support on the sidelines. Of course, young YaYa had to try all the sports his brother did. Football was the only one that I held back from him. I later caved, sure that he would hate it, and let him play on a Pop Warner team. He was the only one of my sons to helmet up at such a young age. And, as you may know, he proved me wrong; football is the only sport he plays today.
Yes, I left out A LOT of life.
Through all of the years, Mother’s Day arrived in varied manner. After the days of Tom making breakfast while the kids insisted I stay in bed until they came upstairs carrying the “surprise”, the day unfolded with more of a true surprise. I sometimes wondered if the day was forgotten until they would emerge from their rooms with some little token of love.
Mother’s Day Gifts from Mother’s Days Past
Each of these gifts, I hold near and dear to my heart. But to be perfectly honest, what I want most is for my boys to grow up healthy and happy. I think that this is what most mom’s want most. Until then, I would definitely enjoy spending time with them. No gift required; just their love and presence. Mother’s Day, in my humble opinion, is for LOVE — in whatever form. If all I get this year is a coupon for 10,000 “ponytails,” you won’t hear me complaining. I’d love nothing more.
We are creatures of habit, always hiking at the same open space preserve. We vary the park entrance and trail selection depending upon our mood.
It’s convenient and beautiful. It works!
Today, however, was just a little bit different. Today, theMAN opted to add some color to the outing. I would help me locate him in the event that we got separated.
I’m joking, of course. Speaking of color and outdoors. There is a Disney song that comes to mind from the movie Pocohantus. I leave you with the final verse from the theme song: Colors of the Wind
You can own the earth and still
All you own is earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind