A Splash of Orange

For many years now, my most consistent form of exercise has been walking our gravel road. With its Mt. Everest hills and ever-changing scenery, I never get bored. The wildflowers in the ditches change each year. Once in a while, a goldfinch or cardinal will show off their colors. And sometimes, Percy gets to chase a deer.

Yellow. Yellow. Yellow.

The other day I was walking along, admiring waves and waves of yellow flowers (the technical name), and I noticed a small splash of orange. I stopped my trek to admire this small and almost obscure spray of flora. I even stepped into the ditch to inspect. I was enamored. I might still be there if I hadn't been a bit concerned about snakes hiding in the long weeds.

This experience took about two minutes of my day. And it preoccupied the rest of my walk. How often do I ever take a minute to enjoy something? How often do any of us do this?

When the kids were little I would walk with them on this same gravel road. And I'd become impatient with the all of the stopping to collect rocks and pick pull-apart grass. I had stuff to do! I can't remember what. But apparently it was something important. Probably laundry. I'd do anything to go back to that time and let them take as long as they wanted. Skip the laundry.

We do everything so fast in our lives. We eat fast. We have sex fast. (Did I say that?) We DVR so we can get through our shows more quickly. Sometimes, and I realize this is a sin, I skim books. Now that is a shame.

We're too busy to savor.

I attended the funeral of a best friend's grandmother today. My heart flipped when I had heard she died. She was a very young 96, living in her house up until a few weeks ago. Violet was the sweet lady who always, always had time for you. Like all good grandmas, she fed us well and created amazing concoctions like Tang with 7-Up. But the best part of visiting her was how she always listened and laughed – always having time for you. She had the loveliest of laughs that will be forever imprinted in my heart. There was a reason her funeral was packed full of people.

Between the recent loss of a childhood icon and my brush with pretty orange flowers, I've decided I need to make some changes. Instead of calling Alex only to remind her to take her allergy meds, I'm gonna let her educate me on something she's passionate about, like being the laxest vegan on the universe. And rather than focusing on how Cole still can't flush a toilet, I'm gonna share his enthusiasm over a story about that one NBA player that did something cool that one time. And maybe, just maybe, I'll make them some Tang and 7-Up. The perfect splash of orange.

Can you see the prettiness between the weeds?

Things that are Awesome

I came across an amusing blog that posted "Things that are Awful." But in the spirit of the holiday, I'm determined to keep a sugar and spice angle. So, instead of thinking about things that are awful, I started to think about things that are awesome.

My kids showing their love? Awesome.

• kids, or anyone for that matter, who don't have cell phones
• iPhones (I recognize the paradox in the list)
• kids who send their own money to charity...with no coaxing
• high school vocal concerts–I say that in complete sincerity,
• The Wall Street Journal's 2011 review in books...So many books. So little time.
• Matt Damon, obviously
• bazillions of little girls dressed up in taffeta, tulle, and striped leggings (I admit it! I'm jealous!)
• underdogs and upsets (What are those pesky Broncos considered these days?)
• Tom Brady (Ha! Disclaimer: this list is based on aesthetic appeal only. However, as I write the Pats lead...)
• stinky, lazy dogs who once roamed the ditches and now rule a home
• reruns of the big bang theory to waste two hours of our time three nights a week
• blue twinkle lights to remind us of the phenomena of electricity and how happy a blinking light makes us feel
• The Waitresses Christmas Wrapping (As far as Christmas tunes goes, it's a great blend of quirky, joyful, and snap.)
• laughing at Saturday Night Live with my hubby and dreaming of going back to NYC soon so we can almost puke in a cab ride
• lists
• my son's thrice, daily check of gifts under the Christmas tree

That's it for now. Lot's of awesome stuff. How many awesome things do you spy this week before Christmas?

Confessions of a Mom Blogger

The title of this post reminds me that I probably need to change the name of this blog from "mommyhood" to something like "hey momhood" since I only get called Mommy in a rare slip of the tongue anymore...but maybe some other day. Right now, it's time for a confessional:

=>Yesterday I was about to pour the backwash of a Dr Pepper down the sink when I noticed a dying fly struggling near the drain. About a mili-second before dumped the soda, I watched the creature. And I wondered. Is the little guy in pain? Will it help if I just drown him in the carbonation? Or it will be excruciating? Suddenly, I couldn't bear the thought of torturing him. I KNOW I AM NUTS. You know what I did next? I took a napkin, let the thing crawl on it and released it outside. Whether it healed itself or not I'll never know. But at least I didn't drown him in Dr. Pepper.
=>I'm amazed at how quickly boys can learn sports. Doug taught Cole how to catch fly balls last night and he got it in like fifteen minutes! It totally freaks me out. They played for like two hours and never got tired. I remember when he tried to work with Alex. Wow. Those were not happy times. Alex and I should like play guitar together while the boys play catch.
=>While I will never regret building our house, I do miss the vegetation back at the old house. The strawberries. The raspberries. The columbine. The out-of- control rhubarb. And the peonies. The peonies! That were transplanted before the cows ate them last year and are blooming in our new yard this year! Yes, just in time to take to the cemeteries.
=>I told Doug the other night that I am going to quit writing. I don't think I will though.
=>I'm slightly jealous of the young twenty-somethings that that have nothing better to do on the weekends than to party, party, party. Only slightly though.
=>Nineteen years ago I met the love of my life. The thought makes me happy. Next week our oldest girl will turn thirteen. The thought makes me sad. The photo below is how I envisioned my hubby bonding with his son. Of course, this makes me happy. Especially, as I am bonding with my daughter on a shopping trip. Again, this makes me happy.

The Cowlick

"Did you see it?"
"See what?" I ask my friend Diane who called me yesterday morning.
"You're on the front page!"
"No way!"

My fifteen minutes of fame. I made the front page of the Non-Pareil! Lindsay Blake (the fun reporter I spoke of a few weeks ago) wrote a really cool article on Mom Blogs and Alex, Cole and I were featured. Pretty exciting for the Kramer household. But I just can't seem to get over one, minor issue. By telling you all this, I'm really exposing my shallowness. The issue? My hair in the picture. My most stubborn cowlick, which happens to reside on the right side of my widow's peak, was having a hay day sticking straight out from my forehead. I'm sure my hair stylist is saying "Why didn't she do something with her hair??"

Oh well. The article is enjoyable. (I love how the Non-Pareil features so many upbeat postive articles!) And most importantly, my kids look adorable!

Not sure if you can view it online, but if so, here's the link is www.nonpareilonline.com

Make YOUR Dream List!

Yesterday Lindsay Blake from the Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs) came to our house to interview me about my 'momblog'. She was young, energetic and reminded me how important it is to keep dreaming! On her website, she has a dream list. When I was much younger, I made a list of things I wanted to do before I died. A dream list sounds much more optimistic. Anyway, take a look at this girl's list! (The link is below.) Note the bolded items. (She's already done those.)Anyway, I encourage you all to take a look and make a list of your own. Maybe you won't skydive, go to Pakistan or fly a plane yourself, but heck, I don't know. Maybe you will! The point is don't forget to dream! I'm reissuing my "dreamlist" this weekend. It will be a perfect activity on the way to KC.

PS Know any other mom blogs in this part of Iowa? Post a comment for Lindsay's article!

http://web.mac.com/lindsayblake22/iweb/Site/Home.html