It's Hard to Breathe

I watched part of the movie "Miracle" while I ran a few miles on the treadmill today. I am starting training for a half marathon next week and wanted to get a few practice miles in before then. I have had very little motivation to run lately, but after eating my children's bag of popcorn at target and enjoying way too many Tim Tam cookies- I knew that Beckett's nap time gave me a great excuse to get moving.

As I ran, I watched as the 1976 US hockey team lost their first season game against the Soviet Union, 6-0. After the game, coach Brooks made his team stay behind and condition. They skated long after the rink closed, skating in the dark, bodies burning in pain obeying a coach determined to challenge them and make them champions. I ran and watched as one team member yelled his name and shouted that he played for the USA. A big step, indicating that he was an asset to this team, not an independent player from some other organization. The coach was waiting for that. He excused his team from the ice, and I gulped through broken breaths and a little bit of tears more determined to not give up on my simple run. It was hard to breathe, but I felt like I had wings.

I have enjoyed the past week of Winter Olympics. I have had several broken breath moments and tear streaked faces as I've learned more about the athletes competing. Sometimes I find myself living in the past, wishing I was still young enough to be one of those athletes walking in with team USA during opening ceremonies. Knowing that option doesn't exist, my focus turns then to my children- all of which seem totally uninterested in anything happening in Vancouver right now.

So I guess I resort to success on the small scale of my life. I am happy to get motivation from the great stories of Evan Lysacek, Lindsey Vonn, Apollo Ono and the 1976 USA hockey team. I know that Sonny and I won't be the best in all life races we run, but we will have experiences that make it hard breathe, and that's a good thing.

Kung Fu Philosophies

I never thought I'd be a mom that uses a TV in the car, but truthfully, I do. Traveling on our outings, the kids enjoy watching some of their favorite shows and it always seems to go in cycles. We'll usually have one DVD in for a few days at a time, starting and finishing in different spots of the show. The most recent DVD selection has been Kung Fu Panda, The Furious Five. I have never actually seen the movie (as I am driving during the showing) but I have heard it a few times. The premise is this: Jack Black's character, Po, gathers young students of the ancient art to talk with them about the "secrets" of Kung Fu. He shares stories of five Kung Fu masters, nicknamed the "Furious Five" and tells how each of them became the great masters they are. Each story expresses a quality that masters of Kung Fu should emulate: Patience, Courage, Compassion, Confidence and Discipline.

As we've driven around town, the kids have asked about each of these qualities and I've thrown in little remarks like, "Maybe you should have some COMPASSION toward your brother and help him with his seat belt?" Or "Sorry, we're not getting McDonalds, we're trying to be DISCIPLINED." Yesterday, I found that me and the little bunnies on the show were not the only one's learning from the "Dragon Warrior" and had another great parenting moment from our household optimist, Asher.

We sat down to dinner earlier than usual because the kids were starving. After picking Grayson up from school, we had a few errands to run, dropping off kids, delivering packages, and to the bank to deposit some checks. It took longer than I thought and by the time we got to the bank, it was 5:00, right in time for the evening rush. Grayson had not eaten anything since school and after offering my earlier response toward McDonalds, his cravings had yet to be satisfied. We sat in line at the bank drive through for much, much, longer than anticipated. The wait was so annoyingly long it was not just waring on my kids- I was frustrated too. After the deposits had finally been made, we bolted home and threw in some frozen pizza.

Sitting around the dinner table I asked the kids what their "best and worst" were for the day. (A tradition we have to tell each other what the best part and worst parts of our days were.)Grayson answered the latter part of the question first, "Well my worst was waiting forever in that huge line of cars at the dumb bank!" He furrowed his eyebrows and took a bite of pizza. Asher was quick to follow, "Ya, and my best was having PATIENCE while we waited in line at the bank." I chuckled. I guess we all see things differently.

Always grateful for the cute comments of my kids, I'll take a cue from them and work to have the COURAGE to do what's right, the CONFIDENCE to try new things, COMPASSION when I get upset, PATIENCE when I am frustrated and DISCIPLINE as I work toward my goals.

A cheesy tooth story

Grayson's tears flowed, interrupted only by the short screams and moans coming out of him. "Oh nooo, I have a really loose tooth! Oh noooo, I'm going to swallow it. Oh noooo, it will bleed everywhere. Don't touch it! Don't touch it! No, No, No!"



Sonny and I chuckled at the fear in our 7 year old. He has been waiting to lose a tooth for two years now. He is the last in his school class to lose a tooth, often coming home from school complaining that he is the only one with all of his baby teeth. He has struggled through his self imposed ridicule beginning in Kindergarten, throughout first grade, and into the third quarter of second. You would think this universal "coming of age" event would bring happiness to him, but no, it is utter fear.

We tried to coax him into letting us just pull it out. We reasoned with him, promising no pain, no more fear, and an added bonus left by a little lady called the tooth fairy. Nothing we said could change his mind. He preferred to live in denial, hoping the tooth would somehow re-position itself in his mouth and no longer be a problem. I guess we'll see how school goes today.

While laying in bed last night, laughing to myself about Grayson's honest child reaction to change in his life, I thought of a book I just recently re-read.


Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson is a short parable that tells real truths about change. It uses "cheese" as a metaphor for what you want to have in life- a new job, a relationship, money, health,permanent teeth, etc. There are 4 characters in the book who live in a "maze" and look for "cheese" to nourish them. The "maze" is where you look for what you want- your family, your job, or your community. While in the "maze" they find some "cheese". Two of the characters "keep on their toes", always watching what is happening with the cheese, always ready to move on if they need more cheese, etc. The other two just settle in and accept their "cheese" happily. Every day they do the same thing, go through the maze to the same place to find the same cheese and eat it. Unfortunately, they don't realize the "cheese" supply dwindling and when they get to their spot in the maze one day, they look around and say, "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Of course the two prepared characters were aware of the cheese disappearing. They were ready to run back in the maze and find more "cheese" somewhere else, but the other characters struggled with the loss of "cheese" and didn't want to find anything new. After some time, one of them discovered the need to change and search for new "cheese". He re-entered the "maze" and wrote his experiences on the walls of the "maze", symbolizing the idea that when we finally find the right ways to deal with change- we can have more success and less stress in our lives.

Right now, this world is full of change. Most of our friends, family and colleagues are experiencing some kind of change in their lives. After being reminded of how to successfully deal with it, I am kind of excited for us all to change. It is fun to see what options we have lying around the corners of our "maze". It is scary, but it is also thrilling.
Now I just have to instill this philosophy into Grayson. I never want my children to grow up and be the last character stuck in the "maze" with no "cheese" to make them happy just because they are scared of a little change.