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Operation Stay Young
So we are a month in to our New Years Resolutions or Goals. How are you doing? I’m feeling pretty good. Hubs bought me a pedometer, a basic Fit-Bit, for Christmas and it has been a wonderful motivator for me. It reminds me if I want to meet my goal by the end of the day I need to move. That may mean doing a little running in place while I fold laundry, having a mid-afternoon dance party in the kitchen with the kids (making sure I move my feet to keep those steps going) or just a couple extra jogs up and down our steps. For me it’s the…
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Awkward! Junior High Time to Step Forward
Junior High School… a wonderfully awkward time of life! Who are these kids? Adults… no. Little kids… no. On any given day they act like either one… or give an hour and they are flipping the switches and are both. This was the first time in my life that I moved: changed school districts, changed me! I walked into the new school literally a head taller than any other girl and had that raw feeling of ”who in the world am I?” Clueless. Tonight in our Junior High Youth Group we are going to be talking about a timeline. Gaging where they were, where they are going and perhaps…
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An Open Letter to Teenage Drivers
Dear Teenager Driver whose path I crossed yesterday, In some ways I am sorry for yelling yesterday. I know I yelled loud. Adrenaline kicked in and Mother Bear came out. I now know you were scared. You see there are three very special boys to me – VERY special. They frequently play on the sidewalk that you careened over. There are at least nine other neighborhood children who are all very dear friends. Children that we cannot replace. Children who play in our quiet street in our quiet development. A black-hole could have easily been created in our hearts that day had only one of our precious jewels from heaven been standing on the…
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A Little Bar of Soap and Our Values
We are a country of generations, framed by them, marked by music we loved as teenagers, wars fought in each and of course, TV programs that we enjoyed. Each marks a different view of life and values in many ways as well. We find causes, issues that make us get involved and each is based on when we grew up. Breast cancer awareness, the environment, Vietnam, the housing crisis, each mark a generation most involved or responsive to their cause or issues. New issues and causes can appear for each generation at any time and I have found a new one to write about today. Frequently generations disagree on…
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Happy Birthday, Kiddo
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11Dad and Josh: Makes me smile 18 years ago a boy was born. He would forever change my life, influencing the mother that I am today, yesterday and tomorrow. He’s a brother! (and he will be again and again)Joshua, Josh, Kiddo. What an amazing young-man he has come to be. A stellar student, a strong athlete, a friend to many, a rock in a sea of turmoil. To say I am a proud mom would be an understatement. I…
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Its Friday – A Focus on the Military Family with Key Spouses and the Caring for People Forum in the Headlines!
Focusing on the military family! Yes, they deserve and earn it every day! Lt Gen Darrell D JonesIt is Friday! Yeah! Most of us look forward to it. For us it means a weekend is almost here! Time off, relaxation, family time, church and projects. Unless you are deployed, tdy, in basic training or other training when it means tomorrow is Saturday. I do like this > FFF, Family Focus Friday. Being a military person I am used to acronyms like FRSA, A&FRC, MWR, AGS, MXS, etc. and most of you are too. They almost replace what they stand for at times during conversation. I think the military must have…
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Staying Healthy: Time for Us
An intimate relationship is one of life’s greatest pleasures. But it also takes planning and work. We all need to make being together a priority. Otherwise, life takes over and the relationship with your spouse takes the back-burner. I ran across a blog-post this morning that I would highly recommend reading from Warren Baldwin, titled “Marriage: The Difficult Years“ While we often look at the similarities we share with the person we love, the differences cry out for recognition. Our bodies, communication, and emotional/mental processing are different. We both crave intimate connection with our spouses, but experience it differently; one uses communication to bond, the other to convey information; one looks for…
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Help Your Child Feel Healthy!
The American Heart Association recommends that children and teenagers get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. My kindergartner’s teacher mentioned to me that *C* is the most in-tune and capable of learning right after some rigorous activity. She has witnessed first hand, in particular with him, how when he gets rid of pent up energy he is ready to sit down and stay on task. Occasionally, if all of the students are a bit hyper she has them do a few jumping jacks beside their desks. Then they sit back down and jump back into work. It goes to show how in-sync our bodies are. Even the brain craves motion, movement and…
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Teen Time
Can you go back in time… in your head to revisit being a teen? Oh the world was not friendly. It is not that it was hard, scary or compressing or even too demanding. It was expanding, about as fast as the body does. That time before high school graduation is a time of growth. The tallest in the class… guy or girl or the shortest; the quietest person in the class, in the back of the classroom or the chattiest in the front row; allows a persona to develop all based on the physical. All out of the control of the teen.Out of control… it rather describes what is…
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Operational Stress Control – How are You Doing? – DoD Roundtable
Are you feeling “stretched” as the holiday season and Christmas arrive? Do you have enough energy to bring the stretch of stress under control? Is your military family resilient? During 30 years of service and then retirement and watching a daughter with her husband in Iraq we have seen a lot “stretching” and it was great to hear Captain Lori Laraway, coordinator, Navy Operational Stress Control Program, talk to the Blogger Roundtable about means to help return the stretch to your rubber band of relationships, mental health and tools to keep you resilient! Are you in the Red? Green? Yellow? Orange? I so like this way of identifying how folks…
