Victory

This is my awesome daughter after she made the JV volleyball team. I love the look of self confidence. That was a very tense day for both of us. I died a thousand deaths while she was at the final cuts of her tryouts. I fidgeted while wandering around in psychotic circles. I showed up early to pick her up, not having eaten anything all morning. I will never forget her face when she made it, the complete joy, disbelief that the coaches believed in her abilities, excitement of what was to come and relief. I know that these occasions are rare. Oftentimes our endeavors do not result in us raising our arms in victory. The fact that Bek has this look a week before the start of her first year of high school makes me think we are starting out on the right foot. May this be how you feel more often than not, my incredible daughter.

I. LIVE. WITH. _________

I live with___________. Fill in the blank. Yes, this picture speaks volumes about my life. The second boy child was actually pausing the game of the first boy child while attending to personal business. What started out as laughter ended with one child chasing the other child out of the bathroom. The second boy child even forgot his weapon of irritation in the private room. I think he was running for his life. Thank goodness he was finished doing what he needed to do!

Magical Puppies

My son and his friends were playing a game called "Magical Puppies". I observed from the background while going about my inane household chores. The rule changes were frequent and all based upon the whims of 5 and 6 year olds. The changes often resulted in one of the "magical puppies" gaining the upper hand in said game. I was intrigued by the swiftness in which these puppies were able to assess their current situation, determine their weakness and then declare the rule change that would give them power in the game. This was all done with complete confidence that it would be accepted by all the other puppies. Amazingly enough, this happened over and over again. I then had an interesting thought: these children were practicing business strategies during their game. Big banks/credit card companies are being run by magical puppies! They change the rules to suit their needs and make them the most money! This magical puppy ruled the game with his magical, puppy hat of fire. We better hide that hat bud, we can't let it fall into the wrong hands.