Bubbles goes to TX

Last Friday Mike flew to Texas to spend a long weekend with Mike and Jenny.  I am always so thankful when he does this because it's good for him and Ausili and it's good for Jenny because Sieb does honey do things for her.  Mike and Sieb went shooting.  Sieb grilled steaks for them and overall it was a great weekend.  Sieb took Bubbles along.  It's a running joke in our family that Bubbles goes with Mike on every trip he takes.  Sieb has also become what he calls a whiskey snob.  He bought some expensive whiskey while in TX.  Jay and I joke that it will take him 5 years to finish it but whose counting.  Ha.  
 

Spring Football

Nick (#9) transitioned right from basketball into football.  He is playing freshman and JV.  Last night was the first JV game.  Thankfully it was a beautiful night.  I fully anticipate I'll be sitting through some cold and probably rainy games this spring.  Sitting in the stands last night after a year of no sports filled my heart with gratitude.  I was simply thankful, thankful to be outside, thankful to be chatting with other parents but most of all thankful to be watching kids play sports again giving them the outlet that so many of them have craved in what has been a very dark year. 

 We have a girl on our team that is our kicker.  She's awesome.  Her dad is a great photographer and comes to all the games and captures shots.  Again, another thing I'm thankful for.  He truly gets some amazing pictures.  

Celebrating dad

On March 15 Kim and I took the day off and had intended to drive to Springfield to visit dad's grave, as it was the 3rd year anniversary of his passing.  However, the weather did not cooperate.  It was raining which would have been fine but the wind was brutal.  Kim and I decided not to go but instead celebrated dad over funny stories at none other than.....Brad's Bar (aka Kim's basement bar).  We had a nice day as we shared memories of dad. 

 Not sure what I'm doing in this picture but if I were to guess Kim and I were laughing about something since we were holding dad's canister.  Who knows!  Everything is always more fun with my sister. 

One year, 5 days, 11 lbs

 One might wonder what the heck my blog title is all about.  A year ago today the W.H.O (World Health Organization) deemed the Coronavirus a worldwide pandemic and life as we knew it changed.  By March 13 our daily living came to a screeching halt.  Looking back at that time, it was scary.  We didn't know enough about the virus.  We were told to stay in our homes for 15 days which would allow time to "slow the spread" and not overwhelm our hospitals.  What was supposed to be 15 days turned into 30 and then into 60 and here we are one year later and in Illinois we still aren't opened for business at full capacity.  Texas, South Dakota, Mississippi and soon to be Wyoming are the only states that are fully open.  It's hard to say how long us Illinoisan's will be running around with masks over our faces but honestly that's the least of my worries. This past year I ate and drank too much.  I consoled myself when I was bored (which was often) with food and vodka.  As a result I have put on 11 lbs in one year.  I finally came face to face with the number on the scale over the weekend and when I realized I was one muffin away from 200 lbs.  I knew I was in trouble in the fall but I continued to ignore it but then I started hating myself - like really hating myself.  As I'm writing this I can literally hear my girlfriends saying, "Amy you are too hard on yourself, you're beautiful." It's one of the many reasons I love my girlfriends but the fact is if I'm not confident and feel good about myself then what good am I to myself, my family and my God?  The numbers on the scale were enough to wake me up and prompt me to take action.  Thankfully I've spent the last few months educating myself on healthy eating.  Thank you you tube! My focus the last few months has been on women over 50.  I'll be 47 in May but close enough.  The reality is if you want to stay healthy in your 50's you must eat healthy.  The consistent theme over and over was plant based eating 90% of the time to maintain optimal health.  Five days ago I started eating healthy incorporating plant based foods with fish and chicken.  I've also committed to 30 minutes of exercises everyday.  I've lost 5 lbs.  But, circle back in another month and we'll see how I've done.  My goal is to lose 21 lbs. One thing I have reduced but not given up is vodka.  I make sure I've reserved enough calories to enjoy 3 fluid oz. of vodka every night.  How do I feel after 5 days?  Great.  I'm moving better and sleeping better. 

Welcome back basketball

 Nick's freshman basketball season is almost over.  Without much notice it started back up in February and will wrap up this week.  It went from a season that consists of 3 months to a 6 week season.  And things looked different and felt different this season from the number of spectators in the stands to watching sweaty boys play a hard game of basketball wearing masks.  But I am thankful kids are back playing sports.  As we approach the one year mark on what has been a very dark year the light is starting to shine and slowly things are returning to normal - although I'm convinced that as Americans and especially as Illinoisians what we understood and accepted as normal on March 12, 2020 will not be the same normal moving into the future.  Yes, I firmly believe we will have a new definition of normal and some things will have changed for good but that's another blog post.  

I really enjoyed watching Nick play ball this short season.  We were only allowed to attend home games.  Due to Covid we could not go to away games.  Nick proved to be quick and fearless on the court.  

Happy Birthday, Mom

My mom turned 70 this week.  Wow.  It's a really big deal being she's a brittle diabetic, suffered two strokes almost three years ago and lived through a terrible pandemic this past year.  We acknowledge that her life looks different but we are thankful for so many things; family, faith, the fact that she lives in her own home, she stayed healthy during Covid and is now fully vaccinated.  We are thankful for her fun loving and special (and I do mean "special") dog, Walker. On her birthday, Kim and I took mom out to shoe shop and then we took her out to her favorite restaurant.  Tomorrow night Kim is hosting a family dinner for mom and her cousin, Cindy, and brother, Mike, is coming.  

Mary and John stopped over on Mom's birthday.  They brought her a gift and flowers.  I couldn't do a blog about how thankful we are for the many blessings in mom's life without mentioning Mary and John.  John continues to cook for mom and he works with her twice a week with physical therapy - all the while he's in school full time!  Mary's prayers have been instrumental in my life and mom's.  Everyone should have a Mary and John in their life.  We are incredibly blessed. It's another example of how God places people together during seasons where you need them most.   

 

Advice

 This is what I wrote for my February writing group:

Philippians 3:14: I run straight towards the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus, to the life above. 

This is one of my favorite bible verses. In my Good News Bible I received as a gift when I was baptized at age 11 there is a picture of a man running a race.  At 11, I never knew that as an adult this particular bible verse would intersect with some of the best advice I ever received from none other than my mother.  I mean who else would it be?  Growing up I struggled in school.  I had a learning disability and back in the 80’s those weren’t really diagnosed but if I were to guess I believe I had a touch of ADHD and some serious oral processing issues. My mom and dad never struggled in school.  My mother was an honor roll student and my dad was an executive at the company he worked for.  Learning for them came easy but for me, it didn’t which is why when my parents sat in a staffing meeting when I was first grade and they were told I had learning issues my mother, especially, was dumb founded.  I made it through high school as an average C student which sometimes was annoying when learning seemed to come so easily for my friends.  Once when I had studied for a test that my mom and I were sure I would pass with flying colors because I had studied so hard, instead I came home with a C.  Mom was quick to point out that C was average, it was nothing to be ashamed of.  I turned on her like a viper and hissed, “I don’t want to be average.” It was then she said, “Amy, it’s not how you start the race, it’s how you end it.”  There have never been words more true.  That advice is true from elementary school to middle school to high school and from parenting to marriage. I am raising two boys who like their mother and their father have learning issues and have struggled through school.  I have used my mother’s advice over and over with them, “Boys, it’s not how you start the race, it’s how you end it.”  Recently my 13 year old niece started at a new school.  Before she started she had to take assessment tests in order to determine where she fell academically.  Sadly she did not do well and she felt defeated after taking the tests and placing lower than what she had anticipated.  I again used my mother’s advice.  I took her innocent 13 year old face in my hands and said to her, “Lauren, it’s not how you start the race, it’s how you end it.”  Sure the advice can be applied to academics but it really comes down to who are you as a person?  How did you run your race?  Did you work hard?  Did you positively influence others?  All of these things matter.  You may start slow and certainly there will be bumps and falls along the way but you can choose to end your race gloriously. 

Every once in a while I can actually give good advice myself. The advice I constantly give myself and my family is when a door opens for you, walk through it.  It may be nothing but at least give it the opportunity it deserves.  The door may be cracked but you can push it open further and it may lead to something you never thought possible.  I have seen this happen time and time again in my own life but also for my family.  A door opened 10 years ago for me to work at home.  It was scary but I walked through that open door and I’ve never regretted it.  My husband had so many doors open for his business and he’s now embarking on a new chapter of his business from a door that opened for him and he walked through.  Recently my son had a door that had cracked open just a wee bit.  He was reluctant to walk through it but after a few weeks that particular door went from being cracked to being wide open.  I offered Jay the same advice I had given myself and others through the years, the door has opened for you, the least you can do is walk through it and see what opportunities are waiting for you.  You may decide the opportunities aren’t for you and that’s okay but if you didn’t walk through the door, how would you have known the difference?  When a door opens for you, walk through it, analyze for yourself what is presented and then evaluate what is best for you.  If you never walked through the door, you miss great opportunities.