From Red Belt to Junior Poom: A Tick-Tock Journey

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I agree! And don't you just find yourself smiling along??

There were six. Six red belts testing their skills and knowledge and speed and composure and courage. And the parents watched nervous with cameras capturing the moments. The frames tell the story.

We moms exhale slow and smile big! Dads nod a sure 'yes'! Pooms mingle happy!
This Junior Poom, his dad promised a new TKD uniform for a job well done. Well done!
Well done everyone!
And he's worked up an appetite. We'll do the traditional belt testing meal.

My Kwon Do Kid!!!

We're linking up with MOB Squad and "Let's Hear it for the BOYS!"

When the Waiting is Hard

The hours and the minutes, they drag by. Stubborn moments, like a child unwilling. Lured ahead only with momentary distractions.

The day is finally here, and there is nothing more to do but to count down the minutes. Did that minute-hand ever move more slowly? All this nervous anticipation, I see it in his drumming fingers. His restless pacing. The "one more time" over terminology we've gone over a hundred and twenty-seven times.

The way he does 21 movements and 15 face contacts to the timer on my cell phone. Again.

It seems the only way to move all the moments ahead, is to leave that one big one behind. For awhile.

 The moments pick up their ticking pace just a bit.
 And then it's time to go.
 He ties his red belt for what we hope is the last time! We pile into the car, shivering, (brrr cold! or nerves??) and take off for the gym.

We come in with a cold gust and before I can even help Sam out of his coat and gloves, he's gone. In the gym where everyone is dressed in their same white uniforms and red belts and jitters, I spy his blonde head near the weights. There is extra time to get some practice in with the black belts before the testing begins. Another mom and I talk about the stress this always is and remind each other to breathe. We parents kind of hang back in the lobby, watching through the one-way glass as our sons and daughters give a one-more-time through patterns and kicking pads.

Finally, we make our way to a folding chair or a bench. It's almost time.

This Family and Some Football: A Late Post

We were ready. Hubby stopped by the grocery store and picked up some snack food that would be a must-have for a weekend of football: little smokies, tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, and for the men of the house, pop. I don't like pop. I thought I would make up a tray of veggies and dip, something to promote a little bit of health to the body. I did think about it. We ran some errands in town and spent some time in the afternoon with various housecleaning chores and some food prep for Sunday. Boys took a Saturday night bath.

And then it was time. We turned on the t.v. and turned off most of the lights. Got settled for the game. Well, not really "settled", because who can be "settled" when the Broncos are playing the Patriots in the play-offs?

(I might just take a small side-trail here. We like football. Professional sports and all that goes with it can be controversial and I know that. But honestly, it really doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the game too much. As Minnesotans, of course we've followed the Vikings forever. Even called ourselves fans. But in recent years, well, they just aren't very exciting. Football should be exciting! And we like both the Broncos and the Patriots for different reasons. QB Tom Brady has family near the small town where we lived for six years. Tim Tebow makes us stand up and cheer for so much more than football.)

So, we were unsettled in the family room, anxious for the game to begin. We had our chips and salsa. Hubby said his heart was with the Broncs but his money was on the Pats. I was going for Tim Tebow all the way. Josh was with the Patriots just because he figured they'd win. Sam, well I don't think he cared much about who won or lost. He just wanted to play the game.

 So, during commercials, they did.

Gilbert wished we'd quit jumping up and down and off the couch. Can a Basset get a nap already?

The game was a crier- if you were hoping for the Broncos, anyway. We all stayed with it, every play, until the bitter end. If you watched it, or even if you didn't, you know by now that Tom Brady commanded the field. He was stoic. Unshakable. They won the game decidedly- and the Patriots were amazing to watch.
And the Packers vs Giants game? We didn't get to see much of that one. I was hoping for a beautiful day in Mr. Rodger's neighborhood, sending warm, sunshiney, winning  wishes across the border. But it was not to be. Too bad. I like Aaron Rodgers. He reminds me of a long-time friend of the Hubby's.

So, it wasn't a great weekend of football.

But it was a great weekend.

Sum Times: Numbering the Days

Teach us, O Lord, to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

On December 31st, I read back through the pages of 2011- the days and the moments,  the thoughts and the prayers I had penned. There were things I had already forgotten, and was glad I had a chance to visit there again. Not that some of those things were anything super- spectacular, but maybe that's just it. If they had been super-spectacular, I probably would not have forgotten. At least not for a while. But I am prone to forget.

I want to remember.

All throughout my life, I have tried at different times to keep a journal. It has never lasted long. I've been  plagued with  indecision - what I should or shouldn't write. How often? Everything in one place or separated topically? My thoughts and feelings or just the facts? Prayers--specific or general? What if someone should read this? What if no one ever does? What does it matter? I would become frustrated at my random attempts to record whatever it was I thought I should be recording at the time, and always ended up giving up. Those pages are gone forever.

Nearly two years ago now, I was again overcome with a strong desire to record this "stuff"--how and what I didn't know, just that I needed to be putting "it" down in some fashion. I began to look on the internet for ideas, and found this.   I clicked and trailed through every link; I loved what I saw and had fresh vision. And so, in late February of 2010, I began to journal. A little bit of everything. The facts. My thoughts and feelings. Some prayers. Some dreams and ideas. It's not organized into topics and I don't have a regular time or day for this recording. When I look back through the pages, there are strings of days all put together, and then there are big gaps of time, even whole seasons, gone missing.  Still, this is the longest I have kept up a "habit" of journaling.

I pull out the magazines I have saved appropriate for the season, and I find my favorites. Big open windows, wildflowers and birds, bright orange leaves and sun-drenched wooden floors, antique furniture and crammed bookshelves and quiet bedrooms. I tear them out, glue them to the page. Now, the page is inviting me in.  I often sit with a cup of strong coffee or Bengal Spice Tea, and begin to share my day or my thoughts or my ideas. It is still a work in progress.  I have decided it would be nice to have a calendar spread, squares to write a note for the day when I haven't the time to sit and write long. A place to record an appointment, an unexpected phone call, the first robin's return in the spring.  At times, this has worked well, and other times not, but I like the added flexibility it brings and so I am including it in my journal pages again this year.

And because I am learning to keep my eyes open to all the graces, the gifts of this life,  I also try to keep a gratitude journal. I was fairly diligent when I had tried to name 1000 gifts, but once I did, it sort of fell by the way. I have recommitted myself to thanksgiving, naming 1000 gifts again this year,  but am rethinking how to record it in such I way that I will do it with more consistancy.

And a nature journal. I've never kept one, but in recent years have thought I would like to. Beauty is all around us out here. It is the quiet backdrop to our days. I have snapped many frames of the ever-changing strokes of color in the sky, the cheerful petals of flowers, the golden grasses blowing.  This year, from my mom, I received just such a journal for my birthday.

The pages have quotes and sketches of nature, and spaces for your own sketches, written entry, or photos.

This, it makes one slow the pace to look. Amazing. Worth numbering.

And so this new year, it brings all these moments brand new, and my thoughts are all about capturing them. Remembering them. Living them.

Proclaiming them.

One generation shall praise Your works to another,...They shall utter the memory

 of Your great goodness.    Psalm 145:4,7