Make every day a PARTY!!!

So its a tradition at my house...we don't just do the last day of school...we DO the last day of school!! It's a  PARTY!

The best part is waiting for the kids...hiding around the corner...with whatever crazy surprise I've come up with.

This year I went with a classic..."End of School Luau!"

I like to kick off the beginning of our Summer vacation with a bang!!  And I happen to be married to an absolutely wonderfully patient man who goes with whatever crazy idea I come up with!!



nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids laugh!!

OK...so I also enjoy laughing at my kids once in a while...

At the end of the day I ask myself...."Gina, did everyone have fun? Will they remember today and have a story to tell their kids?  Did you laugh so hard you almost peed your pants?"

If I can answer YES to all of the above...my job here is done!! :)

Its SO much more...why hadn't I noticed?

For the most part its just been a spot on my map of life.  A big spot, cause it was a huge achievement for me, but  just a spot non the less.  If you'd asked me a week ago what it was like I would have said it was ok, kinda small, nothing too exciting.  The exciting part is what I DID there!  Look at ME! Ran a the MotherRoad Half Marathon! Yup...right through a little town in Kansas...Baxter Springs I think...and Joplin, Missouri...I'M SO AWESOME!!!

But after last night...after this morning...its so much more. This place is SO much more.

Here's what I'm gonna tell you today about what it was like.  It was countless words of encouragement and "you can do its" from hotel clerks, waitresses, and every volunteer who helped me check in the day before. 

It was the sweetness of the waitress at Denny's who gave me a quick hug and a huge smile told me I was ready at 5 in the morning when we went to breakfast and she realized I was too nervous to eat. 

It was a 7 am party at the start line where countless people got together to play music for us and entertain us and make sure when we took off it was with a smile on our face.

It was immeasurable support from the hundreds of people who took time out of their work day to stand outside their small shops and cheer us on when we ran (or walked) past them. 

It was the little hands of girl scouts handing out water and gatorade at the drink stops with big, toothless smiles shining right at me. 

It was the silly giggle that jumped right out of my mouth when I turned the corner and saw a real life Mater just parked on the side of the road, his big, goofy eyes lookin right at me. 

It was a sweet old man...old, OLD man...who hollered at me from his chair when I walked past him, not sure I had 6 feet left in me much less 6 miles, to "Git movin before I catch you!" 

The cop directing traffic who told each and every one of us who, after nine long miles, looked up at the hill in front of us ready to cry..."this it it! just this one and you're there! go! go!" 

It was the rowdy noise of a bunch of people jumping up and down at the finish every time someone ran through...or staggered through in my case.

The wonderful group of EMT's who took one look at me and pulled me over to their tent, sat me down and handed me a big cup of water.

All capped off by a city making a party, just to celebrate with me and cheer me and tell me they were proud of me...and the hundreds of others they welcomed with open arms. 

Funny how that all blended together at the time, and for almost a year after.  I was so wrapped up in how proud of me I was...that I didn't really think of all the great people that made it possible for me to feel this way. 

Not until I saw this same town devastated. These same people staggering around, just trying to get their minds around what they had lived through and the reality of what was left. 

These are not just spots on a map, small towns in middle-America...just like a hundred others.  They are wonderful places! Full of generous, strong, proud, loving people.  People who work hard and give much.  These people, to whom I hadn't given much thought in the last year...well, I realized that in 2 days, they went from strangers to friends.  And it wasn't until I sat, trying not to cry as I watched the news last night, that I realized that a little part of them belongs to me and a little part of me belongs to them now. Spent a long time praying for the safety of all the people who's faces I hadn't thought of in so long.  But they were there for me one day....and I can be there for them now.

It can't possibly be harder...

Well...its been a while.  But I haven't really felt interesting enough to write lately.

And this one really is not for all of you...but for the few that find themselves where I am today.

I find myself on a leaky boat, with no paddle, trying to navigate the rough seas of adolescence...my kids', not my own!

And, as I'm sure countless parents have done before me,  once I've yelled, punished, spanked, cried, hollered some more, and pulled out some hair (mostly, but not all, mine) I'm finally exhausted and begging God to help me. 

My prayers are simple.  Easy-peasy for the Creator of the Universe.  Fix me! Fix my kid! Fix our relationship!  I believe in miracles...surely You can make it so when the child comes home he will be open to my guidance and willing to follow it cause it's best for him and I will be a calm, patient, understanding parent with the right words!!  I mean...really...after the Red Sea and all, its not too much to ask?!

But that's not what I got. 

What I got is a God who answered, "I know. I know how hard it is to watch your child go through something hard and painful and confusing.  I know how hard it is to hear your child ask you to fix it, but know you can't because it's for the best that they go through it. I know.  Focus on the goal, not the bumps on the road"

As hard as it might be to deal with a kid who wont talk to you and stomps around cause he's grounded...again...God sure can put it all in the proper perspective!