Spot On

Hubby loves to lift weights.
Me? Not so much.
But in an effort to love my man...and since I am tired of not being able to open my own jars...I have agreed to go to the weight room with him a few nights a week.
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Parker is joining us.
And so, it has become a family affair.  Which I am LOVING!
The first night, I expected to be given my list of lifts, and for us all to be doing our workouts simultaneously.  How silly of me.  Apparently, there is an etiquette to this.  We all stand around the same machine.  I go, they rearrange the weights (which means they actually put some ON), Hubby goes, and then Parker goes.  It seemed like a huge waste of time to me, until Hubby explained that doing it this way gives everyone's muscles "rest time" between lifts.  I should have known men would figure out a way to let themselves rest without being obvious about it!
But this routine has other benefits as well.  When I am lifting, one of them "spots" me.  It's their job to watch how I'm doing it, correct me if I am doing something wrong, and help me if I get in trouble.  It hit me as I watched Hubby spotting Parker that this was a perfect physical picture of our family's love for one another.  Parker was bent over the bench, pulling back his arm with a weight in his hand, and Hubby was right beside him, with his own strong arms hovering close to Parkers, big hands touching Parker's elbow, supporting without actually taking the weight from him.  Because thats what kind of Dad he is. Patient and available, without taking over.
When the weight is too heavy, or you've been lifting it for too long, there is someone beside you to either make it lighter, or encourage you to push through until you get to the end.  It's not about taking the weight out of your hands, because that would never make you stronger.  Your Spotter is focused on you, talking to you the whole time, "You can do it!  Come on, three more... a little higher...don't forget to breathe..." And when it's their turn to lift, you do the same for them.
When it's over, you are all a little sweaty, a little sore, and a little stronger.
There have been plenty of times I have worried if we are doing it right.  But as I watch our little family work together through tough times, I am realizing that we are Spot On!

Senior Moments

It's 6:45 a.m.
My phone buzzes.
"Come down here and tell me if this looks good."

I smile..
It's the first day of Senior Year for Parker and I'm not sure who is more nervous, me or him!  Summer was a fast-moving river with lots of debris and now here we stand on the shores of the Last First Day.  We hadn't really talked about it much, and it seemed like no big deal.
Until the night before.
In true Parker fashion, he decided at the last minute that he needed to go school clothes shopping.  He thought, if I didn't have anything to do, I could run him to JC Penney (which is our ONLY option out here in the boondocks) to get a few new shirts.
I'm pretty sure he thinks I NEVER have anything to do....besides anticipate his last minute needs.
Anyway, I had Open House for my first graders, so I sent Hubby with him.
They came home with smiles on their faces, stories about their search, and three sharp-looking shirts for the price of one.  Parker disappeared into his room to try on every shirt with various pants...sleeves rolled up...sleeves rolled down...this pair of Adidas or that one.

And now it was morning, and he still hadn't narrowed it down.
I headed down the stairs.
I jokingly quipped as I entered his room.. "I'll tell you what looks good if you'll tell me."
I was wearing khakis and a silky top.  And flip flops.
He looked me over and said, "Lose the flip flops."
I blinked (his honesty is valuable, but abrupt sometimes) and ran upstairs to change shoes.
I came back in a pair of tan slip on dress shoes.
"God, no!  I HATE those shoes!"
Back up and down the stairs.
Black puma tennis shoes?  I was almost afraid to ask.
He glanced at me and pronounced.  "Yep.  That's better."
Having had my morning Stair Workout, we could finally turn our attention to HIS clothes which was supposedly the reason I was there...
Three changes later, he was finally happy with his ensemble, and we did the whole "stand on the front porch with your backpack and pose" first-day-of-school pics.
He looked good!
And apparently, so did I ;)
Whatever will I do when he's gone?  Who will keep me from shame when I have a Senior Moment and start to think flip flops go with khakis?
For now, I will just enjoy my handsome son posing on the porch and enjoy HIS Senior Moments.

Upended

I was away from the house the other day when I got a text from my dad.  He had gone over to borrow one of Hubby's tools.  His text said, "There is an upended lawn mower in your front yard.  Is that normal around here?"

"Yes," I responded. "Yes it is.  Welcome to my world."

  

 

Because the unusual is common when boys live in your house.

When I was pregnant with Parker and found out he was going to be a boy, I panicked.  I did not like boys much.  The ones I had known were loud and rough and gross.  And it was really hard to find cute outfits with matching shoes and bows for boys.  I don't like sports or Monster Trucks.  What on earth would I do with a boy??

And then he muscled his way into the world and stole my heart completely. 

Oh, he was loud and messy, and turned every bent stick into a toy gun (no matter how much I tried to civilize him by banning violent play).  But his chubby cheeks fit perfectly into the curve of my neck when we snuggled.  And his one little curl perfectly framed the purple bruise that seemed to live on his forehead from age 1 to at least 3. (Thank goodness he was hard headed ;)

I was transformed.  I became that mom who always had a Hot Wheel in her purse, a HandiWipe in her pocket, and an ear tuned for that inevitable it's-too-quiet-in-there sound.

And now I am the kind of mom who lives among this...

 

and this... (but we made a seat belt...see?  it's perfectly safe)

I have a random empty jug hanging from my backyard tree limb, extra cars in my driveway, and extra boys in my basement.  My TV is so complicatedly hooked up to video games, I can't turn it on when I'm home by myself. 

I have broken bicycle parts in my garage, NO money in my checkbook, and no food in my cabinets.

But I have soooo much joy in my heart!

I am thankful my life got upended.