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Jibber Jabber

8/28/2017 0 Comments

38 Life Lessons

If we could learn every life lesson from books, I would have learned these much sooner.  But, like most things, we have to learn them ourselves.  These are for you Z & X, with the hope that you can learn some of them from me, but understand that I am still learning some of them, and some of them will just have to be learned the hard way.  Forgive yourself your mistakes, let others make theirs, and learn from both.  

1.  People, like books, shouldn't be judged by their covers, and have multiple interpretations.
2.  Spend time with people who make you think, and laugh.
3.  Real friends are hard to come by; keep them once you find them.
4.  True love takes hard work whether it is love at first sight or not.
5.  Value and support are reciprocal.
6.  Kindness is not the same as being nice.
7.  You can only change yourself.
8.  Our humanity is enough to respect one another.
9.  Get out of the box you make for yourself.
10. Change is scary and painful, but from it comes something worthy of the hardship.
11. Being a parent means letting go, not holding on.
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12. Grief changes the color of your heart; you get to choose which color.
13. Sometimes there are not words.
14. Being an adult isn't a noun, it's a verb; practice adulting only when necessary.
15. Your innocence is still there; look through it once in awhile.
16. If you make a mistake, fess up and accept the consequences.
17. Keeping your mistakes to yourself means accepting the guilt instead.
18. Be wary but don't judge.
19. With any privilege comes the challenge to recognize it and pass it on.
20. Keep secrets given to you and promises you make.
21. Ask if it's wanted before giving advice.
22. Use your body while you can to dance, to get outside, and to see the world.
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23. Eat fruits and vegetables and grow them in your own spot of dirt.
24. Enjoy your treats.
25. Confidence is true beauty gained through accepting  your unique self.
26. Although words can hurt, you can choose whether or not to believe them.
27. Anger and hate in the moment destroy possibility and love in the future.
28. Know the meaning of integrity and live with it.
29. Life is a complex balance of what to accept and what to let go.
30. Fails offer the best lessons even if they're the hardest to learn.
31. Real-life heroes never get the recognition they deserve, so thank them.
32. One of a group, does not represent all--read beyond the lines of the "single story."
33. Never hide from empathy either in giving or taking.
34. Sit still in solitude and do nothing.
35. Build your home of love and shenanigans not objects and expectations.
36. Be as considerate to those you live with as those you don't.
37. Live your passion to change the world for the better.
​38. Know that you will never know it all--keep learning.
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8/21/2017 1 Comment

Back to School

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The time has come. Every year August arrives, and summer feels over.  Even with weeks left before the official start of school, there's a twinge in the air that says, be calm, reel it in, but instead we pack in as much action as possible not to miss a single second of what's left.  Regardless, the day has come to get supplies, and this one is particularly poignant as both Z & X will be on their way with their unbelievably stereotypical backpacks.  

Even fully stocked, and the day looming closer, it still doesn't feel real to have to get back into the routine of it, and yet I wonder at the chaos of getting a 6 & 4-year-old ready at 6:30 in the morning.  Even with friends who've done it before, it seems daunting, especially after these lackadaisical days of summer. They're excited, though, and so are we, really.  This is our next new page, and we will write it and read it with plenty of edits to be sure. I'll just have to accept Disney Princess backpacks and Ninja Turtle notebooks as they pick up their own pencils and begin to write for themselves.   

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8/14/2017 0 Comments

Harvest

"If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now.  For wheat is wheat even if people think it is a grass in the beginning." ~Vincent Van Gogh
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There are a few aspects of identity I am intrinsically tied to and harvest is one of them.  From the time I could drive, until before I had Z, I spent almost every summer in a grain truck.  Sharing and passing on the task to DW who still takes his turn.  Now, it's been six years since I have done that, and my heart hungers for it.  Not the sweat and dirt of it, but the efficient engine of it--the whirling, cutting, shifting tick of it that makes it speed by like the years I haven't been a part of it.  

​The acreage we used to farm dwindles as my dad moves toward a hard-earned retirement, but I struggle to let it go.  I didn't become a farmer, but I am one.  I want my children to know the rhythm of the land, so we go for our day during harvest.  They are quiet as they watch the swish of the header and woosh of the auger.  They are in awe, and it is awesome.  But, it is with a forward-facing nostalgia I watch the wheels turn knowing that forever isn't always and for them these are just fond memories while for me this is where I'll always be.  
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8/7/2017 2 Comments

Simple as it Seems

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It seemed simple enough to have the kids pick the zucchinis for the cake recipe I found in the July issue of  Better Homes and Gardens. I even said, "Twist, don't pull," imagining the whole plant being ripped by the roots; there's been enough of that this summer.  But, it wasn't that simple.  While they were doing that I was getting out the bowls (cracked), the flour (crumpled sack), making sure there were enough eggs, and wondering if this is what every cook does.  Or, does every cook have a pristine kitchen, organized cupboards, all of the ingredients?

Then, the kids come in, dirty feet, 2 meager zucchinis--I thought they were bigger.  "We'll have to get the third," I say.  "Mom, um, we sort of pulled it out." Sort of?  We trek out.  It's salvageable, so I pack the hill around what's left of the plant and bring in the third, hopefully not last, zucchini.  Then, what was going to be done in an hour is about to begin, a half hour later. The kids want to help, so they climb up on the counter, and we grate (or food process), crush (or food process), and zest (would food process if I could).  The kids stir.  X tastes everything:  sugar, salt, flour, baking soda, vanilla; I draw the line at raw eggs, and he tells Z it's all delicious, but his face reveals otherwise.  

Just when we're about done I realize, no buttermilk. Is this a kitchen staple?  Apparently not, since according to Pinterest I can make it with milk and lemon juice.  X does not want to try this concoction.  They whisk--for real.  I didn't even use the mixer, and the cakes go in the oven.  CakeS, because I don't have the right size pan.  While the kids have suddenly lost interest, I'm cleaning up.  As I pick up the  magazine, I see there's an icing--not happening.  I'm also not garnishing with a zucchini flower, one because they're trampled and two because this can be as simple as it seems.  The cake comes out, the kids have it for lunch, and it is truly delicious, no weird faces, even.  

2 Comments

    S.M.(M).L.

    A farm girl, a lake girl, a nature girl raising sweet babies to be kind humans takes a lot of patience.  Writing about the day-to-day brings the clarity it takes.  This is that.  Share your story if you can relate.

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