Once again....it's been an embarassingly long time...

I made a promise to myself this year that I would be a better blogger.  Well, I've done better, but not much.  It's been months since I last blogged.  The last time I blogged was July.  I blogged about my cousin, Al, who had passed away due to a tragic motorcycle accident.  I still think a lot about Al and miss his sweet smile and mischievous spirit. 

It's strange how life just keeps going isn't it?  No matter what happens, time does not stop.  No matter how much we wish we could push the pause button sometimes, we can't. 

So, here I am, over 4 months later and what do I have to report?  A lot, actually.  It's been a very busy fall season.  We have done some traveling, see a lot, done a lot, but most importantly, we have graduated another MM class and continue to put one foot in front of the other.  We've had ups and we've had downs - just like everyone else.  We have weathered disappointments and hurts.  We have had many times of celebration.  We have had days that have flown by and days that you seem to move through like a field of molasses.

I'll take some time to talk about where I've been and what I've learned - mostly because I want to record it, so that it's not forgotten.  I'm not going to try to write something stellar - I just want to record the things I am learning for me, my children and anyone else that it might help along their life's journey.

Again, when I last wrote, I was talking about a couple of things:  1-Having and big summer and 2-Remembering my cousin and the spirit with which he lived.  It's strange how those two things came together to teach me valuable lessons.

I had a big summer because I started looking at life differently and tried my best not to be completely ruled by the "shoulds" of life.  For instance, on a hot summer day, when I "should" be working, I would decide to spend a couple of hours at the pool with my daughter and then get my work done.  (This is the reverse of what I have always done.)  It sounds little, but I'm pretty sure it made a difference to her.  I began to look at the way I think about things - especially the things I usually say an automatic "no" to, like jumping in the car and going to do something fun, just because.  I challenged my schedule, my routine, thoughts of what I do and don't do.  I highly recommend this, by the way.  It helps to shake things up every now and then.  When things stay the same, they get stagnant and stagnant is not good. 

I am going to continue thinking this way because it has brought many good things my way, including, a snowball on the coast in June with my youngest, a hike up Multnomah Falls in Oregon, snorkeling with sea turtles in Hawaii and running around NYC with my daughter, having the time of our lives!  I'll be blogging about these things in the next few days - and posting pics, if I can figure that out.

For now, I'll leave you with this challenge:  give some thought to why you do the things you do and what would happen if you did them differently?

With that, I'll leave you with a little window into our summer, having a "big" time!

Enjoying some time with my girls on the coast this summer.

Until next time!