Perspective

Last night our baby hardly slept at all. She lost her fav paci this weekend and we didn’t realize what a catastrophe this was until 11 pm became 2am became 4am. Needless to say, I’m TIRED.

I woke up this morning after an hour of sleep and I kid you not my very first thought was, “shit, today is going to suck.” Um. Of course it would with that attitude!

I was riding the chair lift up the mountain with another solo momma last week. We got to talking. She was visiting from San Fransisco. It had been snowing here for a solid 24 hours. She had already been skiing all morning and it was my first run of the day. “Yeah, I went over to the other side of the mountain for my last few laps,” she said, “but it’s much better over here.”

“Oh,” I replied, contemplating what she had said. “What do you mean, ‘better’?” I asked.

“Well the powder is really deep over there,” she said, “much easier skiing over here.”

Um. Glad I asked. …………

It was nearing the end of autumn and I was chatting with a friend on the phone. “It is dumping snow over here,” she said. “We are going to be in for a looonnnng winter.”

Um. Or the best winter in a really really really long time.

There are two sides to every coin and there’s a bright side to most dark days. Just a little reminder when you’re super tired, like me, or super snowed in, like my friends. Sometimes we just need to adjust our googles and view life through a different lens.

And on a side note, how handsome is the view in mine? (husband) ;P

Screen Shot 2019-10-26 at 3.47.04 PM

Advertisement

Shame and Shushing

Screen Shot 2019-10-26 at 3.40.43 PM

A few months ago our family hung out with a new family for the day. About an hour into our time together, Ana called out to get my attention… “Mom!” The eight-year-old-ish son of the people we were with was startled and confused. “Wait,” he said, perplexed, “You’re her mom?” He paused. “Why is she… Indian?” His mother’s mouth dropped wide open. She looked HORRIFIED. She tried to shush him but not be obvious with her shushing.
Aside from him being oceans off on our daughter’s ethnicity, I was unfazed. “She was adopted,” I told him. His mother remained uncomfortable and continued her not-so-covert attempts at getting him to shut his cake-hole.

Our daughter just kinda watched it unfold. …… Last month we took our family to the homeless shelter to help serve dinner. Please note that I said HOMELESS shelter. More than the actual serving I was hoping our kids’ eyes would be open to different people, different ways of life, options for how to love well, etc.. Well our little chatter box @solanagilbertadventures made herself right at home there. She plopped down with a bowl of stew at a table with the men and started asking easy questions. “Why don’t you have a house?” was her intro.

I felt an unstoppable urge to shush her or chime in. “Well they might have houses,” I said to her. (Um, what?) I looked at the guys. They ignored me and carried on, telling our daughter how they hunker down in sleeping bags and then roll themselves up in tarps to stay warm during freezing nights. …….. I’ve seen situations like this unfold, and also been the shushing mom, anytime kids get near anyone with a disability. “Mom, why is that boy in a wheelchair?” “Mom, why is that man missing an arm?” “Shhhh.” As if the person with one arm is unaware of their situation. ………. I think it’s so curious how we assign shame to other people where shame does not, and need not, exist……….

Thoughts for the day. I love the girl in this picture something so fierce. There’s no shame in her game. Can we all stop the shushing?

Mountain Culture

Screen Shot 2019-10-26 at 3.32.41 PM
Mixing up the topics a bit with this one…
Yes, that is a mountain bike, on the wall, in a bedroom. When it’s summer the bike comes down and the cute little baby skis go in its place.

Luckily only one of our kids is old enough to mountain bike at the moment. I’m not sure what we’re going to do when we’re three deep of these things.

But this isn’t a post about mountain biking, or even what ya gotta do to make living in a tiny house work, per say… it’s a post about mountain lifestyle and culture. You see, it did not for even one second dawn on me that putting a bike, on the wall, in a bedroom, isn’t normal. It’s kinda just something people around here do. (Um, right guys?? 😬)

And then we Face Timed with my mom in Phoenix.
“Is that a bike, on the wall, in their bedroom?” she asked, astounded.

I wasn’t sure if I should be proud or embarrassed, because why yes, yes it was.

I would not call our family crunchy by any stretch of the imagination. If they still sold Twinkies we would buy them. (Because that’s the measure for whether or not you’re crunchy, you know: Twinkies 😉). But when it comes to mountain gear, and you live nestled in a mountain town, it’s kinda imperative to own all the things that make this mountain life so fun. I’m talking crunchy things… like Tevas sandals and such. 😁

And we happen to not have a garage. So yes, mom, (and now all my friends in the web world too), that is a bike, on the wall, in a bedroom. And I think it’s 👌.

New Year, More Nature

Screen Shot 2019-10-26 at 3.30.24 PM.png

Isn’t it interesting that as people, we can literally decide to give ourselves a fresh start in any month, on any day, at any moment, yet so many of us wait for the New Year to do so?
I think it’s incredibly encouraging that we can reset and refocus ourselves whenever we muster up the courage and self-discipline to do so.

Speaking of self-discipline, that is one of the things I want to focus on for 2019.
Also for 2019, #getoutside 🌲 (even more). I shared an article on Facebook the other day that multiple countries now have laws in effect that make it a thing for doctors to actually prescribe time spent outside as a medical solution to ailments. How wild is that?
It’s like, we’ve come so far as a society in so many ways, and then also gotten so off track and backwards in others. I wish we didn’t need doctors to tell us how important it is to rejuvenate with sun and wind and trees. For me, time spent in nature is spirit-filled and life-giving and awe-inspiring and sooo good. Is it like that for you? I am hoping to execute “self-discipline” in many ways physically, mentally and spiritually this year, but the most exciting to me is also the most playful. I’m looking forward to 52 Saturday adventures outdoors with my family. It might sound silly that committing to play takes self-discipline, but I do think there are a lot of things that can get in the way… house chores, cold temps, grocery shopping, the task of kids and snow clothes, TV, work, etc.. but when the year is done I want to look back on a childhood for our kids that was full of outdoor explorations and memories together. Even when it’s negative degrees outside (like today!), the thought of this kinda life gives me the warm and fuzzies.

How about you? Next year, when you’re ringing in 2020, what do you hope to have “accomplished” that will make you smile?