60 Feet 6 Inches To Home

Kansas City Fire Fighter Memorial I have been a part of a fire service family for more that 30 years.  My husband started out as a volunteer before being hired as a paid fire fighter 27 years ago. We have been married for 25 of those years.  When I was in high school my mom, dad, aunt and uncle were also volunteer fire fighters in the community were we lived. My dad now works for a full time department and I also have a brother in law in the fire service. I am extremely proud of all of them. Tim and I at at Fire Department awards banquet Because of the nature of their work and the schedule that it requires, this job is unlike any other. The men and women who choose this profession must except a lifestyle and risk that comes a long with it, and so do their families. Much like the military, the fire service is a family business.  Fire fighters spend a third of their time at the station working, training, sharing meals and building camaraderie among their shift mat...

I started writing this post several weeks ago after my uncle Mark passed away. I have had a hard time finishing it, in part because this is not the kind of subject I usually write about. But the thoughts kept coming and I felt the need to finish it. Over the past few months we have seen more than a half dozen people we know leave this world. Some had lived long full lives, served their country in WWII, had wonderful careers, enjoyed retirement and their grandchildren. Others not yet 40, with young children, some middle aged with kids in college or new grand babies on the way. Several had battled illness and lost their fight, while others died suddenly. They all had plans, goals, dreams and people that loved them. I have experienced death, loss and grief before, but these recent events have reminded me of something I have known all along...life is short and how we spend it matters. My uncle's memorial service was standing room only. The chapel was filled with family and fri...

                                             Over the last week or so my Facebook feed has been full of posts as kids we know head off to college for the first time. Seeing the pictures and reading the teary eyed comments bring back the memories of last year at this time, when we were in the exact same situation. I remember how it felt as if it happened yesterday, watching our son walk into his dorm, his new home, as we drove away. I still get emotional when I think about it. For me, the next several days were the hardest. Sadness and tears would hit me at the most unexpected times and as hard as I tried I could not prevent that. I felt like I was grieving and celebrating all at same time. I was so excited and proud of my son,  but my heart hurt. I missed his physical presence, but it was more than that. It was all the little things that came along with him being...

Our world is more connected than ever with the invention of the Internet followed by, email, X-Box Live ,  Facebook , Facetime,  Instagram ,  Twitter , Snapchat ,  Beme , Periscope and of course texting. We are able to reach out to individuals or large groups without leaving our coach. We can reconnect with old friends, keep in touch with family who live far away, see how others are spending their summer and even witness life changing events in real time. And while I appreciate and use a lot of this technology, I worry that it may be having a negative effect on how we relate to each other. I have seen couples or families out to dinner who instead of having conversations with the living, breathing people sitting across the table from them, they are on their phones. I see kids of all ages out on errands with their face buried in a screen of some kind instead of interacting with the people around them.  I feel like adults are losing some of our social skills a...

Last weekend families all over took time out of their busy schedules to celebrate Father's Day. Facebook and Instagram posts were full of sweet pictures with captions expressing gratitude and love for dads and husbands a like.  Gifts were bought and given. Meals were shared and memories were made. Our family was no different. I too posted something on social media in honor of my husband, who is an amazing father to our boys. We enjoyed church, a baseball game and dinner as a family. We also spent some rare time with my extended family. It was a good day. I love that we devote a special day to show the father's in our lives just how much we love and appreciate them, but to be honest I am not sure that is enough. Sadly I have noticed, that fathers and men in general are not always represented in the best way. Advertising and entertainment industries often portray them as incompetent, shallow and disconnected. Showing them to be more committed to their jobs, hobbies,...

So far the majority of the posts I have been motivated to write have been about things or situations that are surrounded by some sort of emotion. For this post however I have decided to write from a more practical point of view.  As always I hope that if you are reading this that you find it useful in some way. I don't claim to have this parenting thing down by any means, but I have learned a thing or two over almost 20 years of motherhood.  Some of the lessons have been learned through trial and error. Others have been handed down to me by wise women I've had in my life in a number of different circles.I have also learned a lot from reading books and blogs about parenting and boys in general. I am so grateful to not be on this journey alone and for the grace that my boys have shown me over and over again. For a while now I have been keeping two lists. The first I titled "Tricks of the Trade", and the other "One-Liners".  The tricks are little things I...

Walking on the beach -Maui, HI I got my first job when I was 14 years old. I worked at a family owned restaurant similar to a Dairy Queen. We had just moved to a new town and working there for the summer allowed me to get to know some of the kids before starting high school.  I enjoyed the job and loved the people who owned the place. I have maintained contact with them to this day. Since then I have held a number of jobs. I was a cashier at a grocery and convenience store, a cosmetologist, veterinarian assistant, switchboard operator, a human resources assistant and lastly my current position as a secretary at an elementary school. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed parts of all of them and know with out a doubt that I have learned a lot during my time at each one of them. But starting today like I do for a short time each summer, I am returning to the job I have held the longest and love the most, full time mom! I did not go into motherhood aspiring to be a stay at h...

Memorial Day was born out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his  General Order No. 11 . “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.  One hundred years later in 1968 the date was moved to the last Monday in May allowing for the three day weekend  ( www.usmemorialday.org). Arkansas National Cemtary Currently it seems, that for many, Memorial  Day signifies the beginning of summer. It's a chance to head to the lake for the first time, gather with family and friends ...

Snow Day concert  I am not a musician or a vocalist and I don't really understand the technical side of music, but do understand it's power.   I think most people would agree that music has had some affect on their lives. It creates memories and has the ability to bring you back to a specific place and time. It invokes emotions of all kinds and it allows a healthy avenue to express them. I rarely get through our National Anthem or a set of good worship songs without a few tears in my eyes. When meaningful words are placed together with great music the impact is much greater then the words alone. Father - Son duet Music can also serve as a refuge and a source of comfort.  I have seen this play out in my life time and time again. In junior high, my sisters and I spent most of our Saturdays listening to Casey Kasem's Top 40 count down. Our family had gone through huge changes at that time, but the music was something constant and predictable and we a...

Royals Spring Training 2009 Yesterday was the official start of our spring break, and like so many other things this too will be different for us this year. Waiting for the game to start 2009 The calendars did not align for us, the breaks from school landed a week apart. Kellan was out of school last week, but it's baseball season and commitments to the team kept him on campus. They continued to practice and play games throughout the week. We went up to watch a home game, but the time we were able to spend with him was limited. He was able to come home this past Saturday for the night. He got here late, so we waited dinner on him. Having all four of us around the table is one of my favorite things in life. Something that once was commonplace and ordinary,has now taken on more meaning. As a friend of mine said this week, "I will never take for granted being able to put all our place mats on the table at the same time". Me either. He stayed the night, we went to c...

Last week our house was focused, for the most part, on just one thing...high school baseball tryouts. We are familiar with the process, having been through it the past four years with our older son, Kellan. Those prior experiences however did not eliminate the anxiety associated with it. The week was exhausting both mentally and physically. Practices were long and intense. A snow storm pushed them indoors which meant practice times changed on a daily basis. Keeping up on the schedule was a challenge in itself. Being a Freshman catcher, Owen was required to participate in additional tryouts for pitchers and catchers which took place at 5:45 AM on both Tuesday and Thursday. We were all tired by the time the final roster was posted on Thursday evening. Going into the week I knew Owen was prepared baseball wise.  He's had great coaching and studies technique on his own. He has been around baseball most of his life and has a pure love for playing the game. He can hit...

I have always loved pictures. To me there is something special about capturing a single moment in time.  My husband shares this affection and has taken up photography has a hobby.  Over the past 25 years we (mostly he) have collected literally thousands of snapshots ranging from every day silliness, to life experiences both big and small, wild life in our back yard and the people that we love. While we've stored them in boxes and files on computers and clouds for safe keeping, we still find ways to incorporate them into our daily lives. This one of Kellan is framed in our house.  Each month Tim pulls several pictures from that same month in 2004 or 2005 and puts them on our computer as our screen saver. We all look forward to seeing what the next set of pictures will be. We do not print a lot of our pictures unless we plan to frame them. Our house is full of candid shots in frames. I...