Choices

Life is full of so many choices.  This past week has been intense to say the least.   I ate some REALLY good food, rode on two very hot/small planes, held my husbands hand for the longest period that I can recall in years, and watched our kids grow before our eyes!

I had two moments today with our kiddos that made me stop and catch my breath.  It's true, kids do grow up way too fast.  From those babies we carted home in pumpkin seats...to the children I scold today...time seems to be flying by at record speed.  This morning Lucy and Will had been playing wonderfully in their rooms...(they played in Will's room first until it was so destroyed they couldn't hardly get around and then they moved on to Lucy's to see what they could dig up in there.)  Anyway, I didn't care because I had been wanting to see the movie, Lincoln Lawyer, since it came out.  This morning while Lucy and Will wreaked  havoc in their bedrooms I finally got my chance.  Anyway, close to the end of the movie this scent began to creep into the living room.  It wasn't horrible in the sense of dirty diapers or disgusting trash but more reminiscent of the senior citizen you get behind at IGA who instead of taking a bath puts on yet another squirt of that HORRIBLE perfume that could mask even the scent of a dead body.  Now, I KNEW immediately who was to blame for the over distribution of the "per-pume" (that's what the culprit, Lucy, likes to call it)  They both emerged from Lucy's room drenched in the horrid scent and draped with every strand of beads Lucy owns.  "look at us Mom, aren't we beautiful!"  Yep...now lets go change your clothes...your beads don't really match your Thomas the Train pajamas Will.  :)  As I dressed Lucy in a dress that I SWEAR hit her knees a few weeks ago it barely fell past her bottom.  I watched her as she jumped and danced around the living room.  Her legs are getting thin and LONG.  Our girl is growing up!

Later this afternoon Lucy, Will and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and get some exercise.  We decided to set out on a walk but had a few stops in mind.  First we stopped by and saw my Gran.  Lucy and Will were both a bit shy when we got there but when it was time to leave Will gave my Grandma the sweetest hug and kiss.  I could tell it made her whole day!  (and mine!)  After we left there we stopped off at my mom and dad's.  Will loves to "mow."  He made his way to the toys and quickly found his mower.  I noticed how much he had to lean over to push the mower through the grass...he almost looked like a kid too OLD to play with the Fisher-Price mower...what?!  He's ONLY two...just turned two!  I love every second I spend with that boy...I swear he's the sweetest kid God ever created.

But then this evening...as I was driving to Dollar General SO excited to see the new store layout (the girls were telling me about it at work the other day) I saw one of my old school classmates standing on the corner by Hucks.  He was almost completely bald, smoking a cigarette, and talking on a cordless phone.  Now, my first thought was...how the heck is he talking on a cordless phone at Hucks?  Don't you have to be in a certain range for those things to work?  And then my second thought was...oh my GOSH we're OLD!!!  Here he is looking like an old man on the corner and I'm WAY too excited about going to Dollar General.  Where has my childhood gone?!  I remember that man when he used to mix the food together on his plate and make fart jokes in the lunch line.  Wasn't that just yesterday?!

We only get one chance to make life everything we want it to be.  I'm a pro at making mistakes but I'd probably do it all the same if I had to do it over.  I've learned a lot about myself this week.  I've decided I'm not ready to give up my dreams...our dreams.  Our family has made me realize this week how much we are loved...how much we are cared for...how much we are wanted!  There is no better feeling in the world than being loved.  Thank you.

On a final note for this evening I want to talk about a movie I saw with my Mom and sisters yesterday.  I am sad to say that I'm so out of touch with reality that I had never heard of "The Help."  Not only had I never heard of the movie or seen a preview I didn't even know it was based on a book and I LOVE to read!  The movie was wonderful!  Inspiring, heartwarming, funny, sad and even a bit frustrating.  We can't go back in time but we can learn from the choices our ancestors made.  In the movie the main character, Aibileen, was caring for a little girl.  She was a wonderful caregiver...you could see how much she loved the child and in turn how much the girl loved her.  Every morning when she got the little girl out of bed they would recite a little saying, "you is kind, you is smart, you is important!"  What a beautiful saying and one that everyone needs to hear.  Thank you Mrs. Kathryn Stocett for such a poignant story!