whew

First of all - I think I am making up for such a long interruption in my blogging - so this is lengthy - sorry about that - and I also posted tons of posts FOLLOWING this one - with more pics.

Here goes:

Tonight was interesting – and good. Even learned a lot – which is always a plus. So first - news to all family – I NOW know why all my grilling so far has produced dry meat – and I think I can actually apply my new knowledge! - so I should improve! Wouldn’t that be great? I got some new recipes – gotta try some if anyone is brave enough to eat them. Even learned the RIGHT way to grill fish – can’t wait to try.

I was told tonight there are 115 lighthouses in Michigan – and I think I would like to make it a goal to see all of them. Anyone want to come along? This could be a number of road trips.

Also had an interesting lesson on how to tell your story. Wonder what that means? I thought at first it would be a scrapbooking instruction because of the display - but it really wasn’t. Instead, the storytelling angle took a different turn - it was pointed out to all of us that we all probably wish we knew more about our ancestors – more than just who was related to whom, when were they born, when married, grew up where, etc.

Wouldn’t it be fun to know more about their personalities, goals, passions, day to day life? Sure. And there is even a chance our future generations may want to know about old Aunt Molly or Great Grandma Barb – and wonder what our lives were like.

That was what this lesson was about. It was about taking pictures, writing stories, keeping a journal. But as it was pointed out that often our lives have a sameness and routine about them, sometimes writing in a journal might be boring – I got up, went to work, got groceries, cleaned the kitchen, went to bed. Okay. Does that tell who I am? Not at all. Jill told us to write down thoughts – keep our doodles – draw a picture of an emotion. She also gave us TOPICS – I will share them all later with you – but some were just plain fun. Make lists of things that you may want to remember later – or compare. How about making a list of your contacts in your phone? Then compare it in 5 years to your list of that time. Have you lost touch with someone? Did you stop talking to someone? Why?

Some interesting lists to make:

Things that inspired you growing up

Who I love or who loves me

Words that describe you

Things you’ll never understand…and so on

Here are two lists I would like to see from everyone:

If money was no object what would you do?

My first thought was very practical – if money was no object I would pay off all the debts of my children, set up college funds for THEIR children and help them get their first homes. My second thought was – oh wait – that is selfish – I should think of others – so I would want to check out charities that really make a difference and share there. THEN I thought, wait a minute, if money were no object we could be good AND selfish – so what would I do for me? I would take a month and travel – and I would take my WHOLE family along!!! After all, money is no object, so I could make sure their paychecks were covered – and as long as we are dreaming – I would bring along others to help with childcare. Might as well have it all!

So how would you answer that? But seriously - think about it.

And then...

What are the 7 wonders of YOUR world.

At first I was going to answer the 7 wonders with the names of my family – and that would, of course, be true – but also cliché. So here is a different direction for my response – and reasons

MY SEVEN WONDERS OF MY WORLD:

1. Heart surgery – I will always be amazed that the techniques were developed that enabled Molly to grow up healthy.
2. Love – sounds so corny – but it is a wonder to me because the emotion is so unexplainable and yet so simple
3. Genetics – How in the world did my children get all MY good genes (hee hee) and all the bad ones from their father. But seriously, genetics has more meaning to me since Reagan was born. It was unbelievable that gene markers that are totally random can impact a life so much.
4. Lake Michigan – okay – so there are many Great Lakes – so why is that one so special? Lake Superior is arguably the most intriguing because of the history and mystery around it, but Lake Michigan always makes me feel good. Memories of camping trips with family, playing in COLD water, and just the sense of peace you can feel sitting by the lake as twilight approaches. Nothing like it.
5. Stories/books – I love them. They entertain, they inspire, they intrigue and confuse, they stimulate my mind and senses. They go along with Lake Michigan – combine the two and it is a perfect day.
6. Creativity and imagination. HOW does the mind work? Inventions and progress come from those two characteristics – but more importantly to me, our imagination knows no boundaries and we really CAN reach the sky. I was continually amazed at the thought processes of my own kids – Nick’s writings, Molly’s playtime games and forts, Katie’s imaginary friend and then characters for dress up – their plays. Now I get to experience all that again with Austin, Nayeli and soon Karyna and Reagan.
7. Nature – mother earth – whatever you want to call it. So glad I don’t live in a concrete world – so glad that the whole life circle process gives us something so beautiful.

Yeah – I know there are a ton more items to make this list – but someone somewhere decided there were 7 wonders – so that is our number. Did you know that there are MULTIPLE lists of 7 wonders though? Google it sometime.

And finally fears – write down what you are afraid of? Spiders? Snakes? The dark? Getting bad grades? Fire?

Jill made us all pause – she said that this week her fear was of Target stores and the fact that a place we all go, a place we all think of as safe, is just like anyplace else – and her fear for her daughters in this world, or anyone’s daughters or sons – is that this happens.