Braving Boys

Click on image!

Had I not just won this in a giveaway, I’d be buying it, because, well, it’s awesome, isn’t it? This print is going to be perfect for guiding me as I continue to try to be a good mom to my boys, and I’ll probably be framing and displaying it smack dab in my kitchen (or maybe another room, haven’t decided yet), so I can keep myself on track.

You like? Click on the image, and you’ll land on the etsy shop of Chrissie Grace, the wonder woman who made this, and you’ll also have the good fortune of seeing all her other inspirational work. The I Believe print is a favorite of mine, and I love, love, love the checkbook covers. You’ll see when you arrive just how rockin’ this place is, and I bet you’ll want to treat yourself (or a loved one) to something grand (yet totally reasonable in price). You can also try to win some goodies by connecting with Out of the Blue Delivered on Facebook — lots of giveaways there, (it’s where I won the print pictured above).

Writes Chrissie about herself:

I am a stay-at-home to four beautiful children. I am also an artist, author, and poet.

“in His grace” is full of whimsical art inspired by the word of God. 25% of all proceeds go directly to CBC Seminole, a local foster and adoption agency.

You can read more about my everyday life and projects on my blog at:
http://www.chrissiegrace.blogspot.com

He calls them his casts, but really, they are just layers of bandages applied by me to the feet of my poor boy who did battle this weekend with some barnacles at Devil’s Elbow Fishing Resort in St. Augustine, Florida. Danny should have been wearing shoes — how many times have we told you to wear shoes outside? — but he wasn’t, and now he’s learning one really big and painful lesson.

"Those barnacles got the best of me," said Danny after sustaining his injury.

There are cuts all over the bottoms of Danny’s feet, mostly clustered on his heels, the sides, and on a few toes. At first, the gashes were filled with dark muck, and expert advice said it was imperative that we brush it out, so we did (ouch!), after he soaked in a hydrogen peroxide and water solution. A little Motrin, antibiotic ointment, band-aids, and wraps fixed things up, and somehow, the injured guy managed to run around docks and bounce all over boats the day after. He’s not entirely out of the woods — we’ll keep treating the wounds, wrapping them up, and watching for signs of infection, but we suspect Danny will be just fine. Ready for flag football practice Tuesday evening? Maybe not. But soon — probably when the casts come off.

The following post appears on all of my blogs (this one, my Breast Cancer blog, and Square One), because the topic is just too good not to share over and over again. Plus, it is kind of about my boys — see Joey in last photo, and Danny sometimes runs, too. Just not today.

Mingling at the Morning Mile

The Morning Mile is the kind of event that gives you goosebumps, said my friend and fitness maven Fitz Koehler today at a Hidden Oak Elementary School post-run press conference, where she addressed parents, school officials, and partner executives from AvMed, all of whom were gathered to marvel at the success of this school exercise program.

Michael: 100 miles completed

Goosebumps is right. I felt them when student Michael stepped up to the podium to be honored for running a grand total of 100 miles since the program launched at Hidden Oak this past November, and I felt them as I watched hundreds and hundreds of kids, their moms and dads, and the officials and execs, too, log laps on the field behind the school at 7:15 this morning. The day was foggy and gray, but the spirit that filled the outdoor space was not — the energy was electric as camera men snapped away and shouts of excitement were captured for TV. It was inspiring.

Fitzness International’s Morning Mile is a before-school walking/running program offering children the chance to actively start their days while enjoying fitness, fun, and friends. There’s some competition, too, because that just makes life more exciting, and kids earn necklaces, plus a colorful sneaker charm for every five miles completed. It’s a big deal, and it could be exactly the fresh start you need at your school. Think focused energy, positive self esteem, obesity prevention, and in-shape kiddos, and this program should be just a little bit enticing — right?

Time to explore your Morning Mile options. Goosebumps, remember? Goosebumps.

Post-run pose (there's Joey, in the brown shirt)

I got the nicest email today from Danny’s second-grade teacher.

Dear Jacki,

Danny wrote an incredible story today!!  Can you please type it up?  The other students want a copy of it!!  He told the class he learned how to write from his mother!  Good job, Mom!! WOW!!

Danny, the bashful writer (well, not really)

The Snake Surprise
By Danny Donaldson

One day, our class snake got out of his cage. Mrs. Omer sent me and Perry to go get it, and we looked around and couldn’t find it, so we went to tell Mrs. Omer, and she said, “Go look again!” We found him, and he dashed away faster than light. We saw which way he went, and he led us into the woods.

We looked everywhere, and we were going to give up, but we couldn’t find our way back. So, we had to keep on looking. We saw something moving in a tree. We looked in the tree. Boom! An owl flew out of a tree like a jaguar and scratched me with his claws on his legs. We kept on going.

Soon, we came to a little hole, and we looked in it. Still, we couldn’t find the snake. A different snake jumped out like a lemur on my head. I took it off, and it looked like the class snake, but the class snake didn’t hiss, so I knew it wasn’t our class snake. I threw it down, but it followed me. So, I let it sit on my shoulder. It was my buddy. So was Perry. Perry found a cave that led to a light. We went in it, but it was just a flashlight. We went back out, and we saw Kevin run with our snake. That is why he wasn’t in the class yesterday. We caught him easily. He threw the snake up and escaped and caught it. He ran away again, and he went in the cave where we saw the flashlight. There was a path where we didn’t see it. We followed Kevin. There was a password slot, but I knew the number was 11793978901. It was right! I got in, and I saw him. The path led back in the woods. Soon, we were far away from school.

Then, it became night, and we were tired, and we lost Kevin. We heard a noise in the woods. It was Kevin without the snake. He said, “Wahaha, you don’t know where I hid the snake, and you will never find him.” Perry and I said, “Oh, really?” We found it right away. It was in the cave. We picked it up, and it was as slippery as goo, water, and Gatorade. I picked it up, and we got it back and celebrated with joy. We had a lot of cookies and Gatorade. It was a festival.

It was the best day ever, and I mean it. Bye!

P.S. It wasn’t goo, Gatorade, or water. It was a snake!

Catch and Release

There’s not a whole lot this boy loves. Well, he does have a fondness for candy, his iPod Touch, lounging on his bed watching TV, and most anything that costs us money and counts as a toy or a treat. But out of all the life-enriching activities endorsed by us, the parents, there’s really only one biggie that makes the cut — fishing. (Well, there is gardening, too, but it comes in a distant second.)

Joey is good at lots of things, like school, piano, drama, football, and basketball, but none of these register as favorites in any way, shape, or form. Sure, he likes to tackle me in the aisles of Walmart just for fun, toss the ball around with his dad in random fields, and crush his little brother in backyard hoops. Put him on a team, though, or anything formal and organized, and while he’ll play along, he won’t be all that interested. A boat, now, or a dock — transport him to one or the other, and a happy boy, you will see. It’s beautiful, really, how our boy, who first started challenging us the day he was born, can become so still, peaceful, and patient. He has no problem rising in the wee and dark hours of the morning, trekking all over the state of Florida, working tirelessly for a good catch and release or a cast net full of shrimp, and while he does have a bit of an issue with cleaning the boat, he does it, because he knows it’s part of the deal.

I don’t know how it happened — how he came to pick fish over footballs — but ask him to head out to the water, and he’s there, content for the long haul, and plotting out the next big trip. Will his love affair continue? I’m not sure. But for now, we’re embracing this hobby that makes our boy happier than anything else in this big world. (Oh, and for good measure, we’re also forcing him to stick with piano, because, have you ever known an adult who gave up on lessons as a kid who doesn’t now regret the decision? Well, we haven’t, and if you have, please don’t tell Joey or Danny.)

I mean nothing remotely sexist by saying I’d be doing hair and nails if I was a momma of girls. Of course, there are female kids out there shooting hoops, tossing footballs, digging in the dirt, and catching bugs. I’m just saying that had I been given kids with two X chromosomes, I would have created an environment of girly-ness. There would have been Barbies, dollhouses, hair bows, and plenty of pedicure time. XY is what I got, though, and honestly, I’m really happy about that, because there are girl issues I am thrilled I get to avoid. Plus, I kinda like basketball. Well, as long as my hair stays pretty, and my toenail polish doesn’t chip.

I once drove my minivan into a yellow pole. Scraped the whole side of the vehicle and left a streak of flashy paint, too. Consequences: embarrassment, car in the shop, me with no wheels, big repair bill, insurance headaches, and a sliding door that really was never the same again.

This summer, I soaked my phone in the rain at Joey’s tackle football practice. The downpour was fierce, and I couldn’t get to shelter fast enough. My cell was saturated beyond repair, and I had to get another one. Granted, the newbie is way cooler, and I love it, but the expensive mistake is one I’d prefer to not repeat.

We all have stories of regret, tales of decisions gone bad, and 7-year-old Danny has just acquired his first biggie.

Today, Danny dropped his Christmas-gifted iPod Touch on the driveway. The glass on the front of the thing looks like a cracked windshield, his heart is broken in a million little pieces, and if his tummy feels anything like mine does when I mess up royally, it’s a sick and twisted mess.

I feel for my littlest guy. I also want him to know how he contributed to his own misfortune. You see, I had asked Danny to go outside and play. My plan was to get him away from the electronic devices he so madly loves (he knows a directive to get outdoors means to leave the screen behind), but he took his treasured Touch right out to the sidewalk where his brother and cousins were playing on scooters. Madness ensued, and somehow, the delicate gadget landed on hard ground. Then, shrieks, cries, sounds of total despair.

Danny is OK now, hours later. We’ve talked about choices and consequences and how we must ask ourselves with every simple move we make: “what if?” What if I take my cell phone to football practice on a rainy day? It might get wet. What if I leave it in the car? I might miss a call. (Yea, that would have been the preferred outcome.) The wrong choice, I surely did make.

My boy made a poor choice today, and I’m not sure how it will all turn out. I do know we can’t just fork over another couple hundred for a replacement toy. It wouldn’t teach him responsibility if we did, and, well, we just don’t have the extra cash to throw around. Maybe Danny can save his own money and, over time, score a new Apple. Maybe we can fashion a DIY fix. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I did want him to stray from his addiction a bit. Now, I’ve got complete compliance.

Hmmm.

Maybe things work out just as they should.

I could be the mom in this story, and Joey — who longs for a dog, any dog — could be the author.

Are you sure you want that dog?

Photo: One From RM, Flickr