Surviving or Embracing

I have come to the conclusion the surviving summer is all about attitude. I can dread the long days, the heat, having 4 children to entertain, lack of funds and no vacation in sight. I can complain about my kids, wonder what's wrong with them, their attitude and merely get through the summer. Or . . . . I can embrace it for what it is. A wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with my children while they are still young enough not to be embarrassed at being seen with me. I can enjoy them and try to figure out how their little brains work and attempt to shape them into the kind of adults that I will want to spend time with as well.

So my goal this summer is not to just get through it until school starts again - which by the way is exactly what I did last summer, but in my defense, I did have a new baby! - but to really enjoy it and plan fun things to do with my kids. They are growing up so fast and sometimes I feel like I'm missing the older ones because I have to keep such a close eye on the younger ones.

So this week is, by request, Pokemon week. They are obsessed with this game and collecting the cards and toys and role-playing. This is my most challenging week, by far because I really don't like this phase and I'm hoping that by doing it first that I won't have to listen to it all summer. In order to make sure our first theme week went well and to assure participation in future theme weeks I took them to the store yesterday and spent $42 on pokemon cards and toys. A total waste of money, especially when I'm trying to be frugal, but if it sets the tone for the summer (not that I'll be buying them toys every week!) then it's totally worth it.

OK - my cousin-in-law just called with an update on my cousin's cancer. It's not good. Bigger spots in his lungs and now some on his liver. Sort of makes Pokemon cards seem silly. But it also puts everything in perspective. Only God knows how long we'll be here. It's up to us whether we embrace the time we have or merely survive it.

Why I love facebook

OK - I know this is also off topic of the blog, but I'm feeling inspired. I love facebook! I have found people I played soccer with at age 7, people I went to school with, friends from every chapter of my life. I didn't realize how many closed chapters there were until facebook. People who I was once very close to and whom I considered best friends and forgot about. People I confided every thought to and thought I'd never forget. People who've seen me at my best and worst and who I thought I'd never lose track of, but somehow did.
I'm so caught up in the now - getting the kids ready for school, feeding the baby, homework, cooking etc. - that I had forgotten where I came from and who I once was. And I'm not saying I want to be that person again because I like the wisdom that comes with age. But who I was at age 20 or 25 or 10, and who my friends were and what was important to me then helped make me who I am today. And finding the people I was friends with then reminds me where I came from. Hopefully it will help me relate better to my kids in the future!

And if my kidsever read this in the future, I can group my facebook friends into these categories:

• Grade School
• Orange Grove Junior High
• Amphi High School
• UCSB
• U of A/AEphi
• Capital Camps
• American Income
• Tofel Construction
• Playgroups
• Catalina Foothills Church
• Cornerstone
• Family

Everybody is from one of these eras. I should maybe add a category for friends I met through Dave - but those are only a few. Almost all of those chapters are closed. It's probably one of those older and wiser things, but it's kind of cool to look back and see it all so clearly defined. It makes me wonder what the futute chapters will be.