Tales of the Ordinary Days

Well, so far..so good. The boys are still standing and their mom is still smiling. Our day started with a late breakfast and then a lot of resort playing and relaxing. Rain came and went intermittently throughout the day. The boys spent most of their time competing in sand volleyball; regardless of the rain. They have met many others through their 24 hour sand volleyball adventures. Coined "The Graduates", they have taken on "The Texans" on more than one occasion for scheduled matches on the ocean-side court. Dads and other bystanders comfortably jump in on a game that seems continuous from daybreak to sunset. Personally, I have just been taking it all in. Spending my early afternoon perusing the resort grounds solo and then listening to an 80's band with the full Omaha Skutt troop during a mid-day rain shower. Later we enjoyed a joint cocktail party and gathered for group pictures. And now I sit quietly in my room, clicking away at my computer. A f...

I'm in Mexico. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure how I got here. April and May have been a whirlwind. Birthday milestones, work, graduations, honeymoon to San Diego....and now, Mexico. Yesterday at lunch with colleagues, I was asked the question on where we were to stay on this trip. I wasn't sure. Garrett then asked about the airline and time of flight. Ummmmm...I wasn't sure. But I knew I had the paperwork handy, so could quickly check prior to our departure the next morning. "Sandy, this is so not like you," was Garrett's comment to me. I am the forever planner. I am always looking ahead and have my Outlook calendar implanted in my brain. But for this trip, I had completed lapsed. I really hadn't a clue on the details. Just that days were blocked off on my calendar. For Mexico. Somewhere in Mexico. What I did know was that Zach, Ben and I had up-to-date passports and that a travel agent said we were good to go. No worries. But I ha...

Janie purportedly "misordered" when she received this whooper! We celebrated Janie's 80th birthday a few weeks back. My friend Angelique's mom was in town on a visit. We gathered at Roja to raise our glasses for her glorious eightieth milestone. The waitress guessed her age to be 63. A common mistake. This story has been in sitting on my mind since our little birthday celebration. Although my time at the celebration was short, the conversation with Janie stuck. And the ironic part was that she hadn't a clue that the words she had spoken were impactful to me. I met Angelique when our boys were in basketball together in 2nd grade. Although many within my circle of friends via Grant's friendships came much earlier, not Angelique. But she was worth the wait. And with her friendship came her mom, Janie. Angelique had always described her exceptional mom as the original desperate housewife. Every trip to Omaha included the appropriate nightly moisturizer ...

Garrett's mom passed away in February. It was expected, as she had been sick for some time. But it was unexpected, as she had a slight rally with some hopefulness before her passing. Wendy's wish was for her ashes to be disbursed in the Pacific Ocean. Her husband, Bob, planned a nice service on the ocean as a final celebration of her life. His well designed plan initially threw Garrett and I a bit of a curve ball. The planned event was for midday on a Wednesday; sandwiched in between my son's high school graduation and Garrett's daughter's 8th grade graduation. And it landed smack dab on my youngest son's 8th grade graduation day. The timing couldn't have been worse. Garrett and my work and travel lives are hectic, even without these end-of-year school festivities. My parents were in town visiting for the first time in two years. Instead of entertaining them, I was flying across the country. Anxiety ensued as we booked our flights. But Garrett and I...

Here I am again. A million stories in my mind. But no pen to paper. Too busy. <sigh>. But regardless of the chaos of April and May, today was a good day. My mom and dad are back in town. They rolled in this afternoon. And we are all happy;. Zach, Ben, Grant, Sandy, Garrett. Life is good. We will be celebrating a graduation with Ben this weekend with family and friends. Seeing the loving faces of my parents is Step One. Tomorrow will be a final planning day before the gala on Saturday. It's been two years since my parents have been with us in Omaha. We missed them. Tonight we met friends for dinner in the Old Market. We laughed and shared life. As a newly minted adult, Zach was able to join us as well. A good night. And now I take a breath and long for a bit of time to write. A bit of time to catch up with my family. A bit of time to relax and enjoy the moment. As a wise friend once told me..."breathe". Just breathe and enjoy the ride. Milestones are abo...

Tonight I sit in my backyard; enjoying the sound of rough-housing young adult boys. Note that although Ben is not in the picture above, he was among the frenzy earlier. He exited play prematurely due to a ball taken in the face. I guess my new soccer ball purchase still poses a danger, even post-adolescence. Three boys. With three birthdays now past. 21, 18, 14. All golden years. Tonight I am enjoying some golden times that will soon be a memory. I have about three weeks left, to be exact. Ben is in his final stretch of high school. Grant has less than two weeks left of grade school. For Zach, it's all about planning his move to Denver. So tonight there is loud laughter from the combined trio. But by fall, my backyard will be silent. Last Wednesday on Zach's 21st birthday, I played a little hooky to have a small celebration with my eldest. I felt pressure from all ends of my professional life. Frankly, I had no time for a mid-afternoon escapade. But my heart told me ot...