May 4, 2013: Bootless in Texas

A little birdie I met on my morning power walk
I own four pairs of cowboy boots. And I packed none of them for my trip; regrettable so. I pictured all four boxes in my closet this morning as I dressed for the day. The brown pair with tassels (hand-me-downs from my mom) would have been perfect with my green shorts. Regret. I made due with wedges.

I thought about my cowboy boots resting in cold Nebraska as I walked the warm Texas terrain. They would have felt right at home. Although tempting to buy a new pair, five pairs was sounding a bit excessive; even for a avid boot collector like me.

As anticipated, Mark picked us up in his Texas truck. The three of us share the common trait of enjoying little day trips and adventures. Mark took us to different cities bordering Dallas, over the many vast overpasses, and through the many school districts. Working for the South Dallas district, he showed us the rough area covered on this side of town. His stories were heart-wrenching.

Garrett and I later reflected on how these kids could even stood a chance given their surroundings and the socioeconomic culture they live. It was a wake-up call to the cushy lives our children live. They really don't have a clue on true difficulties in life. And we have enabled this attitude.

A friend recently posted a quote on FB that got my attention. "Children who have everything, appreciate nothing." This is so true. The solution to the kids who have everything is easy. Stop giving them everything. But what about the kids who have nothing?

After some great conversation on the problems, but with no solutions, we finished our day with some great barbecue at local favorite, Peggy Sue's. We then took in the Iron Man movie in 3D. For those who have seen it...yes, Robert and Gwyneth were as spectacular as always. But what about Ben Kingsley??

Time to close and go night-night as our trip winds down to the final day. I did just sneak into the hotel hot tub and enjoyed a Shiner Bock (Texas original). As I enjoyed the stars on this clear Texan night, I reminded myself that I would be enjoying these same stars as I sit in my own hot tub back home. Until Monday at noon, it is all Texas though.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Own Your Shit

Image
  A few weeks ago my previously favorite blog subject (otherwise known as my middle son, Ben) called me for advice. The reason isn't significant now, but his approach to the conversation carried weight with me. "Mom, I need your advice on something. And before we even go there, what I am going to tell you is completely my fault. I get all the life lessons around it. What I want is just advice. So can we just put that all aside and stick to advice on my situation?" I respected Ben's ask and we had a productive conversation. He sought out advice from others and ultimately came to a good conclusion. Owning his shit and life lessons acknowledged early on,  I am pretty confident Ben won't be in the same situation again. I have always felt that a top responsibility in parenting is to teach our kids to think critically on their own. A specific skill that falls squarely in this category and high on my list is the ability to own your shit. To accept blame when due. To know
Read more

July 28, 2020: The New Normal

Image
"Are we back to normal again?" I heard my father-in-law, Larry (aka Old Guy), asking Garrett this as I laid in bed.  Garrett was performing his morning ritual of coffee bean grinding before brewing our morning specialty coffee. This was after he had read and stretched, all while I was still thinking about waking up. Through the crack in the door, I could see Larry sitting, feet up, in his favorite sofa spot. Jake, my step-son, was noisily filling his large water jug for a day in the sun at his summer job. This clanging of ice at 7 am along with the permeating coffee aroma and Larry's shuffling have been my morning wake-up routine of recent times. With my delivered cup of hot java, I hear the sounds of the morning; the garage door opening with Garrett taking Jake to work and the percolating of Larry's own coffee of choice, Folgers, in his Mister Coffee machine. His own pot to drink through the morning while enjoying his latest book. Yes, Larry, I think we are
Read more