Tales of the Ordinary Days

A ride for Lucy, post-walk My morning musings while walking my granddog centered on an article I had just read in the Omaha World-Herald. It was written by a long-time sports columnist, Tom Shatel. Generally, a fan of column features, but not always those in the sports section, I was doubly skeptical as I have never been a big fan of Shatel. I met him once. About four years ago. After a big playoff win for my son's high school team, I found myself sitting next to Mr. Shatel at a local bar. I struck up a conversation. To say that he was visibly annoyed would be a gracious description. Knowing he was likely bothered many times by people who wanted to talk sports and share their opinions, I gave him the benefit of the doubt in his response to me. So instead I scrolled through my phone as I waited for my order. And that was about it. "That one time I met Tom Shatel at the bar." Fast forward to today. As I have perused the OWH headlines in my news feed, I ofte...

View on my drive to our morning run Today was an ordinary day in Omaha. Amen to that. I have missed my sleepy, but satisfying days aglow with Midwestern pleasantries. I now sit in my art room sipping on a Leinenkugel's Grapefruit Shandy as Nat King Cole croons to me from the spinning vinyl. Windows are cracked with the sound of boys playing basketball as background noise coming from the front drive. Basketball also plays on the big screen in the living room with a big and a not-so-big boy tracking their brackets. With bellies full of a take out meal of wings and chicken baskets, my two oldest have set off with friends to enjoy a Saturday spring night. Life continues to hum for us in Omaha. Home. I began my day with a run through Boy's Town with my running gal pals. Our routine of coffee complimented with shared bananas and peanut butter followed. This same routine with a varying cast of characters has gone on at the same spot for over ten years. Some years it has been...

Zach and Nick displaying their citations received on our hike outside Denver Recently in the middle of some light conversation, my oldest son, Zach, brought up my blog topics. He was quick to point out his perception of my favoritism toward his younger brothers. Although the banter was all in fun, I had to defend myself. His interpretation was obviously inaccurate. But my 'fly below radar' eldest doesn't miss a beat. I accepted the fact that if we were to count, he would not win as the featured son in blog posts. A funny correlation since Zach is probably is the son I see the most of these days. This resulted in me pointing out that he has the most picture posts on FaceBook and Instagram with all of our Denver outings of recent months. "Good Lord, Mother, I really don't care" was his response. Although in jest, the conversation did get me to think about my oldest and our time together. Over the last nine months, I have been able to spend time with ...

Hiking St. Mary's Glacier  What to do on the last Sunday before school starts? If you are in Colorado, a hike in the beautiful Rockies is a great idea. Garrett chose St. Mary's Glacier by Idaho Springs for our morning climb. And it was stunning. I have to confess that we didn't work very hard to reach the spectacular sights that awaited us. The hike was .75 miles up a rocky trail and then .75 miles back down. The great thing about hike trails are the surprises you find when you reach the top. The St. Mary's Glacier is home to a serene lake and an icy embankment. Wild flowers in purple and yellow varieties are abundant. Even the rocks show signs of interest with hints of glacial impact. Our day started with the kids dreading the prospect of being dragged away from the TV. Upon our ascent and once the end of the trail was reached, their tone changed. Realization set in that the climb was quick and the visual benefits; immense. The kids skipped rocks, played in...

Breakfast surprise An eventual rainy day at the lake began with breakfast made and served by the kids. As the adults enjoyed coffee lakeside under cloudy skies, the kids asked "what's for breakfast?" My response was "I cooked dinner last night. The kids are in charge of breakfast." They didn't miss a beat. Within a half an hour, the first course was served. Fruit, yogurt, and coffee in an orange juice glass. We putzed on our computers enjoying our first round when the second course was served; bacon and eggs with salsa. A welcomed morning treat. And they even cleaned up after themselves. Warm refreshments and chess at Arnold's Perk Then it started to rain. Just a sprinkle, but progressive throughout the day. No week at the lake is complete without a rainy day. So we did the rainy day lake activities: visit to the fish hatchery, coffee and pastries with checkers, shopping at the Emporium. We were hoping for go-karts and dinner outside at B...

Our evening view Okoboji Day Two is now in the bag. And it was a good one. God gave us sun from morning to night. God also challenged my patience a bit with many calls from back home to interrupt the day. Home ownership issues never go away and contractors, many times a pain. But after a run and some thoughtful reflection, I had to separate myself. We all fall into this. Annoyances in life that pull us down when we should be enjoying life. The bottom feeders will always be circling, wanting to pull us down with them. It is so much easier to go down and wallow rather than fight to join the fish swimming in the sun. I chose to fight for the sun and it was well worth it. Our crew of seven meandered back to Arnold's Park for more rides and water fun before boarding the Queen II for a great tour of this beautiful lake. Captain Bill was our skipper and a fine one at that. Grandpa Larry, Garrett and I enjoyed the hour-long descriptive tour. The kids relaxed and slept for mos...

Garrett enjoying Arnold's Park Our long anticipated vacation started yesterday. It's all about the Lane's, the Brucker's, and the Brucker. Nine of us in total with seven journeying to Iowa's Lake Okoboji on Tuesday. The remaining two, my eldest and middle, will join after work on Wednesday. After a noon start with well-rested kids, parents, and grandparent; we were on the road. We did make it over the Mormon Bridge and into Iowa before the first question of "how long until we get there?" The questions on the timing for lunch hit before we even got out of the driveway. Grant, Donovan and Lily First lesson on vacationing with many teenage kids; they eat often and a lot. Thus our first stop for lunch and our second stop for dessert. But not any ordinary dessert. We treated them to Wells Blue Bunny ice cream at the Ice Cream Capital of the World; LeMars, Iowa. All were happy with our sugary treats and we enjoyed a look around the ice cream museum a...