Won't Get Me Down...

I know I have been MIA and I'm sorry for that.

Last week I spent the week with 13-year-old triplet boys and their 9-year-old sister. Their parents were out of town and I was "fostering" them, as the youngest of the triplets said.

I will tell you that I had a blast, but I am not kidding you, it was hard work!

Lots has been going on in my life, however not all that exciting.

Last night, I took the triplets mom to see Vince Gill for her birthday. She is a HUGE fan and her husband is not so much, so we made a girls night out of it. I grew up listening to country music, and Vince Gill is obviously country. I knew a majority of his songs and was looking forward to the show, but having experienced it, I must say - if you ever get a chance to see him live - DO IT!

The man can flat sing.

At one point, I turned to Tela* and said, His voice is like a lullaby. 

And he was hilarious!

I'll spare you all of the jokes, but we laughed pretty hard the entire show.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

As you know, I turned 30 years old earlier this year. And as you have read previously, I have tried in the past to go out and ask for what I want. Results be damned.

I've shared this quote with you before, but it rings very true to this post, so read again, will ya?

"The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do no do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' - they may not be smart enough to say 'yes.'" - Keith Olbermann

I'll give you a little background on my relationship with Tela (I don't think I've done this before). She was my Spanish teacher my sophomore year of high school, and she remains one of the best teachers I've had. She only taught at my school for one year, but we made a connection and stayed in touch. She got pregnant with the boys during my junior year and I helped babysit them as soon as they were born and we've remained close throughout her moves with her AirForce pilot husband.

So, we have known each other for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years. Which means I was 15 when she met me. And let me tell you, I have changed a million times since then.

Either way, over dinner last night we were discussing life, love, and teenage angst. (The Trips will be 13 this weekend.)

The conversation turned to my life and where I've been, where I'm going, how I feel...etc. I mentioned to her that I often feel like life is moving past me as I stand still. Other people are getting married, having babies, reaching those "milestones" the people seem to use to define successful lives.

Meanwhile, I go to work, CrossFit, and bed. {woh, woh, woh}

And I decided right then and there that I was going to take control of life.

It's time to be aggressive. Be, be, aggressive.

From this point forward, I'm really going to try to go after what I want. What is the worst that can happen? Someone can tell me no. And no isn't all that bad.

I will be the first to admit that I've had some pretty painful nos in the past and I probably shed a few tears over them. But I didn't die. And I am who I am today because of those.

And the truth is, there are probably some additional painful nos coming, but I can't live in fear.

Today marks the first day of the rest of my life. And I'm going to go after the life I want.

Wish me luck...

Football, Football, Hey!

So Biggie has started flag football for the Fall.

I will admit that he is normally a hyper kid, but when he starts playing football he turns into another person all together. 

The other day we were in the back yard and Match and Papa's house throwing the football around. Nothing serious - just throwing and catching, throwing and catching.

Except when I threw the ball and he caught it, he would dance around and say (in a weirdly deep voice), "Oh yeah, that's how we dooo it."

A couple of days before that he was out in the backyard at his house with BIL and he came back in and said to Sissy, "Mama, do you know what you have to do?" She asked what. He said, "You have to keep your eye on the ball."

Then BIL asked him, "How do you carry a football?"

His response, "High and tight. I carry the football high and tight because that's what my daddy told me and that's what my mind tells me every time I have a football."

All of that was just fun and games until he got to his first practice on Monday night. Remember that he is playing flag football.

Sissy says that he got out of the car at the practice field with a little strut. Then they get out on the field and one of his teammates is running with the ball and Biggie runs over there, knocks him down, takes his flag, and says, "How's that, Sucka?"

I only wish I was kidding.