He shoots! He scores!

Lincoln has a basketball hoop downstairs. He convinced me that I should shoot a few with him while I melted into the couch after cleaning all the bedrooms. I told him I'd play as long as I didn't have to move. (Let's not discuss my laziness just yet.) Every time I had the ball he would lunge forward and stuff my shot. None of my attempts ever got near the goal. Soon, Ty wandered down the stairs and the two of them began to play. Lincoln is very competitive and armed with the logic that "if Ty learns to shoot while being guarded he'll get really good", Lincoln continued to stuff him too. It didn't take very much time, 28 seconds to be precise, before Ty was in tears and getting more and more frustrated. But I noticed an interesting thing. He just kept battling, going up against Lincoln even though he couldn't make any progress. Let's face it, a five year age gap in brothers is pretty expansive but in terms of their stubbornness they share the podium. So, from there it continued...Ty, pounding against a wall that refuses to budge.
I began to wonder when and how it would end and then I thought about how often that scenario is played out in our lives. ("Our" in this case being the human race.) How often are we pushing or pulling on a door that is simply not going to open for us. And likewise, do we lock or barricade doors that keep others out? And while we're at it, should we consider the possibility that sometimes the forces holding certain doors closed against us are forces we create ourselves and not some mythical enemy. What kind of things are we missing out on? Friends? Families? Enlightenment? Physical Health? Emotional Health? A new hobby? Talents? Who knows, really. Before I ever ran a marathon I never actually thought about running one. I thought the whole idea sounded like the very definition of insanity. You know, doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result...But, then I got shoved into the process and now I can't really see myself not running at least one per year. In fact, I've chosen the Salt Lake Marathon in April for 2009 if anyone wants to join me.
So, I've got the marathon thing covered but I wonder, what else is out there for me? And you?

This picture is from a trail marathon I did in Aug 2008 at Targhee. It has over 5,000 feet of climb. It's wicked. I'd do it again.

UPDATE!

At the end of my last post I was braced for Karmic fury and questioning how bad could it be...right?! Well, I have an answer. 4-wheeler w/ plow meets garage door. Any guesses as to who emerged the victor?

Here's my next question. Is this still my bad karma working through the operator of this ATV? Or do I need to encourage said operator to restore the balance of the universe on his own?

If I only had a brain!

I don't even use it very much. In fact, I get chastised quite often for leaving it home. I might not actually miss it except for the fact that my alarm clock doesn't work and it fills in nicely at 4:45 a.m. and yet I am already having a weird scarecrow moment where I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I could merrily skip down a yellow brick road without clear reasoning as to where I'm going but alas NO! the roads are covered with inches and inches of fluffy white stuff which is why my cell phone (you thought I had lost my head, didn't you!?) is missing. The snow we are getting is crazy deep and soft and it makes everything eerily quite. I went running during a snowstorm and after calling home to make sure my friends sunglasses were left on the counter and not lost somewhere in the snow I forgot to zip my pocket. AAARGH! What makes it even worse, is that while my friend was calling herself a doofus for not keeping track of things I was SECRETLY smug about how I'm so GOOD at keeping track of things. Poetic justice! Shouldn't the karma fairy have at least, given me points for not being OPENLY smug? What good is trying to hide my badness if I'm just going to be punished anyway?

So, my cell phone is lost and all attempts to locate the pesky thing in a white-out blizzard over a 12 mile route were futile and I should be more upset but since I am on a path to enlightenment (hee hee) I will share what I have learned...I get to buy a new cell phone... and (here's the kicker) if I'm going to get punished for my thoughts and not my actions I might just say what I'm thinking and brace myself for karmic fury. How bad can it be?

I will kiss you tomorrow!

This is a hello to me, a non-soggy "calgon" moment, a way to allow myself an outlet. I have only slightly missed my prior blog since deleting it months ago. I have however, been surprised that I missed those few minutes of creative outpouring...stringing sentences together in a controlled manner that doesn't involve the shock and confusion over the latest antics of my children. (Actually, they do and will involve those things but perhaps they will allow me some semblance of normal brain activity and not turn me into a lethargic "buh, buh, buh" babbling amnesiac.) Especially, the youngest, who has inspired me to make lists. Not, mind you, to-do type lists but lists of things to laugh about later when I'm through scrubbing and my blood pressure returns to manageable levels. I swear, the kid is not even human...at least he's battery-powered with no sign of an off switch. He completely baffles me everyday. I should thank him though, for accommodating my ever increasing minimalism as I am forced to get rid of several things per day that he has broken or rendered unsightly. He's the kind of kid who, I'm sure, could have inspired the invent of nicknames and/or Morse code. His given name (and his eyes and his teeny little red lips) is way too sweet to invoke or describe the kind of peril he creates each day.

Here, I will make a list. An ever-growing list of things he should/has apologize for. These apologies are in his own words....

1. Mom, I'm sorry I threw a banana at your head.
2. I'm sorry I peed on your shower curtain.
3. I'm sorry I jumped on your picture frame and broke it into pieces.
4. I'm sorry I took all your Nike golf balls.
5. I'm sorry I hammered nails into your door.
6. I'm sorry I bit your bottom.
7. I'm sorry I licked your windows.
8. I'm sorry I colored on the couch.
9. I'm sorry I dumped baking soda and powdered sugar all over the floor.
10. I'm sorry I stole your vegetable peeler and shaved pencils behind my bed.
11. I'm sorry I cut your tape-measure to bits.
12. I'm sorry I keep stealing your honey bear.
13. I'm sorry I wiped my nose on your couch.
14. I'm sorry I hid orange peels in the couch.
15. I'm sorry I called you a pee-brain and a fat-head.
16. I'm sorry I spit on your shoe.
17. I'm sorry I stuffed your credit cards into the cd player.

18. I'm sorry I scribbled on your leather seats with permanent marker.

19. I'm sorry I put those there. (?)

20. I'm sorry I spit in your 7-layer dip.

21. I'm sorry I tried to crack your finger.

22. I'm sorry I threw your laptop acroos the room.

23. I'm sorry I scribble on your computer screen.

24. I'm sorry I tore up a business check.

25. I'm sorry I spilled a jar of honey on the kitchen floor.

26. I'm sorry I used my driver instead of my putter in the basement. (!)

27. I'm sorry I yelled at you for praying "ferfout" me. (without--I hope he never learns to say it correctly.)

Reminder! This list will grow. Maybe even daily. Don't be surprised. Just remember how he says "I will kiss you tomorrow!"