Sunday, June 30, 2013

More Cowbell!!!!

Today I had the privilege of cheering my brother and sister on in their first triathalon.  It was a very exciting experience!  The morning started very, very early and was a little nerve wracking...  :)  My sister can not see AT ALL without her glasses.  I was her glasses coordinator.  She handed them to me as she got into the brown, murky water.  I had the job of watching for her in the water, and then handing her the glasses when she got out.   I watched and watched for her in the water, but all of the swimmers had the same gray swim caps on.  It was challenging to say the least.  I did eventually see her and was so proud of her.  I felt like crying.  Not a sad cry, but a very happy cry.  :)  I felt the same way when my brother came out of the water, but he could see just fine, so I didn't worry quite so much.  :) 
While I was waiting for them, I was looking around at all of the athletes and their loved ones.  People fascinate me.  They always have...  I loved sociology classes in college and have "studied" people from afar.  I think that this started when I was very young.  That phase when you don't quite know who you are but the things other people do help you to discover some of the answers to lingering questions was fun for me.  I love how everyone tells at least part of their stories in different ways.  
Tattoos, for example, tell so much and yet so little sometimes.  I think about the story behind the tattoo.  Why did the girl in the doctor's office get a butterfly on her foot?  Did she do it for beauty or does that butterfly have significant meaning to her?  The people with the full back tattoos REALLY fascinate me.  I usually ask people what their stories are, because I am genuinely curious about it.  I am interested in them. 
I also love car magnets.  I am on the verge of being obsessed with them.  It all started with my friend, Michelle and her many window stickers.  They had numbers on them and I had no idea what the numbers were for.  I asked her and she told me that they were from the races that she had run.  She travels to run.  Hmmm...  Travel to run?  This is passion!  :)  I love it when people love things so much that they will travel for them.  I have never been that person, with the exception of traveling to see loved ones.  But I have never traveled for a race, or anything like that. 
I do think bumper stickers and car magnets tell a lot about a person.  Right now, the only magnet I have on my car is one telling everyone where I went to college.  It's funny, but I didn't even care about that until my daughter chose my alma mater.  :)  Now I am all about it!  We have something else in common and I love it! 
I saw many stickers and magnets on cars today.  I also saw many tattoos.  In the end though, no matter what our stories, we are all part of the same human race.  I love that!
I actually stood in the wrong area, waiting for my brother and sister to come to the finish line.  There were two and I didn't realize that...  It's ok though, because I rang my cowbell for other people's brothers and sisters, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers.  I cheered them on and I congratulated them on a job well done.  It was so nice to see their smiles, their peace signs and cheering arms.  Today taught me something.  We could all use a little more cowbell!  :) 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Why Blog?

I told my husband that I started a blog.  I actually considered not telling him, but I didn't want him to be the last to know.  :)  He asked me why I am blogging.  He even told me that no one blogs anymore.  Well, I don't know the national or international blogging averages, but I do know that it's fun!  So, my answer to my husband or anyone else asking is, why not? 
My brother was recently talking about my niece and he said that she will talk to anyone.  She'll talk to people in line.  She'll talk to people in the store... anyone.  I think I am a bit like my niece and I always have been.  :)  I love to interact with people.  I am always asked by my children, "Do you even know them?". 
I also blog (yea, I blog now) because I have a million stories and ideas that I would love to share.  I have experiences that can potentially help others or give people food for thought.  :)  We all have something to offer.  I am just old enough now to want to share them!  LOL  :) 
So, I guess that's it...  I want to connect with others, share my thoughts and experiences and hope that they might help another human being.  :)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Loving this crazy life!!!!

Hi everyone! 
I am taking a digital writing class this week and I am being (strongly) encouraged to start my own blog.  You need to live the life of a digital writer so that you can teach others, right?  :)  Well, here I am .  I labored over the title of the blog and over the content of the blog.  Well, if you have known me for very long, you know that I am pretty much not a private person.  I am a strong believer in that we are all doing the best we can at any given time (at least we should be) and we need to do it together.  I don't mean that we should be in one another's business.  I only mean that we should be there for one another.  One way that I am sure that I am there for others is to let people know my story.  That's how you discover that you have something in common.  You hear someone else's story and you identify with that person.  :) 
I am a teacher and a mother and I wondered what I should post about.  Well, that's why I ended up with a blog title called Loving La Vida Loca.  I love my crazy life!  I am over 40 and I don't feel the need to keep anything secret from anyone.  Well...  maybe some things... :)  LOL 
I have three wonderful children whom I love very, very much.  My oldest just graduated from high school and will be heading off to my alma mater in the fall. It's my husband's alma mater too, but this blog isn't really about him...  :)  He would kill me if it was...  :)  My middle child is also a really cool kid.  He has a great heart and he loves animals and children.  He can literally make any baby smile.  He is a junior in high school.  My baby is 9.  She can probably tell you how many minutes it will be until she is 10.  She is so excited!  She loves arts and craptastic things (oops!  I meant crafts).  She has great friends and can be happy doing just about anything.  It's probably because I dragged her everywhere with me while the older two were in sports.  :)  It's good for her, right?  Ha ha!  I'll tell her that until I can't anymore! 
So...  that's me.  I'm sure you'll find out soon enough that there is so much more, but if I told you everything in one post, how much fun would that be?