Why blog?

Let me start this all by saying…I’m a mother of 5. I’m a daughter, sister, wife, coach, friend, mentor and avid car singer. I love hugs, honesty, old school rap, chocolate, exercising and a good laugh. I wake up at 5:30 every morning to work out so that I am a more patient, loving human being. Most days I don’t brush my hair. I believe in the importance of and the value in hard work. My mom is my hero. My husband is my best friend. I have strong opinions I’m not afraid to share. I cry at commercials and pretty much anything heartwarming. In fact, I cry at least twice a day, usually because I’m happy. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. I used to love to dress up, now I love sweat pants more than just about any article of clothing ever made. My family is my absolute everything.

As a mom of 5 small kiddos I try my hardest to help raise confident, honest, intelligent, kind hearted and interesting human beings. Our humans (Finley 7, Ellen 7, Cooper 7, Fiona 5, Fletcher 2….and yes you read that right, we have 3 seven year olds) can be all of these things, as well as many other adjectives. As I began to think about the summer approaching and goals I had for what I wanted to accomplish, perhaps, at the top of that list, was teaching my kids a lesson every day.

I try to do this during the school year as well but I wanted to find a way to keep this going and make it even better. Every morning on the way to school we talk about how we can be a good leader and how we can celebrate other people’s awesomeness. Yes, I use that word. The kids like it. I find it incredibly sad and heart breaking that we live in a world that we try to tear down other people’s awesome. If someone excels at something our society looks for ways to criticize the way they do that something, or we attack a totally unrelated part of their life.

I often ask myself, why can’t we just give awesome people and their awesome skills a huge high five and celebrate the heck out of them. Or more simply, tell awesome people, “hey, thank you for being you!”

As a mom, I also find myself getting caught up in grind of the day or week. Who has practice? What can I put in their lunch that they will actually eat? Did they get enough fruits and vegetables today? How can I get them to stop sucking their thumb? Did I raise my voice too loud today? The hustle and bustle of everyday life can be one big, giant distraction from all the greatness that surrounds us on the daily. Simply put, we are too caught up in our busy lives and crazy schedules, and the ugliness that society celebrates that we sometimes forget to look around at all the incredible people and things around us.

There is a sign that hangs in my hallway. We see it everyday when we get home from school and work, it reads, “There is always, always, something to be grateful for”. It was strategically placed. I want that reminder seared in their brain, and quite frankly, my own as well. You see, while I struggle with feeling like I’m “enough” for all the people in my life; my kids, my husband, my mom, my students, my players…I also know that my most profound purpose in life is to raise good people that make a positive impact on the world we live in. I can’t do that if I don’t teach them to be grateful and if I don’t teach them to celebrate the awesome in people, in each other and in our world. I’m extra fortunate that I get to do this with my own kids, as well as, with the kids I teach and coach.

We live in a world that celebrates failure in many ways (don’t even get me started on youth sports). I for one am tired of turning on the news and seeing only craziness and hate. Rather than get caught up in all of this, I want to set a good example to my kids, students and players that even though life can be hard and hectic and some days it’s hard to see the awesome…that it is always, always there!

So this blog is inspired by these thoughts. I want to do this with my kids! Every. Day. I want to discuss awesome people and awesome sights, awesome sounds…awesome everything. Anything awesome is on the table, anything that isn’t….well, isn’t! I created this blog to keep me accountable to raising awesome, kick butt, appreciative, intelligent, insightful, kind, thoughtful, gonna change the world some day kids. Here it goes…..