Rest In Peace, Ty Woods.

Husband. Father. Navy SEAL. And...goofy kid in my Math class. High school wrestler I took stats for. 

American patriot who died in Benghazi last week.

Thank you for your service, Ty-Guy.

This is how I will remember him. Go Pioneers!

Little Mister and the First Day

Little Mister, at the Science Museum in the middle of the
day, in the middle of the week. I will really miss that.

I woke up last night at 1:00 a.m..

I had been alternately looking forward to and dreading today. Today is the first day of school ever, for my youngest child. Aka “Little Mister.”

He has been my companion during the day for five and a half years. His little tugs on my shirt, his out-of-the-blue hugs, his “just one more book before nap” days of being my exclusive little buddy have come and gone. So have our Tuesday morning trips to the Zoo, the park, wherever we wanted to go.

He has never seen the inside of a day care. He has only seen me.

Yes, I have unfinished projects I will be working on this year, now that all four of my kiddos are in school. I will volunteer more at the school too. I'm writing a book. Ect, ect, ect.

But I will forever cherish the “toddler years.” Being a Mommy is the Best. Thing. Ever.

"But...EVERYONE DESERVES A TROPHY!!!" Part One

No, they don't.

When my eldest child was seven years old, we were shopping at our local grocery store when I noticed they were having a coloring contest. I thought back to my own childhood and the fond memories I had of entering coloring contests, even winning one when I was five. I spent a week coloring my picture and making it perfect. My prize was a huge Easter basket full of candy and treats. I might as well have won a million dollars. Even at a young age, I was proud of my effort and so excited to have been rewarded.

We brought home the Halloween coloring page. It was a picture of a Fall scene with pumpkins, hay stacks and a wagon. I watched as my little girl meticulously selected just the right crayons, colored as closely in the lines as she could and tirelessly worked around the clock for two days. I saw her determination to do her very best.

We turned in her entry and a couple weeks later went back to the store. We were excited to see the winners were posted! As I scanned the display in the age 7-8 category, I was shocked to see the winning entry: There was thick, black crayon markings scribbled across the entire page. That was it. No other colors, no staying in the lines... My child had given 110%, and this was judged the very best and awarded first place. As I looked closer, I saw the fine print listed at the bottom of the page: 

Winner shall be chosen by random drawing.

Winner. Random. 

And so began a change in my thinking about success, equal opportunities, American exceptionalism and wealth.

To be continued...