Summer Bucket Lists

I like to make lists.  Things to do, stuff I need, or maybe something like 101 goals I have.  I guess it makes me feel good to accomplish something and then check it off the list.  “Look what I did world!”, I can say….and then everyone thinks I’m awesome….or so I want to believe.

Lists work for me.  I accomplish things with them, and I feel good when I get things done.  It goes without saying then, that I think my three girlies should make lists too.  You know, have some goals…..get them done…..feel good about themselves.  So, we tried……

This is how you do it:

-Buy some nice, big, white, poster board.  A plain old piece of paper won’t do.  These bucket lists are a BIG DEAL.  Remember, this will be a, “Look what I did world!” moment for them.  It needs to be written on something nice and big.

-Buy the kids some new markers or crayons.  There is something about a new palette of markers that makes kids want to do their best.  What kid wants scummy old peely crayons that they have been using all year at school, when they can open a brand new box of shiny new markers?  It’s inspiring!

-Give them a lecture.  Tell your kids WHAT a bucket list is, WHY people want to make them, and HOW you are going to help them accomplish what they want to do this summer.  Help them make their goals reachable.  For example, you son may have one of his goals as, “I want to go to the moon this summer.”  Okay…..probably not going to happen.  But, you can visit a planetarium, stick glow in the dark planet stickers on his bedroom ceiling, go camping with a telescope…..ANYTHING.

-When their posters are finished stick them up in a visible area so you can look at them all the time.  A list doesn’t help much when you don’t look at it and remember, these are a BIG DEAL.  The kiddos will be happy to know that you think of their goals as important!

-Lastly, make a list for yourself.  Stay-at-home-mom……working mom…….whatever.  Can you come up with 10 things to accomplish by the time school starts?  I bet you can.

Here’s a little re-cap of our summer bucket list adventure!  I am so excited these turned out as well as they did.

Abbey is my artist and set her goals pretty high.  My favorites include, learning how to play a song on the guitar, making a fabulous new dessert (YUM), and taking a new picture every day and making a collage.

Allie’s goals were full of energy.  A few of them were things like, do 50 sit-ups a day, watch every single episode of MLP (My Little Pony), and pull an all-nighter. (Not sure what I think about that.)

Amber wrote hers all in cursive very carefully.  She wants to draw a cool picture and make a robot.  But my two favorite goals of hers were to be nice and have fun!

I hope my girlies really do have fun trying to check off goals from their summer bucket lists.  I think they just might!

1000 Ummmm Er....500 Miles In 2011

I finally have started running again.   I stopped for awhile. I stopped for four months.

Now I will officially be on the wrong side of the depressing statistic, “that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions will be completed.”  Boo.

I am not really surprised at myself.  I go through various phases of being in shape ….and not so in shape.  It’s no secret that I am hopelessly addicted to unfinished projects.  I even blogged about it once.

Back in June, I decided enough was enough, and I went out for a short 2 miles.  My fat cells screamed the whole time, but I did it…….and that “runner’s high” gave me the tiniest pat on the back when I was finished.

Gradually, I worked up to three miles, then four, until last week I finally did a 6 miler.  It really doesn’t sound like much, but considering the I-never-want-to-run-again-for-the-rest-of-my-life mindset I had adopted in February, it is pretty good progress.

In an attempt not to burnout again, I am setting some new goals for myself.  First off, I am slowing it down a bit. 

Instead of getting mad at myself when I don’t go faster and longer, I am simply putting one foot in front of the other until I get to the finish.

Secondly, I am resting more.

(This says, “Stop for traffic.”, in Japanese)

At the beginning of the year I took on too much too fast.  My knees hurt, my shins hurt, and my hip was begging me to stop.  I have finally figured out that listening to my body isn’t following the voice in my head that says, “Ummmm, it’s sort of hot outside this morning, do you really want to go on a run?”  (That’s laziness talking.)  It is more like being able to FEEL your body telling you it has to heal and letting it take the time to do the healing.

Finally, my third goal is to set new goals…..and I am aiming high.

My new goal is 500 miles in 2011.  I love this quote….. “Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.”  In other words, I would rather make a goal and not quite reach it than, never make a goal and not accomplish anything.

What goal are you going to set today?

*The pictures in this post were taken on my usual running route on our Air Force base in Japan.  Can you tell I love my new smart phone and photo editing apps?

Swim Like A Stingray

It was a goal of mine to make it past this last weekend.  My week was packed with entertaining the mother-in-law, the fifth grade graduation slide show from hell, and volunteering my time and talents (like telling people, “No you can’t go down that hallway!”) for our base running club.  But by far, the highlight of my maniac week/weekend, was the final swim meet of the season.

Abbey and Allie are both on the Yokota Stingrays swim team.  Back in September when we they first tried out, I didn’t know how it would go.  I sent them both happily into the pool and when they came back out they were both crying.  Hysterically.  

The coach assured me that they just weren’t used to the 50 meter pool and the intensity of the practice.  We definitely weren’t in the neighborhood swim club back in Texas anymore.  The girls continued to cry.

At home, I somehow convinced them to keep on trying.  Maybe it was the once-in-a-life-time-opportunity speech I came up with.  Or maybe it was the heart wrenching story I told them about me giving up the swim team in ninth grade, only to wish I was still on it my senior year.  Sigh.  Most likely, it was the promise of Subway every Thursday night after practice that motivated them to keep on trying.

And try they did.  Five days a week for the last 9+ months Abbey and Allison have become swimming machines.  (Ooh, and I became the wet towel toting, goggle adjusting, Speedo buying queen!)  I am so proud of how hard they have worked and all they have learned.

Hopefully, they will look back one day and be proud of accomplishing what they thought they couldn’t do. But deep in my heart, I hope they don’t just say, “Geez.  Remember when mom MADE us be on the swim team in Japan?  That sure sucked.”

Great job girls!  Stick with it.  Your hard work and commitment will take you anywhere you want to be in life.  Mama loves you.

Now all we have to do is inspire Amber to be on the swim team too.  This one’s not going to be so easy.