Halloween Fun, Stereotypes, and Faux Pas

It's been awhile since I've blogged, but it's been busy, and when I normally sit down to write, I generally determine that going to bed is a better option. Tonight, though, I've got a little bit of energy after all of the trick-or-treating fun! It was fun, and Charley had a great time knocking on doors and getting candy....for about 20 minutes. Then, her attention span was up, and it was time to head back to her friend's house. I saw some things, this Halloween, that jumped out at me a bit. Enjoy!


So, last year, Charley refused to dress up for Halloween. She wouldn't wear a costume, and threw a fit every time I even attempted to put something on her. This year was different. She got the most adorable Snow White costume ever from a friend of mine, and was so proud to show it off. She went trick-or-treating at school, then participated in a little song and dance with her classmates this afternoon. It was adorable, watching all of the kids sing 'Five Little Pumpkins,' along with several other songs. As I watched Charley and her classmates, it struck me that preschool teachers really don't make enough money. I know several preschool teachers, and many work for something like $13 per hour. That certainly isn't enough money for me to wrangle toddlers and preschoolers all day. It looked exhausting. The songs were cute, though, and Charley really had a great time at school.

We went home for a bit, and then proceeded to Charley's friend's house, where we ate dinner and went trick-or-treating. The kids looked adorable, and it was a fun way for me to spend the evening, too! After trick-or-treating, we stayed at Charley's friend's house for a little while, and let the kids eat a little bit of candy. Anybody who doesn't believe in sugar highs should've been there! Let's just say, they would be proven wrong. All three kids were running around, happy as can be, but within less than 30 minutes, they were all coming down from their 'highs' and starting to melt down. Charley was even worse when we got home! She simultaneously wanted to stay in the car, go into the house, and go to my friend Rena's house. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't in the mood for her tantrum, and carried her into the house, in spite of her kicking and screaming protest. As a result, I've hidden her candy bucket. Tomorrow it'll be like it never even existed! Ha! One can hope...

As I was driving back from Charley's friend's house, I noticed something funny. I saw several cars with parents driving along, transporting their kids from one house to the next. Talk about contributing to a lazier, more obese generation! When I was a kid, we walked from one house to the next and our parents walked right along with us. As I looked at the cars driving from house to house, all I could think was how sad and pathetic it was. I found it to be incredibly lazy, and I think it said a lot about this generation of parents and children. Now, that doesn't go for all of us. There are many (I'd even venture to say MOST) parents who still encourage their children to have experiences that require physical activity. But what were these driving parents doing for their kids? Driving them from one place to the next, to get free candy. To me, that was even worse than the adults that were going from house to house with bags or pillowcases so they could get candy, too. I mean, seriously, if you like candy that much, go buy a bag! Don't bring your two-year-old trick-or-treating, and bring two buckets! Everybody knows where all of the candy is going to go. In my opinion, those are complete Halloween faux pas. On Halloween, kids are supposed to be out in the community, going from house to house, seeing their neighbors, and having fun! Not jumping into a car after every house. And it's certainly a faux pas to trick-or-treat once you've hit an age where you could have a child yourself. Yikes!

With that said, it was a great Halloween. I love seeing all of the kids in their costumes, and I really love hearing the little ones whisper (or shout, in Charley's case) "Trick-or treat!" The little ones are very polite, too, which is adorable. Generally, it's obvious when they've rehearsed, "Thank you. Happy Halloween." Ha! I love it. On that note, it's time for bed. More updates on my life to come in the next few days! Happy Halloween!

School Shootings in Nevada...Too Close for Comfort

Generally my blogs address the things going on in my life. I intentionally don't talk about politics, or give my opinions about public issues, because I prefer to discuss those things in person, and sometimes keep my opinions to myself. After reading about yet another school shooting, this time in Nevada, I feel the need to speak up about this generation of students.

I'm a teacher. I don't teach in the classroom setting anymore, but nonetheless, I am a teacher. I love encouraging children, watching them succeed, and pushing them to learn. I also enjoy watching my students have little failures. Not because I like when my kids fail, but because I recognize that kids NEED failures in order to really appreciate success. I also feel strongly that it's possible for kids to fail, or struggle, and then work to improve themselves. As a teacher, it's my job to give them the tools to rebound from difficulties or little failures. In my classroom, we played a lot of games. There were winners, and there were losers, every time we played. Some kids coped with losing better than others. Part of it is just related to their personality types, but another part of their coping skills comes from being taught!

When I was young and played games with my family, sometimes I lost. I was TAUGHT that it's okay to lose sometimes. You win some, and you lose some. When you lose, you have the opportunity to learn, and make changes so you have a better chance of winning the next time around. I think that was, for the most part, how my generation was raised. I was appalled a couple of years ago, when I was babysitting (it was at a party, so the parents were home, I just supervised the kids), and watched a mother "solve" a problem between her kids who were playing a game. The kids were about 9 and 10 years old. Definitely old enough to understand that they won't always win when they play games. Well, a game of Sorry wrapped up, and the girl clearly won. What happened next? Her brother threw a fit. "You cheated! You didn't win, the game's not over yet." I intervened, and stated, "You know, it looks like she won this round. It's no big deal, she got some lucky cards! Why don't you play again, and maybe you'll win this time!" He wasn't having it. He went upstairs and pulled his mom away from the party. She promptly informed the kids that it was a tie. The little girl didn't win, but both kids won. Why? Because she didn't want to deal with the fact that her son didn't have coping skills. It upset me, because in a little decision like that, she took a learning and growing opportunity away from both of her kids. Her daughter didn't get to celebrate her win, and her son didn't have the chance to deal with a loss, and find that he can move forward.

Obviously, if you're reading this blog, you know how much of a role gymnastics has played in my life. When I competed in gymnastics, the top 5 or 10 gymnasts on each event got a ribbon or a medal. Everybody got some kind of participation prize, like a t-shirt, but only those who performed the best received awards. As a coach, I've watched that philosophy change. I think it's great to acknowledge all the kids' hard work. But, as I sit in awards ceremonies, and watch kids receive medals for 25th place in a competition of 30 kids total, it makes me wonder what encourages children to do any better. Don't get me wrong, I understand the purpose for rewarding everybody. All the kids walk away with a smile, and feel like they've done a great job, which they normally have! But at the same time, I feel like giving everybody a "feel good" award in every sport, at every competition (I know I'm generalizing here, it's just been my experience as a coach), we're not preparing kids for real life. In real life, the top 3 performers in a job interview might be called back for a second interview, and the best performer will get the job. In real life, somebody who is 25th on a list of potential employees won't get a phone call, because there are 24 applicants who are more qualified. Unfortunately, if kids aren't prepared for this type of situation, they don't know how to deal with rejection, and in turn, frequently act out or blame others for everything that goes wrong in their lives.

All of this comes to mind, because I firmly believe that a lack of coping skills contributes to the increase  in school shootings over the last 15 years or so. It's great to build children's self-esteem, and encourage them to be the best kids they can be. What better opportunity to do that, than when they experience failure? As parents and teachers, we need to take advantage of those teaching moments. We need to tell the children who lose, "You lost, and that's ok! How are you going to make sure you win next time?" I understand that life would be easier for everybody if nobody ever 'got out' in a game, or if the outcome was always a tie. But that's not how life works, and kids need to learn that, so they don't freak out when they are faced with adversity. Charley and one of her little friends get into arguments fairly frequently. Her friend's mom and I usually try to let them work it out (unless one of the toddlers throws a punch or something, lol), because even at 2, kids need to learn to cope with things, particularly with peers. So many of these kids who participate in school shootings seem to have been bullied in school. They need to learn how to deal with bullies in a constructive manner, instead of bottling up their emotions until they can't control themselves. As parents, we want to protect our children from negativity. But sometimes, we need to back away, and let them solve problems for themselves. If kids were taught from birth HOW to use their emotions constructively, enjoying the positives, and even embracing the negatives, maybe we wouldn't see so many kids who are pushed to suicide or even murder, before they're even teenagers.

As a perfectionist in childhood, and admittedly now, I have high expectations for myself. I don't like to fail. I didn't experience much failure as a child. If I wanted something, I worked hard to achieve it, and was usually successful.  With that said, in my early gymnastics years, I was frequently one of the girls who received a medal in competitions, at least on floor and vault. But I almost never won anything on beam or bars, because I wasn't as good at those events. I knew those were my weaknesses, and that I had to work harder on those events if I wanted to do better. There were times when I was off, and didn't get any medals at all. I failed those days. But that was really the extent of my failure during my childhood. As an adult, I have experienced a few failures, and in self-reflection, I appreciate every failure almost more than I do my successes. I was willing to stay and work on a marriage that was never really meant to be, because I didn't want the relationship to fail. I didn't WANT to fail. But my failures have made me stronger, wiser, and more conscientious. I'm not super-mom, and I know Charley isn't the perfect child, but I hope that I can encourage her to deal with failure better than I did when I was young, so she doesn't make the same mistakes I've made as an adult.

There's my rant for the night! Not my usual type of post, but the Nevada shooting hit too close to home. I know too many awesome teachers, working in a terrible neighborhood in Vegas, and I don't know what I would do if one of their names was written in the paper as a victim of a school shooting. On that note, I promise, more entertainment in the next post!

Saturday Night In!

So, it's a Saturday night, and what am I doing? Blogging! Naturally. I actually had a really busy day, so instead of trying to chase down a sitter so I could go out, I decided to stay in and snuggle up on the couch next to my new space heater. Best purchase I've made in the last month, I might add. Anyway, this week was busy, and when you're starting a business, busy= awesome, so it was a good week!

She dressed herself before gymnastics. Can you tell?

I mentioned in my last post that Charley started school this week. It's been both a blessing and a curse. 90% blessing, and 10% curse, I would say. I mean, I love that she is getting to have time with other kids, and I know it's good for her. She's getting the mental stimulation she needs, and making friends at the same time. Meanwhile, I get time to actually focus and get things done! Those are the positives. There have really only been two negatives. First of all, since she started school, she's thrown screaming fits when I've left her with anybody else for over an hour. Secondly, she's had the HARDEST time falling asleep at night. It's not that school doesn't wear her out. It definitely does. But she's so stinking stubborn, she fights to stay awake, until she's overtired and ends up having night terrors once she is asleep. Now, I do understand that both of the negatives will improve with time, but right now, I'm still having some pull-my-hair-out moments in the middle of the night when she decides it's a good idea to wake up and stay awake until 2:00 a.m. Awesome. I suppose poor Charley is genetically screwed when it comes to sleep patterns. For as long as I can remember, I've had trouble falling asleep, and sleeping through the night. And on her dad's side? He was notorious for night terrors and sleep walking. The poor kid never had a chance of being a good sleeper. Lame!

Girls' Day!

A friend of mine asked me to watch his 9-year-old daughter today while he was at work. I'd intended to work all day, but my sitter backed out during the week, and I wasn't able to find anyone to watch Charley. Anyway, of course, I said I was happy to take his munchkin for the day. I took the girls to get their nails done, then for a playdate at one of Charley's friends' house, then to Michael's to buy craft supplies. In the car, we blasted Disney music, One Direction, and even some old school Backstreet Boys (I insist that the original boy bands don't go unrecognized in my house), and sang along all day. We brought the crafts home, and the girls did crafts during the afternoon, while I did some serious housecleaning. It was awesome to have a little girl here who was a bit older, and actually enjoyed entertaining Charley. As the day progressed, I started thinking. Most of the men I've dated are single dads, and I'm fairly certain that anybody I date seriously in the future will likely have kids as well. I thought about the day, and realized, that I think I would be better off with a guy who has a girl than a boy. Now, of course I know that's a generalization, and I would be perfectly fine if I end up with a man that has a boy. But I GET girls. When I took my friend's daughter to get her nails done, she completely lit up. She was so excited to sing along to boy bands in the back seat, and have me singing right along with her. With girls, I can read them, and figure out what they need from me fairly quickly. I think that comes from so many years of teaching and coaching. I can spot a girl from across the gym, crying in the lobby, afraid to come out on the floor, and figure out how to coax her into joining her class (whether that means I have to let her chase me around the floor, or sit with me during stretch, I can figure it out). I know when to tease and be a little sarcastic, and when to be straightforward and sensitive. A couple nights ago, I was subbing for a class where I didn't know any of the girls' names. Instead of learning their names, I gave all of them nicknames, based on what they were wearing, so I had Sparkles, Pinky, Purple Puff, Space Girl, etc. They loved it. That's because I GET girls! It's different with boys, though! Sometimes they look at me like, "Who's this chick, and why is she talking to me like I'm an idiot?" It's interesting, because when I taught school, some of my favorite students were boys! Some of them were well-behaved, helpful, and smart. Other favorites were still smart, but they could be troublemakers, and a little mouthy. I guess I liked that they had personality. But I didn't understand them on the same level that I understand girls. With all of that said, I would actually love to have a son. I look at my sister, and my friends that have boys, and they have the sweetest relationships with their little guys. I just think I would need to start with a boy from birth, because otherwise I'd be lost!

On a totally different note, I've mentioned many times that I think people come into your life for a reason. I've got a new friend at work, that I've totally clicked with. I really enjoy everyone that I work with. They're fun, they make me laugh, and they are genuinely great people. But it's funny how with some people, you can get coffee, spill your guts to each other, realize you have a LOT in common, and never have any fear that they're judging you. I'm very much an open book. I mean, crap, I write a blog that anybody and everybody can read! I don't share all the details, but a select few people know the ridiculous nonsense that has gone on in my life over the last year. For some reason, she and I jumped right into conversations about our lives, dating, the mistakes we've made, patterns we've fallen into, etc. It was like I'd known her my whole life! She made an "Oops," comment via text today that was almost identical to a text I'd send to a couple of girlfriends a couple months ago. I laughed to myself when I read the message. We were destined to be friends.

On that note, I'm currently enjoying peace and quiet, because Charley went to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight. Fingers crossed she sleeps through the night!

Did My Kid Really Say That?

It has been a GREAT couple of days. I've finally committed to taking Saturdays off from work. I used to work Saturdays, and it wasn't an issue, but in recent weeks, I've decided I need one day off every week. For most people, that day would be Sunday, but I teach private lessons all day Sunday, so I determined that Saturday had to be the day! This weekend, I actually took Saturday off, and decided to take Charley to the apple orchard. A friend of mine, who grew up near the orchard, decided to join us. Then, I decided to invite Charley's best girlfriend and her family to come along. Then, Charley's friend's dad invited a friend of his to meet us there, so it was kind of a large group, but tons of fun! We rode out to the orchard along with Charley's girlfriend, so that meant I actually got to have 45 minutes of adult conversation on the ride there and back. As much as I enjoyed the orchard, I really appreciated the adult interaction! For a woman who spends most of her time with a toddler, any adult interaction is appreciated, and it was a great experience for all of us!

Saturday night, I went to my friend Rena's house for a girl's night in. It's been a few weeks since I got to hang out with this particular group of girlfriends, so I was very relieved to have the night out to relax. We played a game called Cards Against Humanity, which might be the greatest game ever created. It's basically Apples to Apples for adults, and it's hilarious. We all played cards, and included a ghost card in every round. It was funny how the ghost card sometimes applied to the particular round. When I was the judge, the ghost card won twice in a row. That ghost totally got me. Ha! Anyway, we played for several hours, laughing until we cried, and just enjoying each other's company. It was a great way to spend the evening. 

As I've mentioned several times in the past, I teach a lot of private lessons and I really have fun with the kids I work with. This week, I had two girls that made me crack up. In one case, the girl's mom had texted me to say she needed to drop her daughter off, because she had an eye appointment, but that she would be back about halfway through the lesson. I didn't think anything of it. Then, during the lesson, my student said, "Oh, my mom's not here yet because she's having that laser hair removal on her lip. She'll be back soon." I laughed to myself. She totally sold her mom out! Ha! I love kids. The other one that got me this week was a little girl who is learning aerial (no-handed) cartwheels. She has perfect aerials off the tumble track (a long trampoline), perfect aerials off of a mat....But she won't go for the aerial on the floor. I asked her if she's afraid. She said, "Well, I'm a little afraid." "Why?" I asked. "Well, this one time, I was trying aerials at home and I landed on my face." Ha! I chuckled to myself. "That would scare me, too!" I said, "That's why you don't teach yourself tricks at home." I suppose I'm not one to talk, though, I taught myself all kinds of tricks at home. 

So here's my hilarious story of the day. Charley started school today. She's been talking about it for weeks, but when it came down to it, she was a little bit shy when we arrived. She didn't cry, but she was getting a little bit anxious before I left. Admittedly, I was kind of sad myself when I walked out the door. Lucky for me, there is an adorable coffee shop next door, so I got myself a treat. It was legitimately the best chai latte I've ever had. Now, I'm wishing I hadn't discovered it, because it's so stinking convenient, I'm going to have to stop myself from going inside. Anyway, back to the story. Charley made it through her day, and I had a chance to get a lot accomplished. When I picked her up, her teacher, who happens to be a fairly large, African-American woman, told me that Charley had a great day. "She did have a little trouble at nap time," she said,"I was lying with Charley, and she said she had to go to the bathroom, so she went on the potty. While we were in the bathroom, Charley said, "I want the white girl." Apparently, Charley wanted the other teacher (a white woman), who is a little bit quieter and more subdued, to lie with her instead of her lead teacher. I'm fairly certain I turned every shade of red, when she told me the story. I think it's comparable to the time I told my preschool teachers, "I wish things were better at home." Well, if nothing else, I could say Charley started off with a bang! Hopefully, she will develop a more tactful vocabulary.  ***Side note: I just asked Charley what her teacher's name is. She said, "Brown." I asked, "What?" Her response? "Brown hair. She has brown hair Molly has white hair. " I'm a little bit relieved, but still totally embarrassed. Oh the things kids will say!

Broken Bone Update and Other Recent Happenings...

It's been a busy week, as usual, but next week is when the real fun will start! I suppose I should start of by letting everyone know Charley got her cast off on Monday. When the cast first came off, I was expecting her to have some atrophy on her leg. I mean, she's been in a full leg cast for 3 weeks! I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was minimal atrophy, and her leg looked pretty normal. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, since she got the cast off, though. My poor kiddo is afraid to walk!  I can't say I blame her. I mean, the last time she really walked, it hurt! Plus, her leg has to be pretty stiff from being in that cast for so long. She's taken a few steps, but isn't very confident with walking and still has a significant limp. It's almost like retraining her completely. I've taken her to a few indoor playgrounds where there are kids to play with, as possible motivation, but as much as she wants to play with the kids, she also realizes that she can crawl or scoot instead of walking, and still socialize with the other children. Oh well, she will figure it out. I hope it happens soon, though! I was looking at some videos of her from a couple of weeks ago, and it's honestly hard for me to remember the last time we went somewhere and I didn't have to carry her. On a positive note, my arms are feeling particularly strong... Ha!

Business has gotten off to a slow start. We've had a couple of mommy groups come on the bus for open gyms, but haven't been able to get out and pitch the business in person, because Charley's been home with me all the time. I was again, hoping to start her in school this week, but her grandfather, who's an orthopedic surgeon, advised me against it. He did give me the go ahead to start her next week, though, so I'm anticipating making a lot of contacts and getting a jump start on Monday. I've been feeling ultra-motivated the last few days. Even though I haven't been able to make the progress I had originally intended, I have been doing a lot of behind the scenes work, and I know we will get some daycares signed up in the next week or two.

On another note, since Charley hurt her leg, I really haven't been to the gym. I wasn't sure they would want to take her with that huge cast, and I was kind of afraid it might get a little too rough there. But yesterday, I decided I'd take her before it got too crowded, alerted the childcare workers to the injury, and finally got a workout in. It felt amazing. It'd been so long since I had those endorphins going, and I legitimately missed going to the gym! I never thought I'd say such a thing. Ha! Anyway, I pushed myself pretty hard, and anticipated being ridiculously sore today. Surprisingly, I'm not that sore! I can feel the burn in my abs a little bit, but my arms and legs really aren't too bad. I suppose my arms aren't sore because I've been carrying around a 33 pound toddler with a 7 pound cast for 3 weeks. But I really expected to feel worse than I do. I guess that 3 weeks off didn't totally ruin my physical condition! With that said, I'll be back in the gym later today, just happy to get my 2 hour me-time again.

I know I've mentioned before that I tend to be a little bit clumsy. As athletic as I am, I definitely inherited the clumsy gene from my mom. In fact, all of my sisters inherited that gene. When I say my mom is clumsy, I mean REALLY clumsy. Things that happen to her, just don't happen to other people. Like the time I heard her voice yelling for help, when I was upstairs in my bedroom. I couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from, but it got louder and louder as I approached the laundry shoot. I opened the door to the shoot (which went from the second floor of the house to the basement) and her voice came through loud and clear. "Help me!" she yelled. So, I ran to the basement to see what was going on. When I walked into the laundry room, it was all I could do not to laugh. The people who had lived in the house before us had built some kind of a guard for the shoot, so the clothes didn't go all over the place when they came down the laundry shoot. Apparently, my mom had been getting the clothes, and she managed to get her hair tangled in a nail on the built on contraption. Her arms were flailing, as she stood there, helpless, and tangled up. Hilarious. I shared this story, to give an image of the clumsiness that runs in my family, because I had my own "Betty moment" last night. Charley had been asking me if she could play with her friend Sawyer all day, so we wandered over to Sawyer's house last night, waiting for him to come back from dropping his brother off at football. I was encouraging Charley to play on their new swing set and playhouse, because I was trying to get her to walk. I was being silly, and dancing around with her, trying to keep my body moving because it was after dusk and the gnats had come out. I hate gnats. They're little, they come around in masses, and they just drive me crazy. Anyway, I was dancing around and trying to entertain Charley, when I saw a gnat coming at me. And it flew directly into my eye. MY EYE! How does that happen?! I already have a tendency to get red eyes from allergies this time of year, how was a gnat in the eye going to impact that? After laughing at myself a little bit, I blinked a few times, and managed to remove the gnat from my eye. It could've only happened to someone in my family. Sigh.

I know Charley has been a major focus of this post. I spend more time with her than anyone else, though, so what do you expect? In the last few weeks, I've been noticing how much she picks up on what I say and do. When she really wants me to listen, she will say, "Mommy, look into my eyes. Are you looking at me? Are you listening?" Then she'll tell me something along the lines of, "I said, I want a cookie right now!" She gets very serious when cookies are involved. Yesterday, I told her, "No," at some point, and she replied, "Mommy, don't talk to me like that!" Ugh. Teenager attitude in a 2-year-old body. Sometimes, she really amuses me, though. Her inflection and delivery tend to be right on, when she imitates me, and she understands concepts that surprise me sometimes. Yesterday, a little girl at the gym made a comment about not crying when she was a baby. I said, "Ha! Charley cried!" Charley looked at me from across the gym, and said, "Mommy, why are you telling them that?" What toddler says that?! Anyway, check out the video below, it's pretty funny.

Alright, that's all for now! Have a great weekend!

Blasts from the Past and Positive Vibes

Today was a weird day. Not a bad way, in fact, it was a really positive day. It was just a little strange. Let me just start off by saying that my last couple of weeks might have been kind of rough, but with a little bit of sleep, I feel like a new person! Charley has finally adjusted to sleeping with a cast on her leg, and has slept straight through the night since Sunday. It's amazing what a little bit of sleep will do for a mom! I feel great, and definitely more myself. That might be partially due to the fact that I took Monday off. I decided I needed a day just to play with Charley and recover from the last couple of weeks. It was  truly a wonderful day. We went to the zoo with some friends, then came home and played for the rest of the day. I really had fun with her. I feel like I am so frequently just trying to keep Charley occupied while I'm working, that I forget to have fun with her. I need to take days off more often!



Anyway, about today. Charley slept until almost 8, which was AWESOME, and meant I had time to get up, shower, and have my morning coffee before she woke up. Aaaah, peace and quiet in the morning. I loved every minute of it! Once Charley did wake up, and we got moving, we ran back to our house (we're house sitting for my dad), and picked up a couple of things I would need for the next few days. Then, we ran into Target for 3 items, and of course purchased more like 15, but that's how it works at Target, right? Charley is a great kid, and I know that. The vast majority of the time, she brings nothing but joy into my life, but sometimes Target trips can be difficult. Well, today was actually a GREAT Target day for us. Charley sat in her stroller the whole time, without whining, and I couldn't believe the number of smiles and comments she got while we were there. She's gotten quite a bit of attention for her cast, but only one person commented on her cast. Several others smiled as we walked by, and I told her, "I don't speak Whine." More chatted with her as we waited in line, and she messed up her perfectly styled hair (intentionally, of course). Still others grinned at her as she got her cake pop (yes, I bribed my child) and beamed with excitement. It was one of the few Target trips since I've had Charley that I've had the chance to see how much people really enjoy kids, and how children can bring a smile to people's faces with such simple things. It was a great way to start off our day!

When we got home, and I began making contacts with various preschools....That's when it got weird. Not the work stuff. That was actually great, and I set up a few more Gus the Bus dates. But I started to get text messages from guys I've dated in the last year. Not one, not two, but FOUR guys I dated. Four!  Now I know it's not unusual to hear from guys you've dated a few weeks later...but these are guys I haven't heard from or talked to in MONTHS. One I haven't heard from in nearly a year. It struck me...is there something in the air today? Why today? Why FOUR different guys on one day? It was definitely interesting. I don't know if I'll ever be able to explain it. But apparently I'm putting some love vibes out in the universe or something. Ha! As long as they're positive vibes, I'll keep them coming! It's strange, though, because if I look back at last  year at this time (or close to it), the same people are coming around. It's like I'm repeating last fall (although I'm not, because last year I actually dated these people). But now I'm not quite so naive, I've learned a lot about who I am, what I want, and what I need. Last year what I wanted and what I needed were two different things. Now, with some time, experience, and personal growth, what I want and what I need are more in sync. My friend Sean said it the best, I think. I want one person to invest in, and see where it goes. I don't want to think about how it's going to work out in the long run. I don't want to think about distance, or jobs, or he lives there, if it went somewhere would I have to move? How would it work with the kids? He has cats (or dogs)...and I'm allergic. How would that work? I don't want to think about the logistical things, because my theory is, if something truly develops, I'll figure it out and make it work. That's just what we do, right? Make it work!  I just want to get to the root of someone. REALLY get to know him, and see where it goes. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Okay, back to the positive vibes, one of my closest friends had something wonderful happen today. Her neighbor was getting some cement work done on her driveway, and my friend asked her neighbor to send the guys over for a quote while they were there. After a little bit of discussion, the cement guy came to her door with an estimate of $1,400. My friend politely declined, because that just wasn't in the budget at the moment. A little while later, she got a knock on her door. The cement guy was back, and told her that he'd talked to her neighbor who mentioned she'd had a rough time the last couple of years, and he'd like to do her driveway for free. FREE! She refused, and told him she couldn't let him do that, but he insisted, and she started to cry. "Things like this just don't happen to me!" she told him. As she told me the story, my eyes welled up with tears. There is nobody I know who is more deserving of such a kind gesture. She's been paying it forward for years, it's about time someone actually did something sweet, wonderful, and unsolicited for her. Just another weird, but wonderful surprise. For me, it was a reminder that there really are great people in the world.

On that note, I had a great night at the gym, as well. Two of my Rec Team students participated in a cartwheel-a-thon at the gym to raise money for the St. Louis Park Emergency Program, and between the two of them raised nearly $400. I was so proud, and incredibly impressed. These girls worked so hard to raise money to help others. Again, proof that there are great people in the world! They are good citizens in training!