I just arrived home a little carsick & A LOT heart sick. Watching the Frio River disappear from view is undoubtedly my least favorite part of the summer.
My favorite part? Everything else.
My intention was to share my favorite memories with words but last night, while gazing up at 1,000 Texas stars, I drank in all of my favorite songs, and changed my mind.
(It is a girl’s prerogative after all & this Texas Girl is no exception!)
So hear you go folks….this pretty much says it all.
“When a girl asks you to listen to a song, it’s because the lyrics mean everything she is trying to say.”
Sometimes you just have to take life one step at a time. I have been telling myself this a lot lately as the storm in my life is still swirling out of control. I still feel so out of control. My dad lays in a hospital bed so confused about what all is going on. My mom is putting on her strong face while she is falling apart inside. My sister is waiting anxiously to meet her first child. Hubby is trying to hold it together but I know he is hurting as my Dad is the only father figure he has ever had. My kids cannot possibly understand the depth of this storm yet they are being troopers with the change in pace.
I am looking forward to hitting the road to the Hill Country for my family’s annual trip to Garner State Park. If you have never experienced Garner State park or floated down the crystal clear waters of the Frio River, then you haven’t Met My Texas...(To quote Pat Green).
The Frio has  become my happy place over the years.
Our Frio River bucket list includes:
Making a quick stop near Hunt Texas to watch my son Will put one of his first cowboy boots on the Boots & Barb fence...AÂ memory I hope will last his whole lifetime!Â
Giggling as my babies play “crack the egg” in the backseat of the truck on the way.
Dancing under the stars to the sound of the jukebox…The dance goes on  365 days of the year….rain or shine.
Riding horses in the mountains (in flip flops).Â
Hiking Old Baldy (with a quick stop at Crystal Cave to explore)
Watching my son catch minnows with his sister; without an IPAD or X-Box in sight. (This happens to be the one week a year that the phrase NO WIFI Â doesn’t send me into mom panic mode)
Listening to old Texas Country Music instead of reruns of Sponge Bob.
Being quiet & still long enough to appreciate the natural beauty that God has gifted us.
Floating the river & covering my eyes when my Emmie & Will attempt rope swing!
A few summers back, in one of the Garner gift shops, I stumbled upon the cutest posters from  a  company called Your True Nature. I reveled in the advice from a river….especially the last line…The beauty is in the journey.
https://yourtruenature.com
My advice for this Self Care Sunday is….. get your boots on & get here as soon as you can. I’ll save you a tube & a Shiner.
Make New Friends But Keep the Old. Those Are Silver, Old are Gold. Girls trip to La Jolla, CA.
Friendships have been on my mind a lot lately....
Probably because last weekend we said goodbye to a beloved member of our mom tribe. She is moving to Houston and taking her cute hats, her humor, and piece of all of our hearts with her.
The “big girl panties part of me” knows that we are not really saying goodbye, but rather, see you soon. The “pull-up” part of my heart says, knowing that doesn’t make it any less painful.
Old times with Golden Friends!
Saying goodbye to friends is not exactly new territory but it did get
me thinking about my mom’s take on friendship. She shared her wisdom with me a few years ago, when I was mourning the loss of another friendship.
“In life, there are there are both road friends and heart friends. In your lifetime, will have many road friends, but you’ll be lucky to have even a handful of heart friends…those are the important  ones.”
. “How will I know the difference?” I asked.
“If I throw my whole heart into most of my friendships (which I do), aren’t they all heart friends?”
“Road friends,”she said, “are the ones you’ll meet along your journey through middle school, motherhood and midlife. They will make life a little less lonely for a time. They will share memories and mimosas, midlife madness, and more. You’ll find yourself drawn to them because you’ll share something in common; kids, summer camps, careers, and kindness. They will love you dearly and you them; for a time. They will fulfill their purpose in your life and you in theirs.”
“There may or may not be a dramatic ending, no break up or blow up. Just as you looked up one day and they were there, you may look up one day and they’ll be gone.”
It’s being ok with the later that I’m struggling with lately.
And heart friends? “Well, it will take years sometimes before you know which ones those will be. They will be the ones who will come into your life and never leave. You may not see them for months at a time, not talk to them as often as you would like, and then one day you’ll need them and they will be there. They will call you to check on you, be there in a crisis, and invest their time and energy in loving your kids as though they are their own. The two of you will pick up right where you left off and then you’ll understand that this one was meant to stay. It took me 43 years to finally start recognizing the difference between the two….
Pay attention to those who reach out to you, not just when theyare in need, but when you are. They will make an effort to be a part of your life; not matter how busy they may be in their own.
Heart friends are sometimes miles away, but often closest in your heart.  So here’s to road friends and heart friends & to the wisdom & insight to know the difference. Thanks to both for making the journey more fun.
I am no stranger to anxiety, but I wouldn’t say I’m his bestie either. Generally speaking I find I keep an adequate amount of space between myself and this worthy opponent, but late term pregnancy seems to bring out his guns, and trust me they come a blazing. What is it about impending change that conjures up the fierce fires of worry? Maybe it’s just me, but I doubt it.
I was woken up in the middle of the night by a storm rolling in. We were on family vacation at a ranch in the middle of nowhere so hearing the wind come in was different than here in the city. Wide open country, the wind swirling around the hills, lightening creating an everlasting glow over the country side.
Today we’ll file under the “no good, very bad day” category in parenting land. My soon to be 3 year old daughter is rounding the bend towards “independence” which easily translates as defiance. My least favorite toddler trait of all. Defiance by her usually leads to screaming by me – again. How does one get a strong willed child to cooperate? Well, the answer is clearly not “exert your parental power until she claims defeat”. Nope, lesson learned on that one. Eventually she might give in, or give up, but I’m the one who ends up apologizing. What’s the lesson in that? Certainly not what I was going for. Have to recalibrate my parenting map once again and set forth in the right direction. First thing: determine my destination…
