Day 2: PAINT

We met at Nationals Park last night for a baseball game and then a special project. One of the player's wives is a dedicated ambassador in the effort to end human trafficking and human slavery. Last night the two efforts intersected with a chance for us to "paint" the sidewalk outside Nationals Park red as a part of the Red Sand Project.

I'd estimate about 30 people gathered after the game (maybe more!) and spread the sand in the cracks of the sidewalk. It was overwhelming to think about the people that are taken advantage of every day. Several people who weren't filling cracks with us asked what we were doing. It gave an opportunity to share the mission of the "sidewalk intervention" (there were post cards that we were able to hand out for informational purposes) and others stopped and asked to participate.

Spreading the word about @RedSandProject with @Half_St_Irr . #EndHumanTrafficking #RedSandProject pic.twitter.com/yOrPRBvQDx

— Jen Underwood (@vandygirl1998) October 1, 2016

It was cool to go back to the park today - to see the sand and the hashtags we printed (sidewalk chalk) still there - and to see more people stopping to look and ask questions. We are often reminded that one person makes a difference. One person doing one small thing. Together we can do more. I am thankful for the opportunity to know some good hearted people through baseball, and to use that community to spread the word about other communities that need our help.

See some images / tweets from our experience below.

@emaysway @Half_St_Irr #RedSandProject #stophumantrafficking #EotRSB3 pic.twitter.com/59aHk5pljh

— p.a.m. (@wvtoots) October 2, 2016

Thanks everyone who participated in #RedSandProject tonight. We cannot ignore our most overlooked populations any longer! #EndModernSlavery pic.twitter.com/z3mnQj7qEH

— Erica May-Scherzer (@emaysway) October 2, 2016

Outside Nats Park spreading red sand ... raising awareness to end human trafficking. @redsandproject @emaysway pic.twitter.com/4Fv47aAzU5

— MaryB (@maryb889) October 1, 2016

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This post is a part of 31 days of Five Minute Fridays. Other posts in the series are here.

Day 1: WALK

We are fortunate to live close enough to my daughters' schools that we can walk to school most days. When they were both in elementary school, all 3 of us walked in the mornings and I listened to the girls each tell me what they were excited for that day and who they would see every morning. A (the little) was  always thinking which of S (the big)'s teachers she would hug. They shared stories and talked about which specials (PE, art, music, etc) they would have that day. Inevitably whichever kid had library was more excited than the other. (I love that they love the library. ALL THE BOOKS.)

This year S is in middle school. School starts later for her, so now the routine is that I walk with A and then home, get S and then walk with her. The conversations in the morning have changed. Still as enlightening for me, but in such a different way. Now that A is not chatting up a storm with big sister, she observes so much more of the surroundings as we walk. Yesterday we noted the "weird" things we saw on the walk - things that did not belong on the sidewalk. A pony tail holder. A splotch of paint.  17 slugs and countless worms "It is WET. So much rain Mama!" We still talk about teachers and specials but we now notice things that we used to just skip past. 

When I get home and collect S and head out the door, I have a whole different conversation. Middle school has been a bit of a tough transition. Now I hear about friends (some new, some old). Thursday I learned about the "end of day routine" - how long it takes to get to her locker, collect her books "ALLLLLL the homework, mom ... sigh" and who she makes sure to visit with before she begins the walk home. Who she walks home with. 

I have come to cherish the walk times because the peek into their worlds on the walk is different than when we are at home. I think in general, conversations are less intense when walking than when sitting at the table or confined to the house. The 1:1 is intimidating sometimes. All that pressure and focus is divided when you walk and talk at the same time, and it's been amazing what they've shared in their mommy-alone time.  Here's hoping we have more dry days than wet so the walks can continue all year long.

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This post is a part of 31 Days of Five Minute Fridays. You can see all posts in the series here. 

31 Days of Five Minute Fridays

There's a group of bloggers that write in October every single day. (Write 31 days). And often those writers do a theme for their posts. I learn lots of amazing things from them and I love the commitment to writing. I'm not great at long themed posts - I barely crank out 5 minutes a week most weeks.

Then the Five Minute Friday community thought that maybe a whole month of Five Minute Fridays would be fun. I tried that 2 years ago and wound up sidetracked part way through, but the attempt was fun. So I am going to try again this year.

Welcome to 31 Days of Five  Minute Fridays.   This is the home/ landing page for mine and every day that I managed to write, I will link the post to the word below. 

You can read all the people participating and get more details by going to our host page (thanks Christina!)

Day 1: WALK

Day 2: PAINT

Day 3: WARDROBE

Day 4: BREW

Day 5: SILENCE

Day 6: YOU

Day 7: FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY PROMPT

Day 8: MUDDLE

Day 9: POST-IT

Day 10: UNKNOWN

Day 11: THANKS

Day 12: SKY

Day 13: AWARE

Day 14: FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY PROMPT

Day 15: MOVE

Day 16: LITTLE

Day 17: STUDY

Day 18: NEIGHBOR

Day 19: NOTICE

Day 20: WEEKEND

Day 21: FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY PROMPT

Day 22: OFF

Day 23: BLOWOUT

Day 24: GLOBAL

Day 25: SIGN

Day 26: CONFRONT

Day 27: BOUQUET

Day 28: FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY PROMPT

Day 29: DATE

Day 30: CUT

Day 31: ONLY

Listen (Five Minute Friday)

**9/16/16 - edited to fix the description of good ear vs bad ear and the location of my helper. Short story: helper brings bad ear up to similar level of "good" ear so that I sort of have stereo hearing like most folks.




HA HA HA HA. I am chuckling to myself - out loud - as I see the prompt for this week emerge. Big news in my home this week, and I was debating how widely I would share it. Then the prompt arrived: LISTEN. And I thought - well there's my answer.

This week, I got a hearing aid. I know hearing isn't the same as listening - words can go in one ear and out the other as we wait for our time to respond. People can hear what you say and not process it - not give it credibilty  - and therefore they're really not listening to you.  You can hear and not listen. In fact, that's fairly easy - and common - especially when you're in a hurry, or too many kids are talking at the same time, or there are things to do, or .. or .. or...

BUT - it is much harder to listen if you cannot hear. I've had significant hearing loss in one ear for several years. Onset in my early 20s and progressed after each pregnancy. Until the past year or so, my good ear could bridge the gap in what my bad ear failed to hear. And so, if I positioned myself in a group with the good ear towards the conversation - if I sat close to the people I needed to hear when we were in a crowded setting - if I turned down the TV when the kids were talking to me - then I was doing OK. I could hear the important stuff.

In the last year, the good ear started to worsen. (thanks random genetic condition that no one in my family actually has/had noticeable symptoms other than me, as far as I know...) I had to ask the girls to repeat themselves often. To the point of their frustration and mine. Driving somewhere in the car was awful, as the road noise filled the "good" ear and the kids had to shout from the back seat. They sometimes even gave up trying to get me to understand them, as the repeating was tiresome. We finally resorted to ... stop, come to mommy and look me in the eyes so I can watch your mouth while you talk." Not fun, right? Terrible when driving. Horrible when outside in the yard.

So, I decided that turning 40 was my cue to finally do something about it. I now have a wonderful (and very small! You might not notice it, if I didn't even point it out!) helper. It assists the "bad" ear back to a level that it hasn't known in some time. So the "good" ear doesn't have to work so hard - and so I hear stuff on both sides. And when I came home with my helper on Tuesday, I noticed a difference right away. The girls can be behind me and I can hear them. Whispers - I can hear them! We watched TV (the Nats were on) and instead of the volume up so loud that the kids can hardly tolerate it and I could barely hear it (17-20 on the dial) we can watch the game on level 6!!! The girls turned on the TV and started to raise the sound, and I had to say TURN IT DOWN. They were thrilled. Dinner conversation has been easier. We can talk when driving to soccer practice. (There's even a special program in my helper to extra dampen the road noise so the kids can talk in normal volumes in the car).

I hear keys clacking on a keyboard. Water boiling on the stove. Plastic bags rustling in the pantry. Sounds I had forgotten even existed.  I can watch a movie and not have to sit 2 inches from the TV to be able to keep the sound at a level that doesn't wake the girls after bedtime. It is remarkable how much I was missing and didn't even know, as I've been used to life without it for so long.

For the first time in years, the girls feel like I am available to listen to everything they want to share - because they, and I, no longer have to work so hard at the hearing part.

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Linking with Kate and the Five Minute Friday crew ... join us here.

Grow (Five Minute Friday)

Welcome to Five Minute Friday (which seldom happens on Friday for me) where we get a prompt from Kate, write for 5 minutes on whatever it is (edit free - my favorite part because typos are allowed) and then link up (here) and share our writing and encourage others writing in the community.

GROW

(note: I started this post twice. Once on Thursday night and again on Friday. Each time I made it one sentence before something needed my attention and I didn't even manage to squeeze in 5 minutes. So ... third time is a charm?)

We had 2 days of sunshine in a row. HOORAY - we are tired of stereotypical Pacific northwest weather around these parts. 17 days in a row was enough, thank you very much. Except it returns tomorrow. SIGH.

Rain is so needed - to help the plants grow, to help the pollen get out of the air (you are welcome allergy sufferers), to keep the creeks full and the fish happy and such. And yet, too much rain can ruin the very things it is trying to help. Trees get soggy roots and the ground is soft and then they fall over. Creeks flood and the fish are out of the banks and then when the waters recede, the fish can be stranded. Unless someone comes along to put the fish back, it could wither and die on the bank.

And so I've been thinking about how it is with people. Experiences and circumstances help us to grow - moving to a new place, or starting a new job, or even having an argument with a friend. A little at a time, even a steady diet of growth is useful and teaches much. But if you get too much - if you get a monsoon, or a flood, then sometimes the things that keep you grounded come unglued. Your patience for handling conflict - it snaps and then you say words you regret. And then when the rain clears, you are caught like the fish - in the dry pocket. No apparent way back.

If you're lucky, someone will come along and pick you back up - toss you back in the stream and you can swim again.

Today, I had the chance to reflect. Some dear friends of mine have been my "fish rescue squad" and I am thankful that they could bridge the gap from my dry landing zone and whooosh me back into the stream for my next adventure.

STOP.

The Extra Mommas

We do a really, really good job at celebrating the moms in our lives for Mother's Day. My mom is one of the most amazing women I know, and I am so thankful for the blood, sweat, tears, and love that she poured into my brother and me.  I also had two incredible grandmothers who lived until I was well into my 20's and a great grandmother that I was lucky enough to share close to 11 years with.

My girls have me, my mom, their other grandma, and now also a stepmom and a step grandma, and we love them and teach them and encourage their little hearts to grow into big hearts. That's a lot of great mom power loving on my kiddos.

But as I sit here tonight, I am thinking of the not-mom moms that my girlies have as well. The aunts, and the almost aunts. The baseball aunts and the neighbor aunts and the church aunts. We don't call them all aunt, but that is the role they fill ... and in my view aunts are just as important as moms. These ladies didn't give birth to my girls but they love them as if they did.    They often have special names ... and those of you who don't have a special name yet ... just wait. You will.

You love on my kids and hug on them and teach them. You listen to them talk and ask a million questions. You answer them patiently, sometimes long after my patience has run out. You share laps and nachos and ice cream cones and popcorn. You share laughter and hugs and tears and smiles. You share baseballs and pencils and bobbleheads and blankets and rain delays. You carpool and give snacks. You teach them Bible verses and you demonstrate compassion. You cheer their success and you encourage where they fall short.  You put your actions where your words are and your heart where your actions are ... and you make the words "it takes a village" ring true in my life every day.

Single mom mode is hard. And you all step up to the plate every day to make it easier. To fill in where I can't and to supplement even what I can ... to help my girls become better little people everyday. Because of you, our lives are richly blessed in ways I never could have imagined.  

THANK YOU. 

To you: Miss Michelle, Aunt Michele, Miss Lisa, Angry Piggy, My Little Pony Lady, Mrs "Mr England", Butterfly Glasses Lady, Miss Kristy, Miss Keyona, Miss Anna, Miss Dianna, Miss Lisa, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Caron, Aunt Betsy, Aunt Linda, Miss Melissa, Miss Kathleen, Miss Beth, Aunt Jill, Miss Jocelyn, Miss Dorie, Miss Julee, Miss Julie of the gross orange shoes, Miss Virginia Beach Stefanie, Miss Tammy, Aunt Erika, Miss MaryAnn the cat lover, Miss Trader Jennifer, Miss Lainey, Miss Laurie, "the other" Miss Laurie, Miss Susan with the great hair, Miss Renie, the dance Miss Leslie ...  

and to the countless other women that I failed to list here:  to you who love my children EVERY SINGLE DAY  ... from the bottom of my heart, Happy Not-mom Mother's Day to you. I celebrate and salute you. 

Whole (Five Minute Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Five Minute Friday: the online blogging community where we get a prompt, write for 5 minutes flat (no edits / no backtracking) and then link up together and encourage the others who write alongside us.

Join  us here at Kate's place.

This week, the prompt is WHOLE.

We have been waiting the whole offseason for this: the return of baseball to our town. The Nationals opened Monday on the road in Atlanta and Thursday afternoon at home here in DC. The countdown has been on since the season ended.

We had the perfect storm of everything on Thursday tryin to derail our game plans. This mama and my 2 girls would have none of that. We were GOING to get to this game. We had to leave later than we planned because A had her school performance that day. They do 2 shows during the school day (she did both) and one for parents at night (I went to the afternoon show and we skipped the night one. Her dad was away and I videoed it and it did not count for her grade in the evening). So on we go to baseball .

First adventure: TRAFFIC.  We were stopped awhile so I got this lovely shot of the Washington monument. We drive by it on the way to nearly every game. usually traffic is moving so we only see it. But this day we got to park. And photograph while we waited. 

We normally arrive WELL BEFORE the game, so we can see the opening day festivities. there was a flyover (we saw it standing in line at the gates to get in). There was a big flag on the field (friends got lovely photos). The Clydesdales were there (the kids don't even know this, because I didn't want the whining that they missed it). BUT: we made it to our seats before first pitch. I will count that as a WIN.

the view as we waited for the teams to take the field

 We had 1 1/2 innings of crazy. Marlins jumped out to 3-0 lead. Nats tied it up in bottom of the first (thank you Daniel Murphy). Then after 1 1/2 innings the skies opened up. Downpour. Hail. So fun. (not really. except we made it that way). We scrambled for cover ... the girls chose the landing zone. The bathroom. Of course. There was space ... and we were not *in a stall* - there is room to hang out. Of course we had just gotten our dinner, so yes, we ate pizza in the bathroom. It was dry, we were safe, the pizza was delicious and some friends came to hang with us in the bathroom. (Of course the ladies room, so some other friends were disappointed that they could not join us. I will plan better next time. Of course, we would rather not have a rain delay, but anyway...)

Then we came out and hung out under an overhang with some more friends and then the skies behind the park started to clear. And we were treated to a beautiful rainbow. A loved it so much she would not even turn around to smile for the photo. She had a point...

The grounds crew cleared the tarp and got the field ready to resume the game. And the skies cleared and the runs resumed, and the night grew cold. The Marlins were ahead 6-3 and then Bryce Harper hit a HR and it was 6-4. Somewhere in there we got ice cream, even though it was about 25 degrees colder than when the game had started (because when you have waited since October for ice cream at the ball park and you are a kid ... you get the ice cream anyway) 

after the storm

being silly (AKA how we roll all the time)

then it drizzled some more. and was windy. and the kids were TIRED

 The game went on, later than planned (thanks rain) and the kids grew tired. A (the little one) started begging to go home. S said "mama, we stay the WHOLE game. And she's right ... 95% of the time we stay for the whole game. But little sister was exhausted from her day, and it was well past bedtime at the end of the 7th inning ... and look at this face.  So we left, much to S's chagrin.

But, just before we headed out, an old friend from my Vanderbilt band days stopped by ... 20 years later we are still repping our school with pride, and enjoying our newly shared love of the Nats as well.

While we didn't make the whole game, we had a whole day's worth of fun packed into the time we had. And we will be back Saturday ... and many days after that. Because the season is new and we have a whole summer of fun ahead of us.