You Are Here

Life's map sure has it's share of twists and turns. You think you know exactly where you are and where you are going and then someone comes over and points out that you have the map upside down. Or the cosmic forces come and shakes the map, and all the roads and way points get all jumbled up. Or sometimes, everything is still right where it was, but the signs are suddenly in a foreign language.

I felt like my spring and early summer contained some of all of those map confusers. At yet, here we are, safely into July already. We survived the Great Kidney Stone Drama of 2009. The Mr. is on the road to recovery and feeling much better. He is not in pain, he is not on meds and in a couple months they will run some tests to see if they can find out what caused the stones so we don't ever have to go through that again. His doctor, proclaimed that he was the toughest stone case he had ever had. Lucky us.

Baseball season ended last week with Dash's team winning the Championship tournament. They were not the best team going in, but they went on a winning streak at just the right time. His league is not one of those in which everyone gets a trophy. Only the top two teams in the season and the tournament walk away with one. And so, this smile and this trophy were great prizes:


Today is Violet's last day of summer school, one high school credit earned. Even as busy as she has been, she told me that this has been "the best summer ever!" The reason? because she spends all of summer school with her friends, and then sees her friends again at soccer practice, and then, tries to plan as many opportunities to see her friends again. The Best Summer EVER! Wow.

We are getting ready for our trek west. We had to rearrange our plans a little bit. We had been planning, since last summer, a four day backpacking trip in the Sierras. We had been buying the gear, planning our routes, planning the food... And then, first of all, my grandparents got sick. They were going to watch Jack Jack for us. But, my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer (they got it all, but she will need radiation) and my grandpa just had a double bypass and valve replacement. And so, they were going to be in no shape to watch a very mischievous 4 year old. We recruited a couple other relatives, but I was really worried about how he would do. He has been such a mama's boy, and he doesn't know these other relatives as well.

And then, it took 3 surgeries to get the Mr.'s kidney stones out (5 total, 2 for one side and 3 for the second side). Three surgeries and another week of being very uncomfortable with a stent in place. The stent is out. But, the Mr. has spent so much time laid up, unable to do very much at all and hopped up on pain meds, that when he went for a 20 minute walk the other day, he was ready for a nap by the time he was done. We had to take a realistic look at our plans and understand that there was no way he was going to be ready for 6 mile hikes, in the mountains, with a 30 pound pack on his back in a week and a half. So, very sadly, we decided that this was not the year for the backpacking trip.

We explained to our disappointed children, that sometimes life is like that. And it is ok to be disappointed. But, there is nothing you can do, but be flexible and make changes and move on. We are going to take a camping trip instead, with some day hikes and s'mores. And Jack Jack will be able to come with us. And we will still have fun and our backpacks will be ready for us the next summer. But, we are also going to be spending some time with the Mouse at Disneyland for two days, so I am sure that all of us will somehow survive this small disappointment.

So, we are here. And soon we will be waaayyy over there. And it will be good. Or it might not be. Because sometimes life is like that. But, I like to think that even when you can't read the map, and you feel a little lost (or a lot lost), that if you just keep moving forward, you will get somewhere. And "Somewhere" might not be where you expected, but it is still your "Here." And your journey to Here, might just be the thing that makes you stronger and more appreciative of the people who are on the road with you.