Oh! The Places You'll Go

Sorry in advance for the length of this post, but quite frankly, I just couldn't bear to leave any of it out!  When the boys were growing up, Andy was simply the very best arm-chair-reader in the world.  He read to them every day, and their favorite was always anything by Dr. Seuss (especially One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.)  One of my favorites has always been Oh the Places You'll Go.  Dr. Seuss was just so blatantly honest in this story that transcends time into adulthood.  I've never been one of those moms that tells or even believes my children are perfect.  Don't get me wrong...they have always been pretty darn close, but they have made mistakes as all children do.  Then comes the day they leave the nest, and you have to trust that you've taught them well enough to not only survive but flourish in this great big world.  I had such a proud moment the other day when I was looking through some photos online and saw Ches serving during his Sunday afternoon outreach at a homeless shelter in Atlanta.  So humor this proud mama's heart and sneak a peek at the photos:

After seeing the photos, it just brought Oh! The Places You'll Go to my mind...not only for my own boys, but for those that have ended up there in that shelter.  Could their mamas have ever even imagined that their beloved child would become homeless?  Did these people ever really have a mama's love? Surely some of them did.  Doesn't it make you want to hold onto your family just a little harder and longer?  

Before I sound too proud, do let me share this other precious picture I saw on the same day...this must have come from Andy's gene pool!  One day this child could could very well be leading your church youth group or music ministry!

Now I'll leave you with Oh! The Places You'll Go in its entirety for those not too tired of reading yet!  Oh and coming soon...my other proud mama moment to share pics of Austin!

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Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

by the incomparable Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You’re off to Great Places!  You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.  You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.  Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.  And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go!  You’ll be on your way up!  You’ll be seeing great sights!  You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.  You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. 

Except when you don’t. 

Because, sometimes, you won’t.  I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.  You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.  You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.  And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.  You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.  You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.  Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.
No! That’s not for you!  Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV. 

Except when they don’t.

Because, sometimes, they won’t.  I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.  And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.  But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?  Yes! You will, indeed!  (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

On top of Spaghetti...

Did you ever sing the song On Top of Spaghetti when you were a child? Andy had never heard this famous tune, so I entertained him as I was cooking. I could only remember the first 2 lines, but technology is truly amazing...I googled it...and low and behold found the lyrics here http://bussongs.com/songs/on_top_of_spaghetti.php. (Just in case you're sentimental enough to need a refresher!) Anyway, we were on this subject during dinner tonight because I've begun making meatballs with spaghetti after 22 1/2 years of marriage. Andy loves them! They're certainly more of a pain to make than my usual spaghetti with meat sauce, but hey, it's worth it to make such a crowd-pleaser.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

3 1/2 c (28 oz can) tomato puree

1 c water

2/3 c (6 oz can) tomato paste

1 t salt

1 t italian seasoning

1 lb spaghetti

Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/3 c bread crumbs

1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1 1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t pepper

1/2 t salt

Combine meatball ingredients and roll into approx. 24 meatballs. Brown in a large skillet over med/high heat. Pour off excess fat. Add onion and garlic; saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato puree, water, tomato paste, salt, and italian seasoning; simmer 20-25 minutes. Serve over prepared spaghetti.

A little short on time? My option number 2 is equally as delicious...just omit the first 8 ingredients and substitute with this:

As I said earlier, Andy really likes this dish! He wants me to let you know that he didn't actually eat everything on the plate...but it was close!

60 is greater than 90 (Forget what you learned in math!)

So this week I received an email from a colleague inviting me to attend a Couch to 5K introductory group. As I definitely need to lose major weight and certainly need to get in shape, I decided to read up on this program. It states that this is for people that have become frustrated with running in the past due to overexerting themselves at the beginning. After my investigation, I felt that this seemed like the perfect plan. You start out Week 1 with a 5 minute warm-up walk, then run for 60 seconds and walk for the next 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes. Sounds easy enough, right? What in this world was I thinking?



Even worse, I immediately emailed about 10 of my buddies insisting they join me in my quest for fitness. Who knew they would all show up? So as not to be too terribly embarrassed, I told Andy that I should probably practice on Sunday to hopefully avoid making a fool of myself in front of people on Monday. We started the 5 minute warm-up on the path around our pond, and my current level of fitness drug me down like a load of weights! I could barely get through the warm-up! Andy, my darling cheerleader, convinced me that I could do this...don't let it beat you. He checked his watch, gave the signal, and off I ran...looked back over my shoulder, yelled for him to check the time, and realized I still have 30 seconds to go! Finally the 90 seconds of walking I had been waiting for arrived - and passed in a blur. He gave the signal to run, and off I loped, then bent forward gasping for air. I've never been so proud to have asthma in my life! We had to turn for home to get the inhaler, and I decided that was enough of a trial.



Monday, 5:30 pm - the day of reconing had slipped up on me. I toyed with the idea of skipping out, but I do have the dearest friends that call to check up on me...and oh how encouraging they are! (You must read that sentence with a sarcastic tone of voice.) I arrived at the track and immediately notice the darling hot pink shirts worn by some of the group, and then begin to wonder how I was left out on the t-shirt order. I mean if you're gonna do this, do it up right...right? One of the ladies turned to the back, and that's when I knew I must have one. There, plastered across the back of her shirt, was a yellow caution sign that read, "CAUTION - Fat Chick Running." My shirt should be here next week


The cutesie little leader (she really is adorable) assured me that this program is indeed for those literally on the couch...she lied. We started the 5 minute warm-up walk, and I really did much better than my practice the day before. I was pumped! I did notice, however, that although I had started in the middle of the pack, I was fading a bit to the back after this initial 5 minutes. The whistle blew, and off we went. I made it...60 whole seconds! Then the 90 second walk was over all together too fast and that cussed whistle blew once again. Off we went jogging yet again, albeit at a much slower pace. Never in my life has 60 seconds seemed quite so long and 90 seconds rush past at the speed of light! I know they teach us that 90 is greater than 60 in grade school math, but I'm here to inform you it simply is not true! At one point, I glanced back at my one sweet friend that had not blown past leaving me in the dust. She was furiously pumping her arms and pretending to jog. I LOVE this girl! Being the quick learner that I am (yeah right!) I picked up on her strategy for the remainder of our 20 minutes. Several of my "friends" lapped me 2 or 3 times around the track...due to the delirium I lost count. At one point I asked one of them exactly how many times we were supposed to do this stupid run/walk sequence in a 20 minute time period (I never was the best at math.) They must have thought I was saying it for the comedic relief because they simply laughed and prissed on by. Finally, someone says this is the last run for the day then a 5 minute cool-down walk to finish it up. I immediately looked to see how far I was to the end of the track, because God forbid I end up 1/4 of the way back around the track at the end of that cool-down and have to finish the lap to get to my car!





Today, I'm fine...really I am! I have shin splints running up and down the front of my legs, I feel like I've been riding a horse 2 days straight, and to top it all off I can barely move my head and neck. I didn't even use those parts for running, but apparently it was too great an effort to even hold them up during this fiasco! Oh well, back at again Wednesday...Lord I do love Tuesdays!