How Life Is Like a Soap Opera

Disclaimer: The following blog post is one of my rare, serious musings. If you're looking for cute videos of toddlers and dogs, click along to previous posts.

Today I read a quote by Stephen King in his novel Duma Key that stopped me in my tracks. Made me go back and read it again. Ponder it. Then read it one more time. At first I liked it for its humor. Then I loved it for its unabashed truth. He says,

"Life is like a Friday on a soap opera. It gives you the illusion that everything is going to wrap up, and then the same old sh*t starts up on Monday."

When I came home and read this quote to David, he wasn't amused. I thought he would appreciate the humor of it because he always made fun of me for watching Days of Our Lives back in the day [I have since abstained from soap operas but, admittedly, have shifted my addiction to reality TV shows]. Anyway, he often commented a person could watch one episode a week and not miss a beat. Or turn it on again after a month and still know exactly what was going on. He's right, of course; soap operas aren't known for their fast-paced storytelling. And that's why I thought he would at least smirk at King's voice of comedic truth.

Instead, his reaction was, "Wow, Dana, that's a really pessimistic view of seeing the world." And he looked at me with disappointment.

Huh. I hadn't even thought of it that way.

That quote stayed with me the rest of the day, and it certainly had the opposite affect on me as it did on David. Granted, I do tend to view things more negatively than he does [Thanks Grandma; pretty sure I get that from you]. I call it being a realist; he calls it being a pessimist. But it got me thinking: why was I so taken with that quote if it was, in fact, so pessimistic?

And it came to me, easily. I didn't think of it in a negative way; I thought of it as a hard truth; a scary truth; the kind of truth you accept or reject right out. Not everything in life is rainbows and roses. You might get rainbows and roses on Friday, and by Monday you could just as easily have thunderstorms and sticker bushes. It's the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows, that keep us going. And if you believe, as I do, that we're here for a purpose and He watches over us, well, those thunderstorms and sticker bushes start to lose a lot of their ugliness.

Without the ugly things in life, the beautiful things lose their greatness.

If it wasn't for the same sh*t on Monday, Friday would be nothing to get that excited about.

And if we lived our lives at the top of the peaks, and never saw or felt or experienced those valleys, then we'd truly be missing out on the blessings — big and small — that reveal themselves to us every day. If I didn't cry, laughter wouldn't feel so good. If I didn't get wet on rainy days, I wouldn't appreciate the warmth on my skin on sunny days. If I didn't have bad days at work, I wouldn't appreciate the hugs and kisses that give me relief when I get home.

Living with the illusion that there is a finality to things, that our pains and sorrows will one day wrap up to be passed over and forgotten for something better — or at least newer — is sadder to me than seeing the glass half empty. I know, on Friday, that Monday is right around the corner. It's in the front of my mind and I don't even try to pretend it won't come. That sounds like a real Debbie Downer way of thinking, I know. To me, though, it's an opportunity to relish in the good that Friday brings because that's where I feel His presence. It's my faith that He is there to get me through those Mondays — no matter what they bring or how long they last — that make me unafraid to face them head on. I don't have a problem facing the sh*t on Monday because He will see me through 'til Friday, and that's when I get to be re-energized by His love and the blessings He has laid before me.

I appreciate the ugly just as much as the beautiful. Without one, the other loses all meaning and purpose. And, in my opinion, the purpose of it all — the joy, the sorrow, the thrill, the pain, the love, the heartache — is to feel Him working in us and through us and around us and for us. That's the kind of faith I carry with me. And it's what keeps me going....at least until Saturday.

Playing with "Chay"

*VIDEO*

[chay says i have to write my own blog posts from now on. fortunately, there is auto spell checker, so hopefully you can read this as i go.]

one of my very favorite activities is playing ball. i especially enjoy playing ball with chay. he's a good doggie. we have lots of fun together. tonight we played ball for a long time. chay is a good fetcher. he likes to run after the ball when i throw it. sometimes i have to say "GI" so he will give it back to me. that's what daddy says to do. it works. i have lots of tennis balls in my toy box. i don't know where they came from. i like to find all the balls and throw them for chay. sometimes he gets tired and i have to pick them up. but i don't mind. it's fun. sometimes the balls go under the couch and we have to get them out. my arms are longer, so i usually do it. but sometimes chay will do it too.

daddy took this video tonight. i think chay was tired by the time daddy got out the camera. he did not want to run anymore. i tried to tell chay to go get the balls, but he was not up for it. so i did all the work. but i still had fun. 

All He Wants to Do Is Dance

*VIDEO*

Ford began demonstrating a love for music as an itty bitty bambino. As much as we enjoy watching him play sports (a Daddy trait), it warms my heart to see his continual love for music (a Mommy trait). And we love to nurture that as much as possible. Seems like we always have music playing in our house; I'd say it would be #2 on our most-favorite-things list, right behind books. As a result, we find our little man movin' and shakin' and groovin' constantly, whether he's dancing to the tunes of one of his sing-along books or swaying to the beat of a random song on our phone. It's priceless! Unfortunately, he's hard to catch in the act. But here are some attempts at capturing Ford's latest dance moves.

My First Home Video (and Other Random Videos of Me)

*VIDEO*

Hello, World! I know you're probably shocked to see on here, but Chase was telling me about his blogging days and it sounded like so much fun. So I thought I'd sneak on here while Mommy was sleeping and check it out. Chase is helping me since he's a veteran blogger. Although, he says I should mention Mommy hasn't let him on the computer in a while. [I think he lost his blogging privileges after he posted a really unflattering picture of Mommy on the blog over a year ago. I'll have a little chat with her and see what we can do about that. I know he misses it.]

Anyway, I'm excited to be here to share stories about life from my point of view. After looking through older posts (of course I can't read, but the pictures convey enough info), I can see Mommy has done a great job keeping you up-to-date on me as a growing boy. But I think she's missed some of the daily nuances that make the World of Ford such a happy place to be. So I hope you'll join me as I share those stories with you as the newest blogger in the family!

Ever wonder what life looks like from my point of view? Well, here's my first home video shot on Mommy's phone (without her knowing....hehehe) of an early morning diaper change. I hope to improve my cinematography skills over the coming years.

Mommy normally hogs the camera, so I rarely get a chance to make my own videos or take my own photos. But she does a good job at sticking a camera in my face every chance she gets. No tellin' what she does with those photos and videos, but here are a couple from the weekend that I managed to sneak by her.

Practicing my hand–eye coordination with a ball and a bowl

Reading bedtime stories to Daddy

Wishing my Nonna a happy birthday

Boys Will Be Boys

*VIDEO*

When I was pregnant with Ford, I can't tell you how many times I heard from friends/family/strangers, "Oh, boys are so fun!"

Well now I'm one of those moms because our little boy is no exception. Ford has quite a little personality -- a funny, endearing personality. He loves to laugh and put on a show. He's constantly dancing, singing, talking, and making his own adventures. Here's some of the latest in the imaginative, nonstop World of Ford.

He loves to play with other kids....especially his best friend Corwin. And at this age it's too fun because whatever one does, the other is sure to follow.

Bath time is especially lively. Ford loves to splish splash and "swim." He would stay in the tub for hours if I let him.

He loves to help!! And I love that he loves to help! Laundry, dishes, sweeping, picking up toys. He'll do it all.....voluntarily. He's quite good at it, too. He knows where to put clean and dirty laundry. He knows where to throw away trash or put away dirty dishes. He can even put away the groceries (below). In the video below he started helping the boys "clean up" after a game of Giant Jenga. :)

Play time never ends with this one. He's constantly in motion and loves adventure. He's also demonstrating quite a bit of athleticism (don't laugh; I'm serious). He's very good at throwing and kicking balls. "Ball" was his first real word (other than momma and dada). Last night we introduced him to basketball, and he loved it.

Ford is a funny character. He definitely lives in his own little boy world. I would love to know what goes on in his little head. After we unloaded the groceries last weekend, I turned around to this:

Ford has always loved books. Last night David put a new (well, used, but new to him) bookcase in Ford's room, and he loved it. He would pick a book off the shelf, hike himself up in his rocking chair, flip through it, get down, and do it all again.

I wish I had more videos of him speaking. He says about 10 words, adding new ones every week. This week he started saying "KK" for Uncle Kirk. It was too cute! Here he is blowing kisses. He's really mastered the art of the smack. 

And that's the very latest and greatest with Ford! :)

The Most Epic Lake Trip of Them All

We started going to our friends' lake house in Michigan in 2011. And I can tell you for a fact, that lake has never been the same.

Year 1        Year 2

The first time we made the trip, I was pregnant. The second year, we had Ford and Chase with us. This year – thanks to an accommodating Nonna who was more than happy to spoil her youngest grandchild for a few days – David and I made the trip alone. And as expected this year was, hands down, the best yet.

We joined 15 of our closest friends for a weekend of sun soakin', beer drinkin', and boat ridin'. The weather was perfect, so we spent the entire weekend by (or in) the water. The pontoon was out of commission this year, but we had the motor boat to use for water skiing and tubing. 

One of the most memorable moments was when we broke the dock. Whoops. I don't know how, out of 17 people -- some of us engineers -- no one thought it was a bad idea for all of us to take a group photo on the dock. In hindsight, it was pretty dumb. David-the-numbers-guy figured out the 17 of us weighed as much as a Ford Fiesta. The best part was the moment was captured in our group photo! Needless to say, we didn't even attempt to take a second photo -- this one is too priceless!

Best. Lake Trip. Ever.

Summer Fun

It's been a while. A long while. The last time you heard from us was, sadly, April. To say we've been busy would be an understatement. If you make it to the end of this post, you'll understand why. :)

Let's rewind to May and go from there.

Visiting G & B in Florida
We made our first long-distance trip with Ford in May to visit Gigi and Boppa in Florida. The weather was great, and we had so much fun. We were able to visit with David's aunt and uncle who got to meet Ford for the first time. And if you ask what we did all weekend, well, Dave and I spent most of our time bonding over puzzles. I think we completed 4 puzzles in 3 days; and I'm talking BIG puzzles. We were a little obsessed.

First plane ride! We got a free upgrade to first class because of Ford. Yippee!

Curled up for a nap on the plane.

"Let me drive, Boppa!"

Unofficial Family Reunion in Kentucky
Jamie and the kids came to Kentucky in June, so Ford and I packed up and headed south. Ford had a blast playing with all his cousins! He liked the boys, but he was most enamored with EmmaJane (I think because they're the same age). It was nonstop motion for the two of them. Where EmmaJane went, Ford followed. It was so precious.

EmmaJane sharing her water with Ford. :)

We took the rare opportunity to have everyone together to do a photo shoot with all the grandkids, which was pretty....eventful. Trying to get 5 kids age 11/2 to 10 was quite a feat. The photographer, a friend of Jennifer's, got some good shots though.

Stelsels in Indy
The weekends we were in town were often spent with the Stelsels. Kirk and Laura bought a new house, so they had a really busy summer moving to a temporary apartment and renovating the new house. Dave and Connie came down quite a bit to help out, so Ford got a lot of lovin' from his grandparents the last three months.

Any guesses how Ford ended up with one shoe and no pants at Kirk's *new* house? I'll give you a hint: it involved a paint can.

Vacation
It's been so busy this year, David and I decided to take our vacation a little earlier than usual. We normally like to go end of summer / early fall as our anniversary date approaches. But we couldn't wait that long. So we booked a last-minute (like, a-week-before-our-flight-takes-off last minute) trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida -- just the two of us! It. Was. Awesome. We laid on the beach every day (a private beach at that!), read our books, and just relaaaaaaaaxed. It was just what we needed to recharge our batteries.

New (and Better) Opportunities
Our last-minute vacation was spurned by....a new job! :)  I accepted a new corporate communications position for an industrial manufacturer in Lafayette. I started at the end of July, and I love it. Everyone is really great; I'm learning a lot; and, more importantly, I'm loving the work! The only downside to this great opportunity is being almost an hour from home. David is doing more Daddy duty than ever before, and so far, so good. We're making it work. After all, I don't want to miss this little munchkin's activity; he grows up so fast!

And that's been our summer, in a nutshell. :)