Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Summer of Selfish

I think that the word selfish to most of us, screams negativity. I do feel that sometimes being selfish is good, and a key to our sanity in fact. At times in life we start almost losing sight of ourselves and our own needs which negativitely impacts us, and in turn most likely those around us too.

Rhett and I have put our want to have a baby before our own needs and wants and haven't done much for ourselves in a while. So we have dedicated Summer 2011, as "The Summer of Selfish". We are doing things for ourselves, taking trips, and in cases spending money we probably should be saving, but hey, you only live once, right? We are kicking off the Summer of Selfish in two days where we jet off to Mexico for a week, and we can't wait! We are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the "all inclusive" life for a week, followed by a few short weeks later we are headed to California for a friend's wedding in Sonoma, where we look forward to some Vineyard Tours and good times with friends!

Tonight we are headed downtown to a friend's wedding and so far it's looking like a beautiful day! I thank Rhett for my new spin on life, my type A, saving, planning, almost obsessive personality hasn't afforded me the luxury of being carefree,or dare I say, selfish? He's taught me to let go, and focus on all we have in life and call we can do instead of what we don't have and what we can't do. So I'd like to raise my coffee cup (as it's only 8:30 here but soon to be replaced by a Margarita in a few days!) to living life, to my wonderful husband, and to being selfish! Have you been selfish today?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

School's Out for the Summer!

Well ladies and gentlemen, today's the day we've all been waiting for (okay maybe not all, but I know that I certainly have ) SUMMER VACATION!!! Today was my last day of school with the kiddos. It was actually kind of bittersweet, I had an amazing class this year, and am really going to miss them, but I am very excited for the summer with our trips and relaxation!

On the way home today I had all these great plans, get my nails done, make an awesome dinner, etc. What did I do when I got home? Let the boys out and promptly fell asleep for three hours, I think the whirl-wind trip to Cincy for my grandfather's funeral combined with the craziness of end of year preparations finally caught up with me. I woke up to eat dinner with Rhett, as I rarely skip a meal, and now I'm winding down and getting ready to fall back to sleep again! I have the next few days to prepare for our trip, we have a wedding on Saturday, and then very early Monday morning we'll be headed to Mexico! I'm so excited I can hardly wait!! I'll be sure to continue to update now that I have more time, so stay tuned!

Friday, June 17, 2011

An Ode to My Papa

When I think about the wonderful, selfless, charismatic, kind-hearted man, that was my grandfather, I’m reminded of a quote by Erma Bombeck; “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”

I am assured of two things; One, my papa is confident and aware that he used all his talents and exhausted every avenue to be the best person he could possibly be, and two, him and God are already best buds, as my Papa most likely found a common interest with him and struck up a conversation, (as he often did, the man truly didn’t know a stranger) and is most likely out on the beautiful greens of Heaven, playing a game of golf with God and other precious family members such as his father and brother that have gone before him.

Reflecting back on the life of such an amazing person brings tears to my eyes. My Papa wore many hats, and he wore them all perfectly. Perfect dad to his two sons, perfect grandfather to his 6 grandchildren and three great grandchildren, and WOW is all I can say about the kind of husband he was to my Nonnie.

Papa never thought of his needs and wants and always put others before him. He had a constant smile on his face, that despite how crummy a day you might be having couldn’t help but put a smile on yours. I have so many fond memories of him that warm my heart and comfort me during this hard time as I mourn his loss.

My childhood was filled with tons of memories of sleep-overs at my grandparents, birthday pool parties at their house, trips to Florida, and dinners out just because. My grandpa always filled my heart with joy. One memory that sticks out in my head is back in the day, before liquid restrictions and full- body scans at the airports, you could greet your visiting family right at the terminal. Wow, I kind of sound old, don’t I? Anyways, I remember coming out of that walk-way and seeing my Papa and Nonnie, and the welcoming looks they both had made me feel like I had to have done something right in my life to deserve to have someone feel that happy to see me. That was just how he was, he made everyone feel special, like they were the only one in the room. He constantly told my brothers and I how proud he was of us, and made us all want to make him prouder. He treated my Nonnie like a princess and made me want to search far and wide until I found someone that I could share the kind of marriage he had with her. I found that man, and was beyond thrilled when my Papa loved him as much as I do!

My Papa brought sunshine to this world, even the sing-song way he said hello when he answered the phone could brighten your day. There is never enough time in life, and we always wish for another day, and I feel this is definitely true of how I’m feeling about this great guy that I’m so lucky to have known. Today though, I celebrate the man he was and the legacy he’s left behind. I love you, Papa, thanks for being you.