Be Extraordinary

You have to take chances in life. Nothing great was ever accomplished in this world, without someone stepping outside of their comfort zone. Someone taking a chance, and each and every one of us has the ability to do that. I’m not saying that everyone has to do something extraordinary to show the whole world. Just be extraordinary within your own world. If you have been wanting to do something for a long time, think about what is holding you back. Then think about what is NOT holding you back. Fear of the unknown is natural and it is fear that holds many people back. Fear of the what ifs can keep people from stepping outside of their comfort zone and never moving forward in the way they would like. The thing is, the future is never guaranteed. So why waste energy worrying about what might go wrong? By doing that, you might as well worry about the what ifs in your current situation. I’m not necessarily talking about doing something major like up and moving to a foreign land or selling all of your belongings to go follow Phish...but maybe I am. You want to be able to look back at your life, not just from the end but look back from any moment and be able to smile at times when your life was extraordinary. Because those are the crucial moments that mold you, teach you and validate the wonderfully unique and awesome person that you are.

The Beauty All Around You

Living in New England I have to say that Fall is my favorite time of year by far. I feel blessed to live in a part of the country that becomes so beautiful when Autumn rolls around. The brilliance of the landscape reminds me that I'm alive. Too many people seem to be forgetting to take a moment to breath in the beauty that is around them. There is a dirt road in my town that I always drive down. I could take the main paved route. It is faster and puts less stress on the car, but I always take the dirt road. I don't see too many cars on it, usually I'm the only one. Why do I choose the dirt road? Because the view is unbelievable. Rolling meadows sweeping the countryside with a lonely mountain seemingly painted into the background. Why wouldn't I go this way? This time of year the road is lined with giant trees with leaves of amber, orange and yellow. The fallen leaves create a colorful path that bring back sweet childhood memories of jumping in giant piles of leaves. Fall is when nature is at her finest. Take a moment out of your day to find something so ordinary, that it is extraordinary. Find the beauty around you, breath it in and be thankful that you are indeed alive. ~OnElOvE~

Just Let Kids Be Kids

A few stories have caught my attention in the news lately, and have left me feeling a little confused. No, it's not the government shutdown circus. It's this "safety" movement to overprotect our children. The first story that caught my attention was a school in Nashua, NH that banned "tag" on the playground. Tag? Seriously? The US postal service also had to destroy a ton of books of stamps that were promoting children's health. Why? Because in one stamp a child (drawn not real mind you) was skateboarding without kneepads. Ok...in another stamp a child was doing a headstand without wearing a helmet. Seriously? When did helmets become necessary in order to do a headstand? And the last stamp was a child doing a cannonball into a pool. Because...that is so dangerous. The most recent stomach turning incident? A school banned balls of any kind on the playground. As the mother of two young children I find this very sad and discouraging. Of course I want my children to be safe, but I also want them to be prepared. By not letting them get hurt once in a while or allowing them to deal with failure of bad grades or a lost game, I am doing them no justice. Playing tag, riding bikes and doing dumb shit is what being a kid is all about. It is our job as parents to raise strong kids who think for themselves and will be able to handle the hard realities that come with adult life. Who are these parents who are pushing these "safety" agendas and even more important, where are the parents who are ok with their kids just being kids to say, "wtf? this isn't right!" If we fight our children's fights and are constantly swooping in to save the day, we are not teaching our children anything. The world around us can be cruel and harsh at times. We don't need to throw our children into the fire, but rather teach them how to walk by without becoming burnt. By having a child avoid the fire altogether, they won't know what to do when the fire does eventually come.