Family Traditions

Growing up, my family didn't have a lot of traditions. We had the usual holiday get-togethers where everyone congregated at my grandmother's home. When I was very young my grandparents on my father’s side took a two-week holiday vacation at Diamond Lake in Oregon.  They rented a cabin and took their boat.  It was always a highlight of my summer, but as they got older they stopped taking the trip.

When Doug and I married we were both in need of a new life and new traditions.  A few years in, he had the opportunity to interview for a teaching position in Astoria, OR.  We discussed sending him up to interview solo, but we decided to take in impromptu family trip.  We rented a very small car, reserved a spot in a KOA ‘Kabin’ for a few days, stuck a cute little two-year-old Jillian into her adventure seat and off we went.  Doug had not spent any time on the northern Oregon coast and I had hadn’t been there in 20 years, so we explored and fell in love with the area.  While we were there, we both imagined what our lives would be like if we moved and it was wonderful.  Doug didn’t get the job and we were actually kind-of heart broken, but we understood that the time was not right and we had other things left to do in Nevada.

Hug Point State Park, 2012

The following year we went back.  Doug had applied for a job in a different town, but we still went up to Astoria to visit.  He didn’t get that job either, but we continued to explore and fall in love with the area.  This time we spent some time in the ‘Kabin’ and we took our camping setup with the tents and outdoor kitchen. Jillian was a little older and starting to understand the beauty of the coast. We visited lighthouses, the Tillamook Cheese Factory, most of Newport and continued to fall in love with the coast.  Growing up in Oregon, I took many trips to the coast.  I always loved visiting, but as I got older I appreciated the community and culture even more.  Happily, Doug and Jillian were starting to see it too.  It felt like going home.

Cape Mears Lighthouse, 2013

The third year there was no job interview, we just went.  We adjusted the trip a little and didn’t go all the way up to Astoria. We Packed up the car with more camping equipment that you can fathom! We grabbed our hoodies and jeans and spent a week enjoying the coastal weather while Nevada was sitting in 100+ degree heat.  The trip was fun, but we decided that we needed to look into a tent trailer or a small trailer.  It was taking upwards of two hours to set up camp. Our fussy, now 4-year old was hard to wrangle and there was too much for one person to do while the other entertained Jillian. Jillian was now starting to really love the coast and looked forward to the trip.  It had become our family tradition for sure! Doug was developing a healthy taste for Rogue Ale’s and Jillian loved seeing the sea lions lounging on the rocks, docks and beaches.

Beverly Beach State Park - Nature Tour, 2014

In the next year Doug did a ton of research and we visited every RV Show that came our way.  We checked out Campers, Tent Trailers, RV’s and even wandered through the big 5^th Wheels and Class-A RV’s that were only a dream. Finally, in March of 2015 we were in a place to purchase a tent trailer that we could pull with our current small SUV.  We drove down to Turlock, CA to pick it up. We tested it out a few times prior to the Oregon trip and loved it! So much easier to set up and take down. Less than a half hour compared to the 2+ that the tent site took.  Much of the setup involved things that even Jillian could help with. Because of the trailer, we were able to head all the way back up to Astoria and even extended our trip to nine days! It was wonderful! 

Beverly Beach State Park - Sunset walk, 2015

As we round the corner into spring, we are planning out our vacation again.  We have booked our favorite spot in Fort Stephens State Park in Warrenton, OR and plan on taking advantage of our Thousand trails membership along the rest of the coast. This year we will go up through Bend and Central Oregon to get up north, hoping to avoid the awful heat and humidity of the Central Valley and I-5 Corridor. We plan to take 14 days this year, the most we have ever been away from home.  Jillian is already starting to plan out her toys and packing her must-haves for the trip.  She really wants to try her hand at fishing this year! Doug and I want to take advantage of the amenities our membership to Thousand Trails gets us and attempt crabbing. 

With a lot of patience and other necessary events between, we look forward to this year’s adventure! 56 days to go!

Friendship

Friendship as a child is simply saying, they are my friend.  Kids are not judgmental or picky about friends.  They simply see a person and know that they want to play, so they are friends. When they fight over playing time or sharing, they simply want until the next recess and play again. It’s a simple plan with a very simple outcome. 

As adults, this becomes more convoluted.  When someone is different or sees things different than we do we don’t think that they can be our friend.  When someone’s priorities are different than ours, we see them as threatening or wrong.  When in reality these are the people that we need the most in our lives.

We need people around us that will challenge us. Those who make us think are the ones that make us grow. We all see the same world, but we see it through our own eyes and own experiences.  When we allow people around us that see the world through a different set of experiences and we share with them what we see, we learn something new.

Many of my best friends didn’t start out as friends.  We had a difference of opinion or a challenge, but by divine intervention, or circumstance we were able to see beyond the differences and realize that we are all on the same ride and the same journey.  Our paths have lead us different ways, but at any given moment we are surrounded by people by which we have something to learn. 

Some paths we cross teach us a life lesson in what not to do, some teach us compassion, pride, and love.  Some paths we join and walk a while and sometimes we need to find our own path.  As friends start to take their own path they learn new lessons and new experiences grow them.  And when your paths cross again you can learn from each other.

I challenge you to go someone an chance today that you wouldn’t normally.  Reach out to that person that has challenged you or caused you think about something outside your comfort-zone.  You will gain an experience and possibly even start a new friendship.  

One could even save a life.

Take the cookies when they are passed.

I recently read an article about a public speaking class and the things that were learned and shared.  It struck a few chords with me and I would like to share with you why.

Everyday people get up, go through the motions of life, go to bed and repeat.  Within that day, we are offered choices, obstacles and opportunity.  We shape our day and our lives by what we choose to engage in that day.  We make the choice to eat breakfast, go to work, talk to our friends, family, coworkers, stay calm, get emotional, etc.  These choices are ours.  Yes, we have expectations placed on us but our family, kids, and boss, but we have chosen to put their demands and needs in our daily lives as a priority.

Each and every day we are offered opportunities that we can choose to engage or we can let pass by.  Some things may seem trivial, and some things make us stop and think a little more.  But in reality each opportunity could be a life changing event.  No matter how big or small, these are the things that shape our lives.   

When I opened my email I could have ignored the Newsletter from our trainer, but I didn’t.  I chose to open it and read the article.  It made me stop and think about the opportunities presented to me on a daily basis.  So many times in my life, especially when I was younger, I was presented with opportunities that I passed.  They were passed on for many reasons.  I often think back on those choices and wonder where my life would be had I chosen differently.  Where would I be today had I chosen to be more focused on academics than on my social life and athletics in high school?  Because I was focused on athletics, I missed out on scholarships and getting into college.  So I didn’t go. Because I wasn’t in college, I was offered an opportunity to become a working student and train for the US Equestrian Team tryouts.  I passed on that too, even though it had been a dream of mine since I was a young child. It scared me.  I was scared of failing and scared of the success. Because I passed on my training, I was able to continue to coach.  In high school I was given the opportunity be a Junior Coach, then a volunteer coach, then an assistant coach, eventually a head coach.  It is the only thing I have never passed on. 

When an opportunity presents itself in the form of coaching, mentoring cheerleaders or coaches I rarely ever pass.  I know that in my heart, with every contact, skill and connection made, I will learn and grow.  I know that those I come into contact with will take something away from the experience.  Coaching has opened doors and opportunities for me and my life that I never thought possible.  Because of coaching I have traveled across the country, met some of my very best friends, and married the love of my life (which led to a beautiful daughter).  I have been able to see so many amazing athletes get a chance to become something they didn’t know they could.  I have witnessed kids graduate that were never expected to finish school. I have seen families joined together to support others. I have seen other coaches become successful because of my mentoring or learning from my failures. These things are all possible because whenever an opportunity presented itself, I said yes.  I always say yes and then figure out how we will make it all work. …Yes, I will come to your practice and watch.  Yes, please come to my house, we will study and learn what you need to be a well prepared coach.  Yes, I will help you coach that team.  Yes, I will help you run tryouts. Yes, please bring your team to my practice so your kids can see how we put it together.  Yes, yes, yes...  Always yes, and I always learn and gain more in my life because of those choices. 

The theme of the public speaking class was “Take the cookies when they are passed.”  The message is that when an opportunity presents itself, take it.  You never know what it will teach you, change in you, touch your heart or allow you to influence another. 

What choices did you make today? What did you pass on? What will you do today that will change your life forever?

Aug 31, 2015 - Saving Mr Banks

I have not been so emotional during a movie in years! Saving Mr. Banks was an amazing journey. Not only was I on an emotional roller coaster through the stories on screen is was taken through my own childhood. As a child we lived in the country with VERY little. No cable, no phone, no frills. Many times we had to conserve water from the cistern and take sponge baths. We did however have a television and a VCR. Mary Poppins was one of the few movies I had to watch. I grew up with Mary Poppins. I could put the movie in and lose myself in the stories and pretend I was anywhere but where I was. I think all families have it rough and as we grow up we choose the memories the we keep. Saving Mr Banks shows that there are some times when you just need to face your past in order to let go. No longer to be chained to the memories that define us. I chose a good morning to lose myself in a movie. Thanks for the memories. Perhaps it will help. ❤️

Aug 14, 2014

After 13 days straight of cheerleading practices, clinics and camps I am finally home. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to share my knowledge of cheerleading and coaching across the state. I have my dream job. It's not an easy job and it's certainly not a high paying job. But the emotional rewards are worth more than any amount of riches. This summer has rewarded me with a lifetime of memories and friendships. 

I am thankful for the coaches that believe in me and the students that have found a passion for cheer. I am beyond grateful for the friends I have made along the way. The coaches and athletes that have become my very best friends.  

I have the most amazing husband that understands my passion for coaching and is willing to take Jillian for a whole week by himself while I travel across the state. 

Now I need to take a few days, get back into the grove of family and home and allow my body some rest!  

April 10, 2014

Five years ago today my life was changed forever. In the last five years, I have made choices and took chances that prove that I am only human. My life has not taken a path that I planned, but I regret nothing that I've done to this day. Each choice, chance and trial has led me here. I have a husband that I love more than anything. A beautiful daughter and a job that I love. There is nothing that I would change other than maybe some of the people that I have hurt and some that are no longer in my life. I am healthy, happy and blessed with some of the BEST friends that anyone could ask for. ❤️☺️

My "Someday" is here and I love every minute of it. 

March 14, 2014

Please excuse the soapbox and rant in advance. 

Recently I saw an article the was very derogatory and belittling to my generation of adults that are not "taking care" of their parents. It went into detail about how it would be the least we could do to care for them after all they sacrificed for us. 

At first I didn't think much of it. But as it festered in the back of my mind and as other "events" have transpired I feel obligated to say screw you to the author of the article. You don't know me. You don't know my situation or of my family. You have no idea what we as a generation went through growing up or deal with in our lives. We didn't ask to be born and we certainly didn't ask our parents to make sacrifices. They did that on their own.  And let's face it, some sacrificed a lot less than others!

Yes, our parents probably did make sacrifices for us as kids, but if they are not sick or disabled and we have families and kids of our own, why are we still being expected to suffer? What if the parent in question is simply lazy? Why should our children and my families suffer? Why should we have to get second and third jobs to support them and miss out on the lives of our kids... Who ironically did to ask to be brought into his world? Why do we have to miss out on things that we worked hard to earn because of their poor choices. 

My generation (30-40 years old) has parents that are 50-75 years old as whole. Most of those parents are contented, able bodied adults. There are a few that are sick and in need of assistance, but as a whole they are a healthy generation. Why is my particular age group being targeted? 

Life is not fair. We know this, it's not news. I was not given any breaks growing up. I struggled often and received help from some pretty great people, who received help growing up. But now that I'm starting to get back on my feet, I'm being attacked and punished by people who have done very little to help me or encourage me in my life.  At what point do we, as a generation, get to say enough is enough?! I suffered, did my time and figured it out. Now it's your turn.