Last Saturday, we were blessed with a very unusual day. We had absolutely nothing on the calendar, and it was a beautiful spring day. The sun was out, and we could enjoy it any way we wished. I will admit, we were so out of sorts by having “nothing to do” that we didn’t take advantage of it as much as we should have. We spent half the morning in our PJ’s catching up on e-mails, bills, and house projects. But that ended up being a gift in itself. Those nagging items were no longer weighing on our minds, and it gave the kids some time to play. We spent the late afternoon taking a drive in the country, went to the local art museum, and tried out a new restaurant for dinner.

The rest of our spring is jam packed with fun and exciting activities. But I have a feeling we will remember that lazy spring day for the gift it was.

I happen to love camping. Since I was a kid, many family vacations have been spent sleeping in a tent or cabin and sitting around a campfire. But taking 17 little girls out in the wild isn’t the same thing as a family vacation! So, to start our Brownie camping experience, we decided to go “indoor” camping by attending a lock-in. The girls actually got to sleep in tents and learned how to pack for a camping trip, but we didn’t have to build a fire, use an outhouse, or sleep in the cold. It turns out, our biggest hurdle was keeping track of each girls’ belongings. Very few of our first graders had been away from Mom, so keeping their belongings in one place by themselves was a whole new concept.

We are now ready to graduate to outdoor camping - at least the girls think we are. I am prepared with a list to the parents. It includes bringing a good bag to keep everything organized. I am also prepared to get very little sleep and to give myself the gift of some pampering when that wonderful camping trip is over!

What he likes about this chipping net is it’s easy to set up and take down and store in the house when he’s off doing other things. The bullseye design helps him fixate his gaze and the separate net component for the bullseye let’s him know when he’s it it spot on.

But last week, we visited my in-laws, and my appreciation is renewed. My parents and in-laws are relatively young, as they are all in their early 60’s. My father-in-law is in very good health, except for the fact that he was recently in a motorcycle accident. Thankfully, he came throught the accident with only a broken hand and an injured shoulder. But for a person that likes to exercise everyday, these injuries are slowing him down much more than he would like.

My mother-in-law has type 1 diabetes. She struggles daily with her blood sugars, high blood pressure, loss of vision, loss of balance, and the list goes on and on.

My in-laws are wonderful people that are working to enjoy their lives despite their health issues. But it reminded me that my health is a gift that should be treasured each day. Despite my busy life, I have legs that walk and a heart that pumps as it should. Do something good for your health today -play your favorite sport, go and get a massage - so that it can continue to be a gift for many years to come.

But do you ever feel like the planning and packing it takes to go on vacation is more work than its worth? Who will watch the dog? Who will water the plants? What will the weather be like so we know what clothes to take. Then you discover your kids have outgrown all of their warm-weather clothes, so you need to shop for two days to get that taken care of. Just packing a weekend bag can be a pain in the neck, let alone for a whole week.

Thankfully, my kids are getting older, and are pretty good at packing for themselves. We have gotten to our destination only to discover the toothbrush or underwear have been left at home. But that’s remedied pretty easily.

But once you get to your vacation site, all of that packing stress seems to melt away. Then after that all-to-short vacation is over, the stress of unpacking sets in! But forget about that for now, and enjoy your spring break. I know we will!

But this year, my mom came up with an idea. Since my dad retired a few years ago, he likes to observe a “cocktail hour”. Every day at 4:00, he stops whatever it is he’s doing, and relaxes with a cocktail. This observance is less about the drink itself than it is about marking the end of the day and getting prepared to enjoy his evening. He no longer has to take kids to games and activities, he doesn’t have to work late, or any of those things that used to stretch his day past a traditional 8 hours. So why not relax and enjoy the twilight hours. (Yes, I’m green with envy!)

So, back to the gift idea. My mom suggested I get him some stemless martini glasses. Have you seen those? It’s the latest thing in “stemware”. I don’t know about you, but I have broken several wine glasses (some of them were antiques) at the stem. So, this new idea of stemless wine glasses and cocktail glasses is a great idea. I have a suspicion that this makes my mom’s life easier since cleaning up will be less of a hastle. But if Mom is happy, Dad is happy. And I want my Dad to be happy on his birthday!

Here’s the low down on this cool koozie. Black leather and silver tone trim and holds a 12 ounce (or larger can) and measures 4” x 3 ½”. Personalized with two lines of up to 15 characters per line.

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Spring break is fast approaching, and we are going to visit grandparents. For us, this requires hours of travel time. So, to help ease the travel pain, we have decided to purchase a handheld electronic game for the kids to play. I’m not a huge fan of electronic games. The girls spend enough time watching TV and playing on the computer. I would much rather see them play basketball. But you can’t play basketball in a car. So, we will soon be the “greatest parents on earth” when our kids see their new games.

There’s something about a new toy or game. At first, it’s a huge hit and is played with constantly. But as all parents know, the “new” wears off, and the game is soon forgotten. There are precious few toys or games that survive beyond the “new” factor. The electronic games cost significantly more than the basketball hoop, but I’m hoping the basketball hoop comes out the winner in world of favorite toys. Time will tell.

Their first game left them completely confused. whent he referee blew his whistle, they had no idea why, nor what to do next. They expected their opponent to stay in one place, and were completely surprised when they moved to get the ball.

After that first game, my daughter took practice more seriously. She even watched a couple of games on TV with her dad to get a better feel for the game. Earlier in the season, they played one of the best teams in the league, and they lost 34 to 0. They ended up playing that very same team for their last game. A determination emerged from our girls that we had not seen before. They played their hearts out. They lost, but only 14 to 5. They could not have been more pleased with themselves if they had won the championship. That’s the way to “win the game”.

My own children are a bit older (old enough to know better), but we still seem to experience the same jealousy. Why is it so hard for kids to accept the fact that it’s not their special day and just be happy for the birthday boy or girl? Of course, I know the answer to that question. For kids, waiting a whole year for a birthday seems absolutely impossible.

My mother tries to head this jealousy off at the pass by offering the sibling a small gift “so they won’t feel left out”. It does help, but unfortunately it doesn’t cure.

The good news is that most kids actually do outgrow this phase. Take heart! Just as kids don’t graduate from high school in diapers, they also don’t (usually) pout and pitch fits at birthday parties when they are adults!