My poor dad. My poor mom. Our poor neighbors. There were seven of us kids. We were not all in school or  at the same school or playing the same sport at the same time, but one of us must have always been fundraising for something. I vividly remember boxes and boxes of M&M’s going missing. And yet, the fundraising envelope remained empty. My parents paid for every last box of those expensive fundraiser M&M’s. Good one, soccer league. I also remember that crazy, overly enthusiastic sales guy showcasing all of the prizes elementary students could win if and only if you sold enough random crap to your neighbors and family members. They can’t say no, right? Wrong. We would beg our dad to take the sign-up form to his break room at work. He eventually would. Surely his co-workers would go nutso about the wrapping paper and gummi bears. Fancy gummi bears, that is. You can imagine the disappointment when the order form finally would return home with only a few names on it. Maybe the ones who just couldn’t resist the deals? Or felt sorry for that lonely ordering form hanging on the bulletin board. I do think I “won” a plastic Nerds candy container one time for my lame fundraising attempts. Never the Mickey mouse phone. Or the gumball machine. Or the walkman. Oh, the walkman. Maybe I did win a walkman. Or it may have been a present. I drove my sisters crazy singing the “Bodyguard” soundtrack every night. AND I will always love you. And so on.

It’s just not really practical or effective or safe or well-received to go door-to-door fundraising anymore. I will never forget my sister and I walking door to door in our tartan plaid Catholic skirts as highschoolers. We would alternate who would talk and do the spiel for whatever we were selling. Probably magazines. It was getting old fast, the failure, the unanswered doors. The quandary, “should we ring the doorbell or not?” We walked up a long secluded driveway. That should have been our first clue. It was unfortunately my turn to talk at this house. As we made it to the front of the house, we noticed a man outside gardening. Naked. Instead of turning and running the opposite direction, my sister nudged me, it was my turn to talk. I began awkwardly fumbling over my words stating that we were selling magazines or whatever. I should have just stated the obvious, “We’re selling magazines. And you’re naked. Completely naked.” Maybe he felt sorry for us. He grabbed a garbage bag and covered up his junk. I gave him the order form. And I remember his bare butt walking towards the front door. We quickly speed walked away. I never, ever, ever have wanted to be a door-to-door saleswoman. I learned the hard way that there are too many unknowns. Will the person be creepy, pissed, overly talkative, or naked? You just never really can know.

Unfortunately, my kids now have my negative fundraising history to unknowingly combat. Tonight when I remembered that the walk-a-thon was tomorrow and we had done NO fundraising, I forced my boys to call their grandparents and ask if they would like to support them in their walk-a-thon. “What are you walking for?” I don’t know, they answered. “How long are you walking?” I don’t know…again. I’m pretty sure raising money for the PTA will never go down as one of my strengths as a parent. Hopefully, my kids won’t hold it against me. Similar to the stories shared of walking miles in the freezing cold snow to school, I will pull a fundraising story from my stash.  At least you don’t have to walk door to door with a rehearsed speech, only to get turned down or wish that you had been turned down. Nervously waiting at the door, wondering if you are going to get chewed out or denied. Or worse, asked to come inside for some marzipan. Or even worse, stumble upon a naked gardener. Yep. Naked. The thought of him gardening naked still weirds me out to this day. Even if he was in his own yard, his very secluded hidden from the road yard. So, tonight, I repeated history. I did what my parents must have done time and time again. Times seven kids. I wrote a check to the school. So, walk your little hearts out, boys. Your grandparents and parents fully support you.

When you’re busy knitting your life, you should remember that there are many different spools of yarn. And you really have to include them all. No matter how much they may be a bother. Or how much they may hurt. You can’t cut out certain ones or it may eventually cause the entire work of art to unravel. That’s you. Sometimes, we’re so busy trying to get some place else or be somebody different that we fail to see the beauty and the power that encompasses all of the different colors and textures that venture into our life.

My mom can knit beautifully, like no other person that I know. Pro status. She’s got mad knitting skills. She will talk to you, watch basketball games, and even play with your kids, all the while knitting the most gorgeous and difficult creation. Her relaxed hands move the needles flawlessly as she gently tugs on the yarn that may very well be strung across the room from a kid or dog playing with it. She’s not phased. She just keeps on knitting.

She once taught me how to knit when I was stuck in my dad’s borrowed leather chair by our front window. Modified bed rest. I couldn’t keep reading and watching TV all day long, going stir crazy waiting for two little boys to grow in my giant, nervous uterus. My mom would come over and teach me how to knit scarves and how to pearl. She also brought me delicious food. Probably because all I thought about and talked about was food. And more food. I could have been categorized as a tight knitter. A person wouldn’t watch me and feel pressed to learn the “relaxing art.” I made several imperfect scarves on my bedrest. Then, I delivered twins. The end. Of my amateur knitting career.

Watching my mom knit from the beginning stage of choosing her yarns and finding a pattern, to the “it’s coming along” stage to the gorgeous finished products helps me understand the process. It’s a powerful thought to envision that we were fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in our mother’s womb(Psalms 139:13-14) and that we continue this beautiful work of art by how we live our lives. We are all the same in some powerful ways. We all receive a first breath and a last breath.  We are all so unique though in how we use the breaths in between. What we do. Who we become. The many strands of yarn that define us, change us, and help us relate to one another and love each other differently. More deeply. All the changing patterns our lives follow or stray away from differentiate us from one another. How we weave the many different colors and textures of yarn into our lives makes us each different, beautiful, and unique. It’s quite fascinating to think that no two of us are exactly the same.

I have witnessed some of the most remarkable, influential and compassionate people who have learned the delicate art of weaving “the hurt yarn” into their lives. The yarn of this world that represents pain, hard times, loss, brokenness, unfairness. The scars, the unanswered questions, the feeling of not belonging. I believe that this yarn carries the power to strengthen, help, heal and teach others. And love others on a whole different level. If and only if we consciously use it, not try to camouflage it. Or tuck the hurt yarn away in some cabinet only to then wonder why we’re suddenly falling apart. It takes time, patience, even practice to figure out how to best incorporate the hurt yarn into our lives. It’s difficult. It takes people recognizing it. And gently helping hand it to you. Then, helping pick it back up. It can be tricky, slipping out of your hands, give you callouses kind of yarn.

The greatest hidden, yet liberating gift of the hurt yarn is it’s power to open your eyes to a beauty and appreciation in other creatures like you’ve never noticed before. Beauty that others may not recognize. Yet. There is a tremendous amount of beauty in pain, fragility, struggles, vulnerabilities, honesty, imperfections, weakness, and forgiveness. They all hold the ability to unite us, humanize us, and relate us to each other in a way that’s more powerful than blood. That’s the beauty in the hurt yarn. If we incorporate the hurt yarn into our lives, it doesn’t take away from us. It stabilizes us. It humbles us. And strangely enough, it delicately holds the power to make us stronger in the most unexpected, unpredictable ways.

Earlier today, one of my sweet first grade boys started talking to me after school. We were hanging out up in the treehouse. In between talking, he would take a lick from his popsicle. Oh my goodness, I thought. I interrupted him, “Did you lose a tooth????” I had been gone at work all weekend. And he had been at school all day. A part of me experienced a huge flood of relief when he began to wiggle one of his bottom baby teeth back and forth with his fingers. Then, he creepily pushed it all the way forward and all the way back with his tongue. It gave me the heeby jeebies. I knew that wiggly tooth was just barely hanging on and that our first tooth fairy visit would be within days. I felt a sudden urge to take a couple of pictures of him with his baby teeth smile. The smile that soon would be different. Older.

Oh, man, here come the permanent teeth.

Permanent. That word. I’ve never been the greatest about holding onto physical, tangible reminders of my children’s youth. Like clippings from their first hair cuts. Or even writing down the exact day, time, and place where they first walked. Or said their first words. I do tend to remember moments. Emotions. Feelings. When my boy ran out of his room tonight shouting,
“MOM! DAD! I lost my tooth!” we quickly ran up the stairs.

And I will always hold tightly onto this memory. The look on his face of pure excitement and also disbelief as he held up the tiny tooth. While looking for a container to store his tooth, he dropped his baby tooth on the front porch. At 8:45 at night. I began desperately picking up odd white looking dirt specks. And tiny rocks. Seriously. We couldn’t find his tooth. We HAD to find that missing tooth. I had all three boys step inside so I could look around. Sometimes, I think these crazy unexpected things happen to put one of those neon, sticky page markers on my memory. Memory triggers. There I was down on my hands and knees looking for the first lost tooth. Literally, a lost tooth.

When I found it, I held tightly onto the tooth until we secured it into a tiny tooth container to await the tooth fairy’s visit. Ironically enough, the plastic tooth holder my son so proudly placed his tiny tooth in previously held my fancy expensive crown. For one of my “permanent teeth.” Later that night, after my husband filled his tiny tooth container with a few bucks, he handed me the tooth. I held it up in my big hands careful not to drop it. I looked at it. And I just couldn’t throw it away. So, I taped it inside of a jewelry box. I guess I needed the physical reminder. A reminder of one of the sweet little first white baby teeth that poked through when he was a bright pink-gummed, grinning, drooling baby. His baby tooth represents a touchable, physical reminder that my boys are getting bigger. Losing their baby teeth. Growing up.

Their body is pushing out those tiny “baby” teeth that have served their purpose. They’ve chewed their first bites of food, bitten my fingers, shoulders, legs repeatedly and their dad, bitten each other, Nerf Gun bullets, foam balls, nickels, quarters, and SO many other toys. But most importantly, those perfectly tiny teeth have helped communicate a million different kinds of smiles, giant open-mouthed giggles and laughter. I’m hopeful that his permanent teeth will continue to do the same. Only bigger teeth should amount to even bigger smiles, right? Smiles that will be contagious, life-changing, genuine, helpful, and representative of his passion and joy for life. A joy ignited at a very young age. And a joy that I hope will continue to shine through those teeth. Those permanent teeth.

Low expectations Thursday. I set out to do two things today, besides the obvious goal of keeping my kids alive. Just two things.

1. Change the hummingbird juice
2. Put the clean sheets from the dryer on my bed

That’s it. That’s all. I could have thrown ‘take a shower” onto the list, but really, I don’t want to get cocky or be overly successful. We will just deem that an extraordinary bonus, if it happens. A gigantic pat on the back. Sometimes, towards the end of the week, when I’m getting a little disappointed in my lack of accomplishments, I do this: I set two small easily and totally doable goals. I can’t let the hummingbirds down again today. I know I may be hypersensitive but it seems like they’re giving me a crazy intoxicated look when they buzz by. We have two specific birds the boys have named “Green Lantern” and “Batman.” They are our “regulars.”

“Change the juice, big lady, ” Green Lantern says, in a high-pitched fast-paced tone of hummingbird voice.

Acckkk. I don’t want drunk hummingbirds. And I really don’t want to sleep on a naked bed again tonight. It’s too hot. And not in the sexy way. Though the three boys that invaded at some point in the night didn’t seem to mind. So many unexpected things happen in a day. It’s usually okay for a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of self. Like when the dog decides to totally delve into the trash that only made it to the laundry room. Oh, commence swearing at the dog. Ughhh. Maybe I should feed him some dog food. He’s so needy sometimes. He probably wants me to pet him too. Then, there’s the totally unplanned for calls like you know, the one from a detective in Wichita. Another detective to talk to. “Quiet down, kids. Really. IT’S A POLICE OFFICER ON THE PHONE.” He told me they arrested a woman who fancied stealing people’s identities. She was driving around, stealing mail and had MY license and credit card. My costco card. She wouldn’t dare! I’ve never even been to Wichita. The kind detective let me unload a little on the situation. I told him that the worst part is how much time these crooks have stolen. You know, time that I could have been changing the hummingbird juice. Or putting some stinking sheets on the bed. Visiting my grandma. Or taking a shower.

For now,  I would rather just write about it. Because sometimes that’s the most helpful thing. Releasing it. Sometimes time just flies by. Other times, it quickly slips through the cracks in our cupped hands as we attempt to hold it still. No matter how hard we try to hold onto it, it’s fluid. Moving. On the quarrelsome evenings, time stands completely s….t….i….l….l. It really never seems to do what we would like it to do. Slow down. Speed up. JUST STOP already. Can’t we ever make up our minds.  I’m trying to be more aware of the time and place I am presently. Today. This moment. What I am capable of. As a human being. It seems like a sneaky way of forgetting about time altogether.

It’s not such a bad thing to lower expectations in certain areas of life. It feels good sometimes to feed the hummingbirds. And finish putting sheets on the bed. And quite honestly, when the hot water from the shower you didn’t expect to take hits your face, you feel like you must be dreaming. Low expectations Thursday….I think I love you.

I’m sure you weren’t thinking about how hard we work to pay bills in our household. Maybe you noticed the three booster seats in the back of the van when you broke the glass. That shattered everywhere. You probably didn’t care that I just vacuumed my van out yesterday. You probably didn’t think that when you grabbed our wallets and stole our car, you took something more meaningful. You stole a tiny bit of our children’s innocence. And you threatened their sense of safety. In their own home.

“Why would somebody do that?” One of my boys asked.

I wish I could find you and ask you the question, so that I could give my children an honest answer. A better answer than, “I don’t know.” I really don’t know. They heard me say cuss words. Because of you. They watched me cry and bang the counters with my fists this morning. Because of you. I’m sure you didn’t think about how today you taught my kids a cruel, sad lesson about life. People steal. Complete strangers can take important stuff from you. In your very own driveway. I’m sure you didn’t care much about our family. I’m sure you thought we have plenty. We can replace a car, right? I hope the smokes were good. Really good.

You sneak onto people’s property and take stuff that’s not yours. Big stuff. You have no idea what happens to families as a result of your behavior. You probably don’t care. The people who you rob can’t drive to their jobs. To make money to pay for what you’ve broken or stolen. You instill fear and hopelessness.  I hate that you made me an emotional see-saw today. Alternating between feeling really, really pissed, like I want-to-hunt-you-down-so-you-can-look-at-my-face pissed, to feeling really, really sad for you. And your life. Maybe you feel remorse. Maybe you stole the car and our wallets to buy the smokes to sell them for some cash to buy some food for your family. Maybe. I would have rather you knocked on my door. And just asked me. I don’t want your kids to be hungry. Or even you.

I’m sorry for the choices that you’re making. I’m sorry for all the heartbreak you’ve caused. I’m sorry if you had a rough childhood. That made it hard. And lead you down a track with no outlet. I’m sorry if you face obstacles and feel like the way to tackle them is to steal from others. I’m sorry that it seems like we have more than you. And that you feel justified or entitled to our belongings. I’m sorry that we may see you in court one day. And that you may go to jail for this.

I want you to know that although you took a piece of my children’s innocence, you did not win today. The helpers taught my boys something much more meaningful than your cruel lessons. The encouragers surrounded us today. They are the ones who we will teach our boys to remember. Like the police officer who showed us great kindness and compassion. One of my sons recognized this. He said, “Mommy, he’s like a real super hero.” It’s true. Friends and family offered to drive us, to provide food for us, to care for us and to sympathize with us. They helped tame our outrage, anger and powerlessness into strength and courage. And even peace.

I think my boys will remember today. The broken glass. The missing car. Wallets. Stolen. What I believe and hope that they will remember most are the people who reached out, listened and wanted to turn something bad into something better. Giant love-filled bear hugs. They instilled hope. Encouraged strength. I pray that when my boys remember today that they will remember the helpers. Not you.

I decided to write a tribute of sorts about some of the things parents do for their kids. All summer long. I just love summer. Always have and I think I always will. Though I enjoyed school as a kid, I still dreaded going back after the relaxed, fun-filled long days of summer. Now, as a mother, I get to relive summer fun through the eyes of my kids. It’s a different perspective but still pretty stellar most days.

Now that school has officially started, I am a lot sad to say goodbye to summer. I will definitely look forward to next June as long as it brings anything but showers. I will try my hardest to appreciate all of the seasons in between. But until next summer…here is a list of:

Ten Awesome Things Parents Do for Their Kids in the Summer:

1. Set-up the slip’n slide….yeah!

Then, attempt to blow up the deflated side over and over again. Before you realize there’s a hole. Not just any old hole. A massive hole. So, you patch up that whistling hole with really expensive waterproof medical tape. And blow up that left side. Again. One more time. Until your lungs and mouth quit. Tape can only do so much. The kids are ready for a Popsicle which brings us to…

2. Open up Popsicles.

With your teeth, kids scissors, or with that dull kitchen knife. It’s nonstop. You’ve given up on how many Popsicles the AAP recommends. It’s like 115 degrees outside. You don’t want your kids passing out. They need energy fast…in the form of Red Dye #40. Airheads Popsicles, Freeze pops, old school push-ups if you can find them anywhere. Where have all the push-ups gone? Does the Popsicle brand really matter? It’s cold and face it, the majority of the freezing cold goodness will end up on their faces, their shirts, or the ground. Or in a melted pile on the counter. Oh, the forgotten Popsicle. “So, yes, sweaty flush faced child, of course you can have another Popsicle. You barely got any of the first one into your belly.”

3. Apply Sunblock.

Ahhhh, sunblock. Spray sunblock. Stick sunblock. Baby sunblock. Spider-Man sunblock. Sunblock in their eyes. Their hair. All over you. The sole reason you have a tan is because after lathering up all of your kiddos, you only have the stamina to put it on your face. Meanwhile, your youngest kid is tugging on you to catch him off of the diving board. Sorry neck, shoulders and back, it looks like you will be getting (more) sun today. And most every day of summer. High five for protecting your face, Mama. You won’t look a day over 33….until someone looks down at your hands.

4. Tie water balloons.

Yep, here’s proof that love hurts. Repeatedly wrapping the cheap latex around your giant fingers and having water balloons pop in your face as you attempt to tie those suckers up, that’s pure love. You can’t keep up with the demands of the tiny hands who would be much better at knotting the water grenades, if they only knew how. Right as you tie one up, splat, it’s done. You’re soaked and your hands feel abused by the slippery broken latex pieces splayed all over the ground beneath the hose. The most you can do is have your kids pick up pieces while they wait for the next “big mama.” No wonder you helped kickstart the “Bunch O’ Ballooons” project. Too bad they’re so expensive you can’t afford to incorporate them into your cheap summer fun. Surely the price will go down by next summer.

5. Take the kids to the library.

It’s free. Well, until you can’t find the books, audiobooks or DVDs you’ve rented. The late fees can be a little extreme. That’s beside the point. You’ve got about 30 good minutes of picking out books, old school DVDs like “Free Willy” and playing with the random summer activities. Good clean free summer fun. You still feel a little pressure to “shhhh!” your kids when they’re getting loud. And you definitely have to reinforce the “no running…or wrestling” in the library rule. You generally reward yourself, and the kids too, with a cookie after leaving the quiet zone. You earned it. And you know, since you’ve gotten all of the free books and stuff, you quickly justify a Blue Chip Cookie. Maybe you can get another one when you return all of your goods back to the library on time. Ish.

6. Dry a lot of swimsuits, towels, wet clothes, etc.

There are a lot of sacrifices in summer and the one that takes the brunt of them is your poor van. It becomes the haven for sweaty kids and their wet clothes, towels, and swimsuits. A non-creepy sauna of sorts. If you’re on top of it, you unload the damp played-in clothes to the laundry room immediately as you get home. Yeah. You go. If you got distracted, because, well, it happens, you may have left wet clothes in the van. Overnight. Good thing it’s not 100 + degrees outside. Oh, wait. The next day, you open the doors to the ripe moist smell of mildewed swimsuits. Your kids ask while holding their noses, “what’s that smell?” Your wet swimsuits. They’re not exactly wet or dry. They’re in between still. Only they’ve taken on the putrid smell of forgetfulness. Surely, the chlorine will knock the stink right out when they jump back into the pool today? One of the joys of all boys is they won’t cause a big fuss. They’re used to stinky feet, amongst other unfavorable bodily odors. They won’t put up a fight when it comes time to throw those pleasantly, or creepily moist suits back on. Or you just won’t hear it if they do. “Do you guys wanna go swimming or not? Well?”

7. Go to a Royals game.

Nothing beats the “K” on a summer night. It’s like everyone out there is a part of a big happy family. Even if you chose not to look at the forecast and end up sitting under an umbrella with your family of five. For five innings. It’s family bonding time. One of your sons may ask, “where does everybody get those trash wrappers?” And you may realize he’s talking about rain ponchos. You will laugh at his awesome six-year old description of rain gear. As you state that those are the loyal and smart fans. The prepared ones. We just came for the cotton candy and the clapping. And it’s always memorable. And worth it. Even if you leave soaked in the sixth inning. First base line seats? Yes, Hosmer. Yes.

8. Go to the zoo.

Where else do you get to watch your kids play peek-a-boo with a toddler orangutan? Or give high fives through the glass to a back stroking polar bear? Ride the train. Check. Ride the shuttle all the way to Africa. Done. Help celebrate a chimp’s 21st birthday. With Jell-O shots. Sort of. You may just get to witness a few chimps “riding each other’s backs”and explain why the girl chimp’s bottom looked so painfully swollen and red. Poor girl chimp. That’s rough. It’s always an exhausting, semi-sex educational fun-filled day. And all of your boys may fall asleep on the ride home. Always. And you may wish they would hand out iced coffees and a sticker to the parents on the way out. “I Zoo’d Today.” It’s pretty similar to voting or giving blood. Well, almost.

9. Help catch tadpoles and frogs…

And lightning bugs. And dragon flies. And butterflies. And all the summer creatures that your kids are fascinated with keeping for a day or two before setting them free. You’re hoping they will scurry, hop, swim or fly out of their makeshift bug hostile equipped with grass, a rock and a bottle cap of water. It’s not quite as dramatic as “Free Willy” but this is Overland Park not Hollywood. “Jump, Frog, jump. Just go.” Let’s celebrate that frog’s triumphant return to nature with a Popsicle.

10. Lastly, and most importantly, summer helps us slow down and take the time to gaze at our children’s summer sun-spotlighted beauty.

When they ask you to open their Popsicle or jump up into your dry lap, you should pause and look at their freckled faces. Their red stained lips. Their crazy blonde hair. And then you’ll also notice that their thick, long black eyelashes are bleached out on the tips. And how those eyelashes cast the most delicate shadows on their faces. You feel humbled, and all the sudden, tearful, overwhelmed, like you’ve been granted the most amazing wish. The honor of being their mother. The gift of being the one who gets to open their Popsicles, tie their water balloons, resuscitate their slip n’ slide, and on and on. All summer long. You get to be front and center to their endless beauty, their innocence and life-filled eyes and their constant requests, cuddles, and love. Because you possess the most coveted lap..that is, until Daddy walks into the door.