Super Lame, but Super Cool

By: Samantha S. Daviss

When you are young, like really young in your teens and 20s, you pretty much think everyone and everything is “lame”. You think your parents are lame for doing yard work, you think your teachers are lame for making you write a paper, you think your friends are lame when they don’t want to spend time with you.

But typically, people that think others are lame just aren’t comfortable doing what they are doing at the moment. You are trying to build yourself and your ego up, so you feel cooler or more awesome than everyone else in the world. When in reality, we all have a little bit of “lameness” in us. 

My life motto is to let your “Dork flag fly if you have one”. There are things I do in life that make me a total dork, and I’m okay with that label. I love to clean out my fridge, it makes me happy; I love to write, it releases a little voice in my head that needs to be released; and I love to sweep out my garage. I don’t do it often enough, but man when my garage floor is clean, I love it!

However, right now, my 22 year-old-self is crawling in a hole about to die from “lameness”. I’ve come to the reality though, that there are just some things you do as a maturing adult that at one point in your life would have made your younger self die, absolutely die, from embarrassment.

So with time, I guess comes, dorkiness…and I have compiled a list of things that are super awesome as adults, but would have been lame when we were younger, and two I have already named:

1)      To clean out my fridge

Living in a house of just boys takes a lot of patience and understanding. But with boys comes messes, lots and lots of messes. And the refrigerator has no pardon from their wrath. That poor refrigerator door is probably opened at least fifty times a day. Sometimes things are grabbed out of it, sometimes it just gets stared at…then suddenly I hear the screech of “Mom, there’s nothing to eat!” Which is obvious from the fully stocked fridge standing right in front of them.

But to no avail the fridge gets filthy. It doesn’t take long. I don’t know how it gets so dirty, but it does. And I love nothing more than to sit with my Lysol all-purpose cleaner and a roll of Bounty paper towels and scrub that baby from top to bottom. Re-organizing and putting everything back where it belongs. “Lameness” at its finest.

2)      To clean my garage

A busy household, filled with kids, jobs, and running in a million directions doesn’t allow for a lot of down time to tend to the little things around a house. And no matter how many times you ask everyone to put things back where they found them, it is never done. So that is where the messy garage comes into play. The toys are never put away, and leaves and mud are constantly tracked through.

But it’s nothing that a nice sturdy push broom and some organizing skills can’t fix.

 3)      To have my travel essentials ready and filled for a trip at a moment’s notice

My mother always told me to have my “travel kit” ready to go. “When you get home from a trip, always refill everything you ran out of.” I always thought it was a very odd rule (or suggestion), but now it makes total sense. I don’t have to run around thinking what I need to pack, what I would use every day, in addition to packing my clothes, the kids clothes and any extra necessities I may have to remember. So knowing my travel kit is ready to go at a moment’s notice, gives me such delight.

4)      Cleaning day

I have pampered myself with a cleaning person. I keep my house up in between her visits, but I don’t need to get me nails done, or my hair done, or tons of other pampering items. But my cleaning lady is my God send, truly. I am so happy the day she comes. There is nothing better than pulling in my garage from a long day at work and with the kids to smell Pine Sol seeping through the cracks of my back door.

It is such a joy and relief to know that, that one stress has been unloaded from my plate.

5)      Vacuuming my rugs

Yep the lines…the lines from a freshly vacuumed rug or carpet get me every time. I love to just walk into the room and see those symmetrical lines gliding across my floors. And as a younger me I would never have noticed, but now it is a sense of accomplishment, and adult lameness at its best.

6)      New car smell

I’m that person…I love new cars, and congratulations to those who get them. But when I admire your new car I really don’t notice the leather seats, or all the buttons to be pushed, or even the manufacturer’s name on the outside…it’s the smell that I love. I could lock myself in a new car for hours just admiring the clean floors, the clean seats, and the new car smell.

That smell gives me hope, but in the same breathe I know that hope is near the end. That new smell, the clean seats, and clean floors will soon be things of the past.

7)      Sitting by a campfire, without having to get drunk

Ahhh yes, the days of hanging out with friends, building campfires by the lake shore or in pastures, and partaking in some adult beverages. Those were the days. My younger self couldn’t even imagine not having a beverage around a campfire. I would say to my older self “What in the world is wrong with you? Let’s party.” But now campfires are peaceful, enjoyable, and fun to watch my kids run around. Plus I have the added bonus of doing an activity that doesn’t end in a hang-over, so double lame bonus there.

8)      Go back to school and get another degree just because

Who would want to go back to school just because? This gal. I once started my graduate degree, and pretty soon I am going to finish it…just because. How lame is that? It will help me learn more about by career, it won’t necessarily benefit my career, but it will help give me additional knowledge about it. And I want to finish it, just because. I know total dork here…but it has always been a goal of mine, so why not?

9)      A full tank of gas

Who doesn’t love knowing you are riding around with a full tank of gas? Instead of watching that red light flash at you reminding you that you are either too busy or too lazy to fill up your tank. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to drive to my son’s school to pick him up wondering if I would make it back to town to throw about $5 worth of gas in my tank. I am pretty sure I have more ulcers from my gas tank scares, than I do from any other stresses in my life.

But then there is that feeling of knowing for at least 385 miles I have nothing to worry about, and can go as far as I want to go.

10)   Cupboards and my refrigerator full of food

Grocery shopping, ugghhh…it’s the worst. I have to load up my basket, mark off my list, and then…PAY! But the worst part is the unloading. Especially when you have the amount of groceries I have every few weeks. It is a two to three hour ordeal.

But the joy and satisfaction I have when I am finished and my pantry shelves are full again, my refrigerator is stocked again, and my kids aren’t complaining anymore, is the best feeling in the world.

As you can see the older we get, I guess the lamer we get. It’s the little things in life that make us smile, that make us happy. So remember, when you see those vacuum lines on your floor and you smile, it’s okay to let your dork flag fly.

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Smarter than their mommy

By: Samantha S. Daviss

My boys are my life, I love everything about being their mommy. But don’t get me wrong there are those days that I would love to just hide in my nice warm sheets and never get out of bed, and maybe sleep for two days straight. But I know I would bore too easily; and I would hate to miss even a moment of my babies’ lives.

I hear and read so many stories of parents that have sadly lost their children too soon due to an illness or a horrible accident, and to those parents I lift you up in prayer and thought every single day. I couldn’t imagine my life, or even one second of my days, without my boys in it.

I’m at such an incredible stage with my pre-teen, that he and I really do talk about everything. We have one of the neatest mother-son relationships. I try not to overstep my bounds, as I know he needs to learn on his own, have a few bumps and bruises; but he knows that I am here for him 24/7. I love that he comes in to my room and sits on the foot of my bed and talks to me about girls, or things in his life that are bothering him. But I love the most that he is my buddy, he and I are constantly joking and cutting up together. He and I have a running joke between each other, that when the other says something “not so intelligent”…we always say that “we are so glad the other is pretty”.

He and I have the kind of relationship that I hope will last forever. He knows I will always be the number one gal in his life, until he finds that perfect match. And at that point, I pray that she can love me as much as he loves me.

But the two little ones are in a funny chatty and negotiating stage. There is not one day that goes by that they don’t crack me up and make me smile. They have both gotten in the habit of telling me “here’s the deal, mom”…and then proceed to tell me what my plans are for the day, where we are going to go, when we are going to do it, and how it fits into “their schedule”.

The middle one is constantly negotiating with me. For example, if he wants a cup of milk, and I say he has had enough…he will negotiate a deal with me. “If you get me some milk now, then I will eat all of my dinner”. News Flash!! You were going to eat all of your dinner regardless.

Most recently the youngest decided to get out of bed after I had already read a book to him, said our prayers, and gave him all of his kisses. My oldest saw the light on under the door so he peeked in to see what was happening, and the little one was playing with his train track, but there was one additional accessory on the train track. So my oldest came to get me and show me what was going on…I opened the door, and all over the floor was baby powder. Even though it was late and I was exhausted, for some reason I didn’t get upset. I couldn’t wait to see what his excuse was.

“It snowed Momma. My choochoo went through the tunnel and needed snow on it like in Tolorado (Colorado in layman’s terms).” I couldn’t help but pick him up, squeeze him tight and giggle. Only my little man would think his choochoo needed some snow. I actually thought it was pretty clever.

And my most favorite statement happened over the Christmas holidays. We went on a family ski vacation with some friends and had a great time. All my boys are now officially slope savvy, even the little one. But in the airport on the way to ski, we were all standing at the window watching the airplanes come and go, the men load and unload the luggage, and the other men load and unload the food carts. When out of the blue, my middle one says (hand to God)…”Mom, you know those planes all look a little older. They seem to look like the planes from the 80s”.

I nearly fell out…I know everyone around me thought I had lost my mind, but I couldn’t stop laughing. So I quickly responded with “You sure they look like the planes from the 80s, considering you were born in 2010?”

“Yep, they definitely look like the planes from the 80s mom.”

I know we all have funny stories to share about our little ones; but what’s most important is to remember that they all go by so quickly. I will soon be entering the teenage stage of life, many of you are sending babies off to college and some into marriage, and some are bringing home your grandbabies…so cherish every minute of every day with your little ones, no matter how exhausting they can be. I have to remind myself daily…that one day I will get all the sleep I want, because, sadly, my babies will all be grown and gone.

It’s time to take a stand

By: Samantha S. Daviss

Being a parent is the most rewarding job, but it is also the most difficult. Especially when it’s time to let them “fly”. You just want to wrap them in a warm blanket and protect them for the rest of their lives, even though you know that happiness, pain, sadness, tears, smiles, and thrills are all a part of building their character and how they will handle all the hurdles life hands them.

Hopefully, as a parent, you are able to offer them unconditional love, understanding and patience so they know they can come to you for anything. The most painful thing as a parent is watching your child’s heart get broken; either through a break up, failure in sports or in the classroom, or someone picking on them.

I have a huge issue with bullying, as I am sure most people do. But like I always tell my boys, you are no better than anyone on this planet. They may excel at some things more than others, but they also have their shortcomings; so my main rule is for my boys to understand just how incredible they are, and not to compare themselves to others, but to compare themselves to the person they were yesterday. Always strive to be better, but don’t do it in a negative manner, don’t belittle people from your success, or ever point out anyone else’s shortcomings. Because remember, when you point at someone, you always have three other fingers pointing back at yourself.

Bullying seems to be a huge issue in schools these days; and I blame it on the lack of parental involvement due to all the modern day technology. There is a major disconnect in families and humans in general. Technology has made it entirely too easy to never have to speak to another human being all day long. Think about it … you can text versus calling, you can email versus calling, you can play a game or watch a movie versus interacting with the three dimensional world. So basically we have lost the art of conversation; the ability to really talk to another human being and get in touch with their inner thoughts and feelings.

So to that I say bullying is a two way street. It is just as important to stay in touch with your kids and have the knowledge of their safety and security and make sure they aren’t being bullied at school or elsewhere; but on the flip side of that coin it is just as important for parents or guardians to be in touch enough with their kids to know if they are doing the bullying.

Of course we want to protect our children from being hurt by a bully; but maybe others are bullying because there is something out of balance in their lives. Maybe they have some issues built up inside; maybe they feel they have something to prove to their classmates by picking on another; maybe they feel they need to prove their worth to a parent or are being bullied by a parent so they let their aggression out on their classmates; or maybe they are so insecure about some physical inadequacy (like height, or hair, or skin issues). They lack that ability to be secure in their own skin, and that only comes with age and maturity, granted; but regardless of how they feel about themselves, that is no excuse to abuse others.

Whatever the case may be we, as parents, need to stay in touch with our kids regardless what side of the fence our kids may be on. Those being bullied may have a lifetime of mental anguish and damage done to their psyche; and those doing the bullying may being dealing with a lifetime filled with existing anguish and anger. Either way our children our hurting. So take the time to really get to know your kids and find out what side of the fence they are on, if you don’t you are only hurting your future.