Mama Goes Camping

June 12th, 2016

jeeppp

When I hang out with these two….I get a double dose of dudemones. They like to do guy stuff: sweat, work, drive fast, chase adventure, throw caution to the wind, pew pew guns, live off the land….manly man things!

hotter than h

And camp. They both love to camp.

I love camping too. However, I have a few requirements and they include things like running water and electricity. This campsite? No to both. πŸ™

Maybe I’m more of a glamper.

mama jeep

Good thing these photos are not scratch and sniff because we stinketh!

jumped in

Lizzy got a little anxious and jumped in the raging river.

We chose a great park right on the Mountain Fork River which is next to Broken Bow Lake – Beavers Bend State Park. I’ve never been to Oklahoma even though it’s merely a few miles away from my hangout in Texas.

Bucket list, check!

beavers bend

10 steps from our picnic table we could step right into this icy little paradise.

fly fish

Throughout our stay the river evolved into many different forms of beautiful. The heat just stayed H O T. We were sweaty and sticky with nowhere to shower off. Like savages! πŸ™‚

river fog

It really was as peaceful as it looks.

campsite

Peeking back up at camp from the river. The steady stream rustling through the rocks was the most amazing sound. It almost drowned out the noisy camper neighbors – but not totally. There are rules in most campgrounds about noise, here, not so much. Several guys (who were very friendly guys) stayed up most of the night partying to our right side and on the left a group of ladies honked their Escalade lock button open and closed a million times right beside our tent all night. It was a real bummer. Mixed with the fire hot heat.

Roughing it, y’all. I guess going without wifi is a big deal too. I thought it was cool to leave that behind a while.

bikin

Bike riding like champs. A little bit of it uphill. Promised myself to get into shape before I kill myself doing something fun.

farr

There is no camping without a good fire. Hello? S’mores!

river bed

Aren’t the rocks amazing? I had to stop myself from stealing a carload to bring home. I have a thing….about rocks.

roughin

I got up bright and early because everyone else in the camperhood was up and packing to go. We had breakfast plans too.

wifi cafe

We should have taken the hint because while we were eating breakfast at the Wifi Cafe the rain started to fall and we had to scramble back to camp and tear everything down. Gavin was in his jeep without a top so he headed home as soon as he could grab a few things.

We stepped into a whole nother level of scummy by this point.

Even the guys were dreaming of a hot shower. Ha!

sacked out

Lizzy did not have any trouble getting comfortable during the night. She slept, sideways on the blowup mattress.

home ag

After she got her bath (yes, she showered too) Lizzy fell asleep and wouldn’t budge.

Gracie too.

gracie out

I think maybe they like GLAMPING too. Hehe!

We had a great time. It was fun new territory and we would love to go back.

I’m My Own Version of Aunt Josephine

June 10th, 2016

aunt jo
(click to enlarge photo)

I completely relate to Aunt Josephine from Lemony Snicket’s – A Series of Unfortunate Events. She was a wee bit out there (I know….we aren’t exactly alike) and she had a crazy sense of imagination. Anything and everything was a danger to her.

I get it, lady.

I fell asleep last night afraid a snake was going to crawl out of who-knows-where and get me or my little dog while we slept. Notice I didn’t fear it getting my hubby (it’s because he was snoring SO LOUD I felt sure the snake would slither on by him).

Don’t touch the doorknobs children! They’ll explode and put your eyes out!

I’m clearly irrational, I know.

I suppose it has to do with a picture my daughter’s boyfriend snapped of a long long snake slithering beside my car a few days ago here at the ranch. I’ve imagined all the snakes of all the world getting into my car or inside my house ever since.

It’s not that crazy because on the news for the last two days a story has been running about a teacher in the Fort Worth area who found a snake in her SUV when she leaned in to get her BABY OUT OF THE CARSEAT!!!

And…..guess who got away? Inside the car?

Yes, Mr. Snake! He was even shown on the news being all crappy and aggressive with the animal control people. He shed a skin and split into the car somewhere and sister is perhaps one of my people – because SHE LEFT IT WHERE IT SAT!

Bye Felicia!

I don’t have any reason to worry (uhh, yea right) while I’m asleep in bed inside a house……do I?

Aunt Josephine, are you my mothership?

aunt jos

I’m blaming it on the wasp poison circulating through my body all night. I’m feverish and itchy….and starting to feel out of my right mind.

me waspy sting

How long does this throbbing itching pain last? I think I’m dying! Okay, maybe a little over-reaction. Go away, nothing to see here.

Would He Love Me?

June 3rd, 2016

Greg Conway

Can you see someone you don’t even know and recognize them immediately?

That’s how I felt the moment I clicked on the link that led me to the man who fathered me over 49 years ago. I instantly knew he was part of me. I’ve gone back a hundred times to look at his face and every time, I see something else that’s familiar and me.

I never met him, this man, who was my father. I spent a lifetime wondering who I was and did I look like anyone other than my mother (whom I look very similar to).

fatherless

I don’t know who is to blame for never having met my father. But, all fingers point directly at my mother. After all, she is the one who raised me. In my heart, I don’t believe she did it to be cruel or neglectful…but in the end, it was both of those things.

poem

The decision to clip someone out of your life forever has to be a hard one. For every facial expression, skin tone, body type….she had to see something of him, in me. How’d she do it?

For most of my life, I never knew.

homesick

The person I thought was my dad, kindly fathered me out of his own powerful love. I thank him. And, I thank the step-dad who would come along later and love me into young adulthood. Neither of their sacrifice goes unnoticed.

Still, I feel a great loss of my real dad. I can’t help but wonder all the wonders that a mind can think of about such a relationship – – –

Did he want me?
Did he think of me?
Did he try to see me?
Did he care about me?
Did he punch his dashboard when she walked away?
Did he call her and try to reason with her (for my sake)?
Did he even know about me?

I’ve heard from my aunts that he was a terrific person. He was worthy and upright. He came from a good family. He had a great future ahead of him. Still, I will never know the magnitude of who he really was on this earth. I have no one to ask, no one to see and no one to call.

While I was somewhere across the state in all my high school freshman gawkiness….my dad, Gregory Conway was found shot to death sitting in his yellow corvette in a Kmart parking lot. I didn’t even know he existed.

His murder is still unsolved.

How do I reconcile never knowing him? For me, I have to turn directly to God for that answer. What was once kept in secret is no longer hidden. Both of my parents are dead now and I’m left with so many unanswered questions. Maybe that’s exactly how it was supposed to be.

Still, I wonder….would he love me?

Summer + Mama = Yes Ma’am

June 2nd, 2016

Well, I have a confession.

mean mama

I was a mean mom!

Yep, I was so high strung while my little darlin’s were growing up under my nose that I missed out on tons of COOL MOM moments.

mama 11

Oh ya, I was on top of everything! Ask my kids. They’ll tell you, I was Johnny On the Spot with my mom’n. Nobody got by me with any shenanigans and if they did, it was h a n d l e d!

I regret it. So much.

mamama

I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to raise hooligans. So, I stayed on them to follow the rules and I pushed my mom agenda on them way more than was probably necessary.

Thank goodness, they all still love me and want to be around me.

I wasn’t horrible to them. But, I sure wish I had let loose on some of my issues.

mama likey

Earlier today, I was in the check-out line at the grocery store behind a young mom with her 3 little doorstep punkins! The first one I saw was the toddler boy sitting in the basket seat. He lit up like a lightning bolt as soon as I looked at him. He smiled so big and waved so sweet that I couldn’t stop myself from joining him with my own joyous smiles. I spoke to him and asked him if he was helping mama shop. He answered back with a happy yes and then the big sister wiggled around the cart to see me. She ran over to my buggy and announced that she was there to “help” me with my things. Like a flash in my mom brain, I realized it was only a little while ago that I too, was dragging a gaggle of 3 all over Walmart trying to remember every single thing we were out of at home.

I wanted to cry.

Mama’s….those of you hauling around a pile of kids this summer, say YES! Say yes to all the fun you can. Even if it’s messy. Even if it forces you up off the couch or away from the computer (ESPECIALLY IF IT DOES THOSE THINGS). Get up, play….pretend. Watch all the “shows” your kids perform and sell you the paper tickets! Have over all the friends for play time or pool time. Throw a blanket on the lawn at night and gaze at the sky. Ride bikes all over creation. Take picnics. Live with messes all over the living room because your twerps are building forts. Set up a tent, sleep in it (or let them). Create memories. Do all the things. Do them.

But, don’t forget to make sure you teach your kids how to entertain themselves. You are not a cruise ship director! You are a mom. Every mom in this big fat whole wide world deserves to have kids that know how to play and have fun without an itinerary.

Say yes. But say no to being a slave to their happiness.

mamama 2

Now go….Be cool, Mama!

My Other Man

June 1st, 2016

my son 26

Pssst, I love a man that’s not my hubby!

He’s a fine young man who looks almost identical to his Dad, thinks much the same as his Dad and because God has such a cool way of “sharing the love” the kid got A LOT OF MY PERSONALITY! The dude is a winner winner chicken dinner!

Now that he’s all grown….you’d think my job is complete. Do mom’s really ever leave the business? The MOM business? I don’t think they so. The truth is – now… more than ever, he’s looking to me for real life knowledge. The pressure….

Before, he needed all the things that my mom nurturing provided; physical touch, emotional love, food, clothing, education, playtime, freedom to grow, willingness to overlook shenanigans. At 26, he needs me to step into the role of adult mom; to listen, to advise, to share with, to encourage…and more. Oh, more pressure…

gav preg

In my head, I can still see him as a pudgy little sweet baby boy. I can pull straight out of my mom file all sorts of cute questions, funny moments, big boo-boo’s and happy smiles. He has been a dream boy to raise. Surely, all moms feel that way about their boys.

newby

Mine is special. He’s special because he belongs to me.

birthday g

Happy birthday son. I love you and I’m so proud of you.

gav b d

Even 26, you’re still my kid! I am so blessed.

Harambe the Harmless Gorilla

May 31st, 2016

gorilla

What a great weekend…unless you are a harmless helpless gorilla living in zoo captivity in Cincinatti, Ohio. Wait, you’re not? Oh, that’s right….YOU ARE A BREATHING LIVING HUMAN BEING! You wouldn’t be caught “dead” living in zoo captivity, am I right? Of course I am, because again, you. are. a. human. being.

A person. Just like the 4 year old that fell into the gorilla’s pen. A person.

I wish I could say how shocked I am at the internet firestorm over this gorilla’s death. Once again, society raises up such a ruckus over an animal yet will ridicule and scream as loud as they can over the right to kill an unborn child. Yep, I went there…again!

I mean, really. What the heck is wrong with this world that a very dangerous gorilla (whom, I assure you did not want to be best buddies with that child!!) is lauded more important than the life of a PERSON? Oh, wait….the same society who doesn’t give a rip about unwanted children created through whatever means just that it is an inconvenience to them. That society.

Seriously. Stop.

People. Imagine, just imagine for one second that being your child. Or a person that you love. Would you really want the zoo staff scrambling to get a tranquilizer that takes T I M E to even do it’s thing? Meanwhile, your kid or loved one is at the hands of this very disgruntled gorilla?

Uhm, no. I’m going to pass on that scenario. No thank you!

What is it with people who find this necessary act so heinous?

Is it sad? Yes.

Is it tragic? Yes.

Is it something that could have been avoided? Probably.

Did the child who fell deserve to die because he got away from mom & dad? No.

I refuse to let this crazy terrible situation be glamourized as some sort of animal rights frenzy. Good grief. Use your brains, animal people. And, for goodness sakes….put this in the right perspective.

A human life is more valuable than any animal. Always.

Kudos to you Cincinnati Zoo!! While I mourn the loss of your beloved Harambe, I praise God for your quick action that spared the life of someone’s child. Good call.