Monday, June 28, 2010

To Burn or Not to Burn


We went to the Air Show this past weekend and had a great family time. We are one of those families that works and works and works (multiple businesses, farm, job, leaders of Scouts, VFW, Legion, and more), so a day away from everything is almost a shock. (I do, of course, bring work to do in the vehicle so the day isn't a total loss, hahaha). The weather was foggy, then overcast, then later the sun peaked out a little bit here and there. It was very warm and muggy, and we were outside the entire day.

Me being a mom, I pull out our Sunscreen Lotion and start applying it to my 8-yr-old son, myself, and then forced some on my DH. Well, the top of his head anyway. He's a real man and doesn't want any sissy sunscreen on him, right? So I made a big joke about how the reflection off the top of his head might be distracting to some of the pilots, might temporarily blind them, etc.

He wouldn't let me put any on his blindingly white legs though. First time wearing shorts, long Minnesota winters, you do the math!
We're talking W-H-I-T-E. Like chalk. You get the picture.

Oh, yes, our manly man today is walking around in pants at work, that fabric rubbing with every step against his now hot pink skin, which he coated with our Healing Lotion this morning, but we all know that doesn't help that friction element.

Men! The 8-yr-old is just fine, not burnt at all. I got a little bit of sunburn around my neck, which I forgot about, but at least I was wearing a hat, which helped.
But our manly man, not so good. He almost cried this morning when the dog jumped up on his lap and missed with his back leg, which scratched his burnt leg.

I'll say this once--if you are going outside, either cover yourself with fabric or put on some sunscreen! I don't care how much of a manly man you are, you AREN'T so manly when you're crying because you got burned in the sun!

Monday, June 14, 2010

On Perseverance

My son and I went for a 13-mile-long bike ride yesterday on this wonderful trail we have on the old railroad corridor along I-94. It was overcast, humid, with a slight breeze, but a wonderful day. (It's been raining off and on for the past week, so overcast is totally acceptable.)
As we were riding, we talked about anything and everything. I really enjoy these times with him. But I started to notice something--little explosions of green coming up through the tar on which we were riding. At first I just saw the little tar volcanoes and couldn't figure out what they were. Then I really started looking and saw little weeds coming up through them. Coming up through a thick, fat layer of tar!
Thinking about it the rest of the trip, it just got more and more incredible. A tiny little seed or root pushing its way up through a thick, man-made layer, meant to cover the earth, not protect it or help it, but just to provide me with a smooth road on which I could ride my bicycle.
Mother Nature wasn't having any of that. She lets us know in little ways that we don't know everything, we don't control the weather, and nature will always win. (Just watch the world news--volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.)
Sometimes it's the little things that make big changes--over time those little tiny weeds are going to destroy that tar trail. Sometimes it's a big change like a hurricane.
But it's all about perseverance!
We're in the process of creating a new website and a new membership club for Heaven and Earth Essentials. Sometimes it is so difficult to work on both of these because we end up waiting on someone else, or something doesn't go exactly the way we want it, or we find out that we just can't do it or afford it.
But I'm going to take a lesson from Mother Nature. Perseverance. Stop, think about it. If the universe is saying you can't do something one way, try it another, or think about why you wanted to do it in the first place. I think she's a pretty smart lady and I'm glad she's my friend.