Cooler than you

I realized today that I have some really challenging things going on right now. I'm finishing up my bachelor's degree through independent study, about to start on a(nother) new calling, and raising two kids. (That doesn't count my list of "other" things, like fixing up the house or improving my health). But instead of thinking of them as "difficult" things I've decided that they're simply "challenging." And if I rise to the challenge the blessings will FAR outweigh the difficulties.

This was on my mind because tonight we went to an Eagle Court of Honor for our longtime family friend, Matt. He has some difficulties with processing information and some other learning disabilities, for lack of a better term, but he is, hands down, one of the very best people I know. He is unfailingly polite, never critical of others, always thoughtful and prepared to serve - even at home, where it seems easiest to let your Righteousness Guard down. I realized while listening to the descriptions of what badges he had to earn, and particularly his challenges with learning to swim, that Matt had some serious problems to overcome in order to earn his Eagle. But here's the thing. He did it. And for the rest of his life the blessing of being an Eagle Scout will FAR outweigh the difficulties he had in the process. In fact, he'll forget a lot of them. I decided that if Matt can do it I can too. (And certainly with less murmuring. Honestly.)

Here's a question for the "dozens, literally dozens" of people who read this blog. What is something you've overcome? I fully expect super-personal and possibly embarrassing answers to that question. :)

This is the part of my blog where I make a humiliating admission. Tonight while flipping through the TV channels, looking for anything worth watching (not that easy without a better cable package), I stopped on - yes, it's true - "The Parent Trap." Not the classic Hayley Mills version, but the new(er) Lindsay Lohan version. (It's like 10 years old now.) Actually, it seems to be on ABC Family all the time, and I watch it more often than I should admit. Anyway, on to the point: There's a part of the movie where the two Lindsay Lohans are in their Isolation Cabin together, discovering their twinhood, and there is rain beating down on their little cabin. Watching them today, huddled together with the rain drumming on the roof, reminded me of The Good Old Days of Girls Camp. (It was on my mind because Holly gave a little talk about her G.C. leader experience last week.) I remember being a camper huddled in a cabin with Megan, Melissa, Geniel, Stephanie, and possibly some other people, while we were trying to come up with some new lyrics for "The Bear Necessities." And I remember that week of my life was SO GOOD. Fabulous leaders, great pranks (canoe in the pool!), late nights, candy in disgusting quantities, never to be matched again. I wish I could transfer the emotion of my G.C. memories to the young women of today, to encourage them to go to camp every year they can and savor their time. (I also wished, after watching that, that I was cuddled up in a sleeping bag on a trashy cot, in a rickety cabin, listening to rain drumming on the roof. But maybe with Dan instead, not with some girl who was my long-lost twin. Weird.)

One more question (moms only): What do YOU do to be a fun Mom for your kids?

"Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall, but there's always someone cooler than you." - Ben Folds