TEAMS AND WORK

I am Jax's team manager for his tackle football team. They don't call it the team mom because it is seriously a job. If I have the weights on the boys off, or their information is not correct, their pictures are blurry or anything... a game if forfeited to the other team. It is seriously crazy busy keeping all the stuff right on track for these boys. More so, the real problem, is keep parents on track. It should be pretty easy to figure out why I need your medical insurance paperwork seeing as that we have already had one lil guy go down with a broken arm. Alas, I have to chase down parents like a kindergarten teacher rounding up her students after recess. SAD.


So, a few nights ago, I got a phone call from a concerned parent, and it made me sad. His son is and or was, being singled out, for whatever reason, by two of the boys on the team. Dad felt more comfortable coming to me than the coach, which might be understandable... no not really. At any rate... the word TEAMWORK came up a lot in our house after I had this conversation with the dad and then at our practice. (SADLY, AFTER THIS DISCUSSION AT PRACTICE, THE SAME LITTLE GUY BROKE HIS ARM... PURE COINCIDENTAL AND ACCIDENTAL) I was somewhat angered that anyone on a team would intentionally hurt another child when he was working at being a better player. It happens all the time, I know.


I asked my guy about it. Had he seen anything bad going on or heard anything. His answer was no. He doesn't lie so I was sure that he wasn't really paying attention to anyone but himself during these times.

The truly ironic part about learning that there is no "I" in TEAMWORK, this week, is that my other biggest boy is dealing with this issue as well. And since I won't go into the dirty details. I will say that our family has really gotten schooled on this subject a lot in 4 measly days.

I stressed it to everyone since they seem to think that no one needs to pick up their school work, or their shoes, or worse yet, boy parts of their football uniform. I had to make threats (which I will go through with them no matter how gross it is going to sound) to put all their crap, junk, garbage and items that have kitchen cabinet item names.... (yep, I am talking my 10 year olds football cup) on top of them or on their face while they sleep... if I find them on my counters, kitchen or dining room table, in the downstairs bathroom, on any furniture downstairs or remotely close to food items in the pantry.

We either work as a TEAM or I will punish you all as your Coach.

In reality, I am too tired to care this week... but for the time being, they don't need to know that!~

SUNDAY FUN

Tommy has been planning his Superbowl party for months and months now. It is always that way when it comes to taking time off on his Monday (which is really my Sunday) We were not really concerned with the actual teams in the game, at first, but, we have a die hard Colts fan in this family. We seriously have no idea where it came from either. I am a Cornhusker fan, born and raised. Tommy is a Bears fan. Where the Colts thing came from is anybodies guess. We were thrilled that the Colts were in the big game!!!!!

We had a huge guest list. Only a few could not come. A couple were sick and we felt so bad they couldn't make it. All of Tommy's squad had to work so only a few came, and only stayed over for a couple of hours before shift. We sent dinner to all of them with EJ, so everyone knew we were thinking about them!!!!

All in all, we had upwards of 60 here and what a great time it was. We had more kids than adults and thankfully no one was seriously injured. I call it a successful party when someone spills something, someone bleeds, someone cries, there is a betting pool, at least on person takes a tumble from the jumpee, heads collide on the trampoline, no one pukes and someone drinks a tad too much...... All in all.....MAJOR SUCCESS!!!!

Some parents were stressed something would get broken or bumped or scratched. They were the first-timers to our house. They do know know me and Tommy when it comes to "stuff," in our house. They finally relaxed and let the kids be kids. Nothing got broken, things did fall off the walls, toys were everywhere from one end of the house, down the stairs and through the family room, all the way to the trampoline. It was awesome!!!!

There was so much food I literally ran out of counter space to put it all down. The chocolate fountain was flowing, friends were laughing, kids were playing outside, inside, upstairs, under the stairs, in Pudgie's room, on the jumpee, on the teeter totter, and jumping on the trampoline. It was perfect.

I didn't watch more than 3 minutes of the game. I was enjoying everyone. Talking and laughing and listening to everyone. We ate way too much BIG SANDWICH, I drank way too much lemonade... but I do love Minute Maid in a can.......Yeah, I was not the drinking party girl, that is for sure.

I sat and just watched all of our friends at one point.

It was quite the combination of people and I loved watching each and everyone of them all mingle. We have known everyone that was over, for many years... and some, for decades plus. Some have saved our backs and lives and our marriage, some watched me nearly die and then watched as we rebuilt our life. Some know some BIG secrets about us and vice versa. Some were there on on our wedding day and the births of all our children and some are new to the ways of the Jensens. Some idolize Tommy and his work ethic and some emulate it. Some stayed late and closed the place down and some left early. The one tie that binds us together is we love them all. And we love having them in our lives. They are a huge extension of our family. Thank you for a wonderful Sunday together!!!!!

As proof that we enjoyed our day ever-so-much... I have a whopping 5 photos......and I didn't even take some of them!!!

JACKPOT....

and not one I am proud to win.

After trying our best to get to feeling better, we packed everyone up and went to urgent care today. Nothing has worked and we are at the end of the whole orange juice and Tylenol rope.....

It is frightening to hear that your family has

Tonsilitis
Bronchitis (it is bad when they asked if Tommy smokes)
Pre-pneumonia
Strep
Sinusitis
Pre-ear infection with massive fluid build up and
Upper Respritory infections

Not the best jackpot to hit but at least we know we have an amazing urgent care facility down the road that will fill the prescriptions on site and it was quick.

Dare I say it...

Just when you think things can not get any worse....

We have all been extremely sick the past two weeks. Everyone except for Brinkley is coughing up their lungs and wishing their heads would just explode so the pain would just go away. Poor Pudgie's started almost two weeks ago, mine started on Monday of last week, Jax's was Tuesday morning and Tommy was Tuesday afternoon.

I was hoping to see a slight improvement today.

Wishful thinking.

I woke up with ears that were draining and another headache to end all headaches,

Jax's eyes were almost swollen shut from the pain of his headache and coughing.

Pudgie has not eaten in almost two weeks and just keeps saying, Mommy..Pudgie sick. I want to sleep on the couch." The boy has not been out of pajamas in 12 days.

To top it off, Tommy has been so sick that this morning when he was finally able to get out of bed, he got so light-headed (or actually fainted, we can't confirm or deny it) that he slipped going down the first flight of stairs causing him to crash down onto the landing. Thankfully he barely missed Jaxi, who was right in front of him, and he missed my glass, 3 foot tall, candle lanterns in each corner of the landing.

Something has got to give here. I am out of Lysol and bleach. Poor Tommy just keeps asking for a piano to be dropped on his head to help with the pain.

I am pretty sure that is not an option!

New lessons

I am a horrible forgiver. I can say the words until I am blue in the face, but in the deep darks depths of my mind, I never forget. It is a bad, bad habit. Maybe a bad curse. I acknowledge it. That is a step in the right direction.

For years I have said I forgive for this or that, but in reality, the grudge-master in me let it eat at me. It came in handy when I needed something to start a fire under me at the gym or to do something that required brute force strength. I would just think of something that lingered in awful ways, let the anger start, push forward, get past it and move on to the next task. I always had a snide remark in mind or something not so nice to discuss behind closed doors. Little things would eat at me. Stupid little things. I know I can't change how people are raised. I can't change if people are just out for themselves even if they portray another image and I can't make people do things to help others. I know I still love to do things for people even when I know I am being taken advantage of. Maybe that was why I loved being a cop. You never really get recognition in that job. Well, at least not usually the good kind. You just know you did well and you move on.

Holding on to the bad is really just exhausting.

Whatever has been happening lately, I kinda like it. I moved many steps forward today and felt such a huge weight of relief to really forgive today and to put bad thoughts to rest.

I know a lot of how things have changed has to do with Tommy. Don't get me wrong, he can hold grudges, but he chooses not to. He has learned that time passes quickly and in the blink of an eye, you can nearly lose your wife or your baby sister can lose her life without ever being able to say goodbye to her.

Grudges get you nowhere in life. I know this for a fact. Years can pass and what seems like "no big deal" is really a baby taking their first steps, an older sister rebuilding a life into something amazing and fantastic, a young grandson scoring nearly impossibly scores on standardized tests or a baby girl that misses family desperately.

Tommy made a comment to me the other night that will forever, stick in the dark places. It will consume any bad grudges and eat away at any anger that I dare to hold onto. He said,

"I don't want our kids to grow up angry. I want them to understand forgivness and be happy. Life is hard enough. Holding grudges eats at a persons soul and I don't want that for Jax and Binky and Pudgie."

Me neither babe! Me neither!