tell us something about who you are :: reflections

I recently started participating in an all female study group that meets weekly.  At the first meeting the facilitator asked us to go around and say our name and something about ourselves.  This is something that always catches me off guard.  I am never quite sure what I should say; whether I should share a life characteristic, job title, favorite food, etc.  So as I am sitting there wondering what I should share and listening to the other women in the group tell the rest of us something about themselves I started to realize my answer was probably not going to fit in. I realized each woman started by saying 'I'm so and so and I have ___ children, or am pregnant, or have ___ grandchildren. . .'  Some left it at that and others elaborated specifying where their children went to school, whether their children had children, etc.  I found it interesting that in this large group of women (about 30) they all seemed to define themselves by whether or not they had children.  It got me thinking, who are they outside of their children? What type of food do they like? What are their hobbies?  What do they enjoy reading? Do they have a passion other than their children?

Now don't misunderstand me, I love my girls.  I love every little bit about them, even the frustrating parts that make me slap my forehead and go "really?"  That said, when asked to say my name and something about myself, I didn't think to say "Hi, my name is Jessica and I have 2 kids."  Instead, I thought "Hi, I'm Jessica and I love life.  I love being a photographer and getting to capture people living their lives. I have leapt out of a plane and free fallen 5000+ feet. I love getting my hands dirty and growing things in my garden.  I thoroughly enjoy eating deliciously beautiful food. I love to breath in the fresh air that can only be experienced when you are hiking through the woods. Unlike some people who don't get to see their family much, I work with mine every day. And I am wonderfully blessed to be able to teach my children to search out and love all aspects of their life."

So, how are you going to respond when asked to share something about yourself?

spring is here - new school style

Yay! We may not be able to tell by the weather we are having, but spring is officially here. This last weekend my husband and I ignored the blustery rainy weather and got out in the yard to get some stuff done. And get stuff done we did. All the pots are planted, vegetable seeds are started, the fence for the old garden space is removed and ready for recycling and the concrete pavers are moved and have reestablished themselves as a nice little patio in front of the chicken coop. Other than the small little mishap with the tractor tire, we did rather well this weekend, and I am excited to get the garden built next weekend. I will be sure to share some photos of said garden once there is something to take a picture of.

I probably cannot bring this post to a close without mentioning the little mishap with the tractor and what we learned from it. Hmmm? What did I learn? I learned that old school is for the birds. Our tractor is by far the best purchase we have made and it continues to pay for itself over and over and over. However, one sharp turn with a bucket full of concrete pavers and the result, a flat tire. :( Although a little bummed, I jumped into problem solving mode and said lets just call and see if any place is open to get it fixed. We were of course 10 minutes too late for that option. I didn't let that deflate my mood and was quick to suggest moving the pavers old school style with the wheel barrow. I tell ya, after one trip moving about 10 one foot square pavers approximately 100 yards, I am so new school. The remaining 44 pavers were moved by way of Dodge truck.

Happy spring every one!

Leavenworth Half Marathon Accomplished!

Wow! That is the most craziest thing ever, but I did it. I seriously want to go crawl in a hole and cry my eyes out but I did it. Not only did I finish, but I ran the entire Leavenworth Half Marathon. Who would have thought that even possible? OK. . . my mom, my husband and my friends all thought I could do it. But in my own mind I was slightly skeptical. Not anymore though. Was it hard? Heck yes. Probably one of the hardest athletic accomplishments of myt life but fully worth every one hundred and fifty nine minutes of it. That is right, 159 minutes to run pretty much 13.5 miles of hills. CRAZY!

That was Saturday morning. Then as if that wasn't enough, we couldn't leave Leavenworth without a fabulous lunch and some much needed exploring, so walking around we did. For the next 4 hours we ate, explored, shopped and visited with friends. It was a great afternoon. When I finally could not possibly walk any further, we found our way to our vehicle and settled in for the ride home.

Yay for me! I am definitely patting myself on my back and once I can walk upright again I might even think about doing another one of these.