Who do you want to be?

Twice this week I've been given inspirational ideas on how to live life and how to advise my children when they are choosing their paths and setting goals.     

At the farm on Sunday the owner shared that many times people ask him about when he is going to retire and what he will do.   He answered: "I don't feel the need to ever retire, farming is what I love to do and I feel lucky that I chose a career where I can do what I enjoy."

How lucky and how many of us wish we were in careers where we can't imagine every leaving and doing anything else?

Today I sat down to answer email and was listening to Maria Shriver on Rachel Ray.   Her advice to her children is don't focus on what you want to do focus on who you want to be.   I like this because so often we talk about our children's achievements and activities and don't focus on their qualities.    Instead of worrying about how to teach them not to be afraid of failure, having them learn how to appreciate who they are and what qualities they are proud of changes their measure of success.   They can now set their focus on things which bring them joy and improve the qualities for which they've defined who they want to be.    Maria Shriver tells her kids that she  loves them for who they are and not what they are going to achieve.   Wise words that I should remember as I try and encourage my children to participate in certain things that I think will help them be more rounded and successful as adults while being conscious that these things may not align with their sense of who they are.   The question is how do you encourage the talents that you see in your children while keeping in mind that the best way for them to succeed is for self encouragement based on their joys.

There were a couple of other things Maria Shrive said that I thought were wise:

"Focus on what truly moves you --give to the community in those ways."   "The best way to find yourself is to be of service. "    

Farming in 2008

Yesterday I helped transport Megan and friends from her 4H club to a dairy farm in Portsmouth, RI.    The Dairy Farm has a raised milking parlor with automatic gates and a fast release milking system.   They are able to milk about 85 Holsteins in 1 hour.    The first cow goes into a chute that opens the gate for the next cow until 6 are ready to be milked.  The farmers clean and prepare the utters for milking, hook up the milking machine and then once the cow is milked the milking machine quick releases from the udder.  Once all of the cows are milked the gates open (much like the release of the bars on a rollercoaster ride) and the cows exit the milking area.     The owner Mr. Escobar, a second generation Portugese dairy farmer, has diversified his farming practice so that he can still make a profit when profits are low from dairy farming.  He has a corn maze, which receive 14,500 visitors last year, Christmas Tree Farm, composting business, pumpkin patch, Hostein breeding business, and Water Dog breeding business.   The diversifying is required for the small farmer who must come up with creative cost effective ways to manage and feed his herd and make enough money to sustain his family.    Mr Escobar was a wealth of information and quite interesting.    Click on the link and view slideshow to see pictures from the farm.  kglatt.shutterfly.com/action/

A Day Of Lacrosse

Saturdays seem to be dedicated to Lacrosse.   They had four 30 minute games at a tournament last weekend in UMASS.   This weekend the team had four 1 hour games in Duxbury.   The weather was sunny and cool so the boys didn't get too overheated.   This Saturday Max played midfield for 3 of the games and attack for 1 of the games.   Midfield is the only position that is allowed to run the ball up the field from defense to offense.    Three people play midfield and are rotated back and forth with a second midfield group to allow for some rest.    The games are fun to watch because it is constant action.   Max made 1 goal and a number of assists.  I've loaded the pictures in the new slideshow gadget I've come across.

First Trip to the Beach of 2008

The weather has been absolutely wonderful this week.   The kids have enjoyed spending time with their friends and their various sports, horse, and cow activities.    On Wednesday the wind was blowing from inland and it was warm enough to spend a couple of hours on the beach.   I found my first sea glass and shells of the year.   Megan went with a friend.   Max had a friend over and I took them.   They ran into friends and played pickle, buried their feet in the sand, and took a quick dunk.   I'm surprised Max went in considering how frigid the water was, but there were 4 buddies in the water urging him on.    It is always surprising when we have the warm days like that where you can actually sit outside and not get goose bumps due to the wind blowing off of the ocean.    The weather energized all of us and in addition to playing we tackled some house projects like cleaning up the garage.    Only 8 more weeks on school left.

The WALL

                                                                                              Seth spent last weekend building Max a LAX practice wall.    Here are some pictures of the building.   Megan also assisted in the building, but Mom and Max were at a LAX tournament and weren't able to take pictures.

Six Months Since We Felt 70 degrees

The best thing about living in New England is that you appreciate nice days, especially the first day when we reach 70 degrees.   Today will be one of the best that I will remember.    

It started with a celebration of my friend Rennan's last radiation therapy.  Her journey began last May with a diagnosis of cancer in both of her breasts, mastectomy in July, chemotherapy from August until February and radiation until today.   Her strength has been amazing through it all.  She has maintained an incredible amount of energy and spirit.   We have tried to help in little ways, but she has really made this journey all by herself.   We celebrated by surprising her at the radiation office wearing pink boas and served a cake decorated with "Our Friendship" "Your Strength".     The nurses and doctors were thrilled with the outpouring of friendship and support that is so important to those experience cancer.

Another little joy that people in the South would have trouble relating to:  I was able to wear a short sleeve shirt without a jacket the entire day.  Including the time I sat with a friend on her porch and visited for a while.

For all those who have misconceptions about how children living in a wealthy suburb of Boston spend their free time -- here is a glimpse of my children's afternoon today.

Max played 4 hours outside with a friend burning their names in leaves using a magnifying glass and the sun and walking about a 1/2 mile to a local playground to play.

Megan spent the afternoon riding a horse, chasing turkeys at a dairy farm, helping friends

walk their calves, cleaning out the dairy barn, and is currently at a friend's house eating pizza and watching a movie with 4 other girls.  

For a while I enjoyed watching Megan and her friends at the Dairy Farm, helping and playing like they have lived every day out there.   I ended the day throwing the ball for our dog and a neighbors and cooking a spring dish of Mediterranean Shrimp pasta.

It is nice to see my children enjoy nature and the simple things in life.   Max has even spent time in the recent weeks creating little stuffed animals by drawing patterns, cutting them out in scrap material, hand sewing them and stuffing them with cotton balls.    This idea came from another friend.    

Yes, Megan and Max also practice musical instruments, Max is involved in 3 sports this spring, and Megan also plays tennis, which includes them in the group of kids around the nation that are on activity overload.   They also enjoy access to the current video gaming systems.  Yet, all of these activities seem to balance with their love for just having fun in the outdoors.   Maybe it is luxury of living in a place where the rural life is still cherished among the million dollar houses.   

I feel very blessed.