Free

Have you seen a person at Costco and you already know everything about them so you don’t have to ask them a simple question like, “How are you?”

Have you sat on a couch with your spouse and tweeted them?

Have you hiked a mountain not for the journey but to get the Instagram shot at the top?

Have you taken a walk just to take a walk not to talk loudly on your phone about things that don’t matter?

Have you stopped to admire the way the setting sun hits the top of a tree and resisted the urge to snap chat your selfie?

Have you sat with your five childhood friends lately or is a group text enough to cure that desire?

Have you gone to a record store and gotten to know the pioneers or is the $1.29 itunes deal to good to resist?

Have you sat with the sun in your face?

Have you tried to slow your pace?

Have you visited an art museum or space museum or children’s museum?

Have you sat of a bank of a river and admired the flow, the way life moves slow?

Have you powered down your lifeline to truly take a vacation or staycation, have you felt the sensation of a hug lately?

Have you told the ones you love you appreciate them lately?

Have you sat with your aging parents and gotten to know them as they are right now in this moment?

Have you told your kid no…you can’t take that trip to the park because this e-mail is too important?

Have you laid on a blanket in a wide open field and talked about all that you feared?

Have you witnessed a moment when a man or woman drops to one knee and lays down their life?

Have you experienced the miracle of a life without asking if there is wi-fi?

Have you rolled down your car windows and disconnected your blue tooth and watched a neighborhood come to life?

Have you sat at the bottom of a tree in the middle of the woods and admired its journey and all that it gives?

Have you embraced your kids? A fully connected, undistracted, uninterrupted hug?

Have you dropped a collection of real, hold it in your hands pictures in the mail for Grandma?

Do you know how good it feels to see the sunrise before picking up your device?

To read a real book by the lake without an electronic vice?

Do you know how it feels to be free?

To open your distracted eyes and truly see? 

Do you know how it feels to be free?

Just The Two of Us At the Movies

Every so often when I start to question myself as a parent, I watch the way you walk toward a drinking fountain. I watch you put your tiny shoulders back and proceed in the direction of a destination with confidence. And I nod. In that moment, I know I'm doing ok.

When I start to wonder if I'm giving you enough this or enough that or enough of this, I stop because I know simply asking this questions means I am...enough.

When I start to ask if you feel the depth of my love, I look at your tiny hand clutching mine during the scary part of a movie and I know I am your comfort, I know you feel my love.

When I start to wonder if you will ever understand my concern for your safety, I pause because I know you look to me in all situations for approval and acceptance. I know you're watching me.

When you cry, I swear a tiny part of my heart breaks off.

When you say something adorably sweet, that tiny part repairs.

When you are happy, adrenaline pumps through my veins.

When you are mad, I want it to go away quickly...I want a magic wand with a secret solution to cure your anger because it is wasted energy for both of us.

When you kiss me, I leave the saliva on my face for as long as it will stay. I love the way it feels while I'm meeting with clients or sitting in team meetings...the saliva stuck to my face. I love the way it feels.

I love your tiny fingerprints on our glass doors and the writing on our walls. I love your muddy footprints and fear of the bath tub drain.

I love all of it, Jack. I love it all.

Get Off The Highway...

Highways are made for fast lanes and people with places to be. They are created for trucks and work commutes and billboards with loud messages. They are made for routine. They should be celebrated because they connect families and friends.

But back roads are created for adventure...for putting all the windows (and the sunroof) down and letting the signs be your guide.

If you really want to get to know a state, get off the highway.

Like today when we had some time to kill and a state park we've never toured. We followed the signs until we arrived at Mounds State Park. I pictured mounds...big ones with people lined up to stare at them. I was a little disappointed by the rolling hills until I stumbled upon a campground. You woke up from your nap.

"Are we there, Mom?"

"No, honey..."We're taking a little adventure."

"Ok," you sighed as if you were tired of my adventures.

Get off the highway. See the towns. Appreciate the state you are in, wherever you find yourself.