It's a hard knock life for us .... or is it?

"It's the hard-knock life for us

Empty belly life!
Rotten smelly life!
Full of sorrow life!
No tomorrow life!

It's the hard-knock life!"

From the catchy tune in Annie about the less than ideal life of an orphan girl. And it truly was a hard-knock life for Annie and her friends. And lately hardship and struggle has been the theme of a lot of my leisure reading. Our favorite homeschooling subject, by a long shot is history and this year we are studying American History.  I am finding myself more engaged than ever before. In part, because having grown up in Namibia, I never studied American History in school. I can tell you a little about Jan van Riebeck, Bartholomeu Dias and Simon van der Stel, with an emphasis on a little. (Lord help my kids if they remember as little history as I do from my childhood, but who am I kidding :-)

But whether or not my kids will remember much of their countries' history, I am learning a lot about the founding of the country I now call "home".  Just this month, aided by our flight to and from the west coast, I read two great books and watched the riveting movie 12 years a slave, all of which I want to recommend to you; but I also want to process with you the concept of HARDSHIP.

My first read was a fascinating biography of William Bradford, the pilgrims first governor. This man was met with incredible rejection and loss from a very early age which without a doubt shaped him and prepared him for the incredible task that awaited him when he set foot on American soil. How he kept that fledgling and fragile community moving forward and grounded in their Christian faith as their governor for 31 long and unbelievably hard years is dumbfounding. I am not a quitter but I tell you I would have thrown in the towel!


 My second read was  Carry on Mr Bowditch, a #1 bestselling historical children's novel, which is based on the real life of Nathaniel Bowditch.  This extremely bright kid who is destined for Harvard

gets his dream stolen from him due to the hardships of growing up just post the American Revolution. Life was not only hard economically but beyond that, death was part of every day life and Nat faces the tragedy of no less than 8 deaths in his family in a reasonably short time period. And while we may think what a morbid book for children to read, the fact is that that was reality for children back then.  And it shaped them in a powerful way.

William Bradford and Nathaniel Bowditch, along with countless other children in history, were molded at a very young age by death, suffering and hardship. It made them the incredible people they became. They were shaped by it in ways, that it seems, nothing else could have shaped them. It made them movers and shakers. It made them people of incredible character.  And they were used to change the world.

And so I find myself pondering this very fact. You see life is very good for me and my children. We honestly lack no good thing. And don't get me wrong, I am not wishing death, suffering and hardship upon us. Who would?! But I am just wondering about this life of so called privilege we lead and what it's not teaching us.  This easy life where we talk of hardship in terms of the LONG Boston winter.

Or where the biggest hardship my son has faced lately is the fact that his basketball team lost in the first round of the playoffs today. And it's a rough one for the sport loving fanatic that he is. And I feel the loss too. I am seriously bummed! The team is made of a bunch of great kids and they have an awesome couch, in none other than Zach's daddy :-)  But still it's only a  game and life remains pretty peaches.


So I ask....  if it's not a hard knock life for us then what is shaping and molding us to be movers and shakers, the way hardship did for people like Bradford and Bowditch?


PS:  feel free to engage in the comment section below or on facebook.

When the natural inclination is to take

It's Valentines Day and while images of pink and red hearts meet the eye everywhere you look, my mind is thinking about a different kind of heart today. The heart in servant-hearted. Come to find out that's not even a word. But it is in my vocabulary. And it's something I very much want my kids to grasp. That in a world where the natural inclination is to take, I want them to give. I want them to be generous, to have an open hand and to be thinking of others more than themselves. It's quite uncanny how unnatural this really is. And maybe its just me but I feel like this world is becoming more and more self orientated.

My sister in law, who works as a volunteer coordinator for a non-profit that helps people who have reached rock bottom shares that finding volunteers in my age demographic (age 30-45) is the hardest. Her most faithful volunteer core are the elderly, but their capacity is more limited and many of them are passing on. And then high school and college students. And yes we can argue that maybe these people have more time on their hands that we do. But, let's be honest, we find plenty of time to do the things we care about. And maybe it's time to care a little more about those who need it.

                                                      Maybe  it's time to have a heart?

Last week in my blog on the power of role models I spoke of our kids needing good role models. And so I find myself thinking that if I really want my children to care about giving more than taking, then I need to make sure that I am modeling that for them.


It's been far too long since we volunteered our time at a local soup kitchen. And yet my kids still remember the fun it was decorating cookies one afternoon for Saturday's Bread, engaging afterwards in conversation with the guests as they waited in line. Each ones' clothing and facial lines telling a story that did not need much imagination to figure out.  A story probably not too unlike Jessica's from my recent blogpost.  And in those 10 minutes engaging in conversation (many of whom we just

shared a hello and warm smile with) opened the door for much discussion on the car ride home. We had just been studying the Great Depression, but no words in a history book could have helped my kids grasp the reality of hardship as much as those 3 hours did that Saturday afternoon.

And so I find myself thankful that today on this Valentines Day, with the luxury of time on our vacation, we get to join my sister in law at her dining hall to help feed 300-500 hungry guests, starving for both food and love and we get to pass out the ever so cute cards and cookies my kids have been lovingly making.

Here's to embracing the heart of servant-hearted.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

  "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20)

Why this mamma is glad her son's a PATS fan!

It's 10:56pm and I am just now putting my kids to bed. And no, that's not their usual bedtime. Mind you it's another snow day tomorrow. But the reason bedtime is this late is that it's Super bowl Sunday and I have let my kids stay up to watch the entire amazing game including the post game show. And wow what a game that was!

As my 10-year old son pulls the covers over his eyes, he pops up and says to me, "Mom my throat REALLY hurts" and I lament, "Not you getting sick now!" And he smiles proudly and says. "Oh no mom, my throat hurts because I was yelling so loudly during the game." And I break out into a huge smile back at him. Yep this boy aint sick. He is showing the signs of being a true New England Patriots fan through and through. I swear you could have heard him cheering all the way in Glendale, Arizona.  And I could not be more satisfied that my son's allegiance is in a team as outstanding as the PATS. And for someone who grew up in Southern Africa as a die-hard rugby fan that's quite an admission to make. 

So why does it make me smile that my son is a PATS fan? That they won? Actually no that's not it. Believe it or not I honestly care far less about their performance during the game (don't tell my son I said that). 

I know, I know, that's important too, but I actually care a whole lot more about what happens in that in between space. That in between space, between plays and right after the game. How players perform right after a great defensive play, after a touchdown or during post-game interviews. That's what really matters to me.  And it matters to me because my sports fanatic son is watching you. And while he probably will never be a pro football player, if he is going to be spending that much time watching football, he had better be getting something more than just the enjoyment of the game out of it. 

           

     

More than anything I want my son to be a mensch, a person of character. And for that to happen he needs good role models. And while I am so thankful that his greatest hero happens to be his daddy, an amazing guy, I know that his sport’s heroes are also shaping him. And I am quite satisfied in the sports heroes he has found in this team. These men are stellar! They are humble, they are fun loving and play as a team and celebrate as a band of brothers. The post-game interviews were just moving. They always are. This team honors one another, they think the world of their coach, they never take glory for themselves, it's always a team win and they never speak badly of their opponents. It just never happens. And while I realize that that's what's expected of them by their franchise and that it's no doubt an internal fight for them each time not to speak of their own accomplishment, they do not give into that impulse. Not even undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler, with his incredible game winning play, spoke of his accomplishment in gloating terms. 

And yes while they still do a victory dance here and there after a great play, it's less rare than most other teams and it's not that over the top either. OK maybe Gronk, the fun loving party animal is the exception, but somehow he manages to pull it off. And I am not sure why the over the top victory dances get under my skin so, but I can't stand it. I find it so prideful. It's such an over focus on the individual player and "their" accomplishment.  "Look at me, look at how great I am!" Is this not a team sport after all? And in doing it they also cut down and demean their opponent. Ugh. It's just gross.  And while I am not about to bash the Seattle Seahawks (let me rather follow in the footsteps of my son's hero, Tom Brady, and treat them with deference) but this is an area that seems like a glaring character flaw to me as a team. And the many stabs at Richard Sherman on Facebook just minutes after the game and the media attention this week on Doug Baldwin mimicking pooping on the ball attest to the fact that I am not alone in this observation. 

So to the New England Patriots I say thank you. Thank you for being a bunch of guys I am happy my son gets to emulate. And of course congratulations on an amazing victory too!

A little sluggish the day after the Superbowl