I Don't Have A Word

I don't have a word for 2015. I didn't have a word for 2014, or 2013 as far as that goes. I'm sure that this "no word status" will get me banned from the blogosphere and whatnot, but I just don't have a word. Not even to your mutha.

Source

The truth is I want all the words. When I see another friend posting that his/her word is fantabulous or whatever, I want to clap my hands for them, throw confetti for them and think of my word, but I just can't narrow it down to one word. Just can't do it. I want them all.

I'm envious of people who can be consistent and decisive and can carefully select one word for their inspiration for the coming year. I just can't do it.

I can, however, come up with other inspiration for my year:

• My song this year: "Let It Be" by the Beatles. This is the year that I will let the world and what turns it happen. I'm pretty sure that my buddies John and Paul wrote these words for me:  

Shine until tomorrow--let it be. 

• My quote this year: This comes from Maya Angelou's poem, "On The Pulse Of Morning:"

You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning. 

 What a wonderful world this would be if we all simply, with hope, greeted each other and said, "Good Morning." Except, let's declare that morning shouldn't begin before 8:45, m'kay?

• My scripture this year: 1 Corinthians 16:14--Do all things with love. Many people (specifically people on Facebook who really don't know me at all) have questioned my faith. In Oklahoma, it's hard to not be a Bible-thumping southern Baptist. You're either evangelical or you're not. The truth of the matter is that I'm pretty moderate, which is considered very liberal in Oklahoma. And I'm okay with that. People can question my faith--you know what I'm going to do about it? Love them anyway. (See what I did there? Already practicing...)

• My plan this year: Be present for my family. Work toward my goals. Respect the people who join me on this journey. Think positive. Celebrate goodness. Laugh. Love. Read. Visit. Share. Write. Question. Discuss. 

Too bad I don't have a word. Thank goodness I have them all. 

Minivan Momma's Top Five of 2014

Does it seem weird to anyone else that the year is 2014? Why aren't we driving hover cars and getting dressed with the push of a button ala The Jetsons? Anyway, as we start a new year, I thought it'd be good to reflect on this past year.

This past year? Woof. It was weird to say the least. There were long stretches of my not writing, despite the fact that I had two additional books published this year (Crazy On Board and Girlfriend Rules), to round out the TMI Mom series. Plus, I had my first piece of fiction publish with some of my girls, Weekend With Effie.

Despite the wonkiness of the year where I was thrown head-first into the sandwich generation, it was a good year. Let's remember the top five posts of 2014 on Minivan Momma!

5. (You have to count backwards on New Year's Eve.) Teal Toes and Mi Familia--I was able to connect with my daddy's side of the family and share the story of my cousin's life and death.

4. Giggling Uncontrollably and Laughing Inappropriately--Wherein I stood, flipping through bras for Hadley contemplating the idea of letting Brian go bra shopping by himself.

3. Obligatory Father's Day Post--So much of my happiness is due in no small part to my better half. I heart him a lot.

2. 20 Freezer Meals--I really kinda feel bad about this post getting so many views. Kinda. It was done tongue-in-cheek, but the meals were all real. So many readers emailed me asking for specific recipes (including my sister) and the truth of the matter is that I rarely use a real recipe, which makes the number one post that much funnier:

1. Lasagna--I'm still not a food blogger--It was a sponsosred post for Red Gold, but it clearly resounded with a lot of people. Who knew?

21st Century Kid

Raising a kid in these days of a high-tech, hand-held lifestyles is really difficult. As a momma I have to compete with every single piece of information (and misinformation) in the whole wide world, also known as the WWW.

When I was a kid, my new information, also called The Evening News, came in small doses at 5:00. Usually, at this time, my daddy was watching the news with a cold Miller Light in his hand while my own momma finished up our supper. My sister and I usually played outside until we were called in for dinner. At that time, I'd get the news of the world, as presented and censored by my parents.

Today, with the flick of their index fingers on the mouse or the tap of their thumbs, my daughters can find out anything their little hearts or minds desire--or don't desire. As a parent in this era, Brian and I must be vigilant at keeping the lines of communication open so that our modern daughters know that no matter what, they can and should come to us about anything. 

And in that respect, it's never been easier to communicate with our kids. With those same overused index fingers and thumbs they can reach us at any given time with a phone call or a text. Fortunately, at our home, the smart phone has been instrumental in our keeping the communication lines open. 

I'd like to think that my girls could talk to their daddy about anything that they would talk to me about as well. In fact, up until Friday night, I'd have laid good money down with Vegas odds makers that they were just as comfortable speaking to me as they were their daddy about any given subject--including girly subjects.  

Then this happened:

On Saturday we went shopping. Both Brian and Daughter 1 agreed that it should be a momma-daughter date.