Wildflower Writes

Photograph by Sean Woods I came home from work, tired and hungry. I dropped my stuff by the door and noticed an orange plastic egg on my TV stand. I was pretty sure I hadn’t left that there, but I had left my son watching videos on the couch when I left for work that morning. Turns out he had hidden 13 eggs for me to discover. Suddenly, I was laughing as an attempt to turn on a lamp dislodged another plastic egg. A game I had dismissed as being too juvenile for my teenage family members was now making my Monday. I forget how important it is to play and have fun. When I was visiting some friends the other day, they asked me what I do when I’m not working. I struggled to think of something I do just because I enjoy it. When I do take the time to do something fun and relaxing, I have better energy and motivation to do the important stuff. Maybe the fun stuff is just as important. 

My chips were disappearing rather quickly. It was a Texas Hold 'Em lesson, designed to prepare me to be a "pit boss" at our service club's annual poker tournament . And I am a horrible poker player. It's not that I can't get a grasp of the game, but that I have no "poker face." They even dubbed my reaction to a bad hand the "poker pout."  I am so used to wearing my heart on my sleeve, so to speak, that I found it very difficult to keep an emotionless expression, and be practiced with my actions as to betray nothing.  I'm a decent actress; I could have done better.  I just don't like having to be so, to be so, blah.  Even for a game. Poker is probably not for me.  Not only do I have an expressive face, but my mind has difficulty with strategy based probability-type games (I don't do well with chess or Stratego either).  And that's okay. I spent a good part of my life comparing myself to other people and wishing to b...

The following is a guest blog by my dad, Dallas Johnston: I’m no expert. I never read Parents Magazines. And my nature is to be short on patience and, at times, a fairly quick temper. But, I’ve always felt that most of parenting is “Common Sense”, which in general, is my forte. More important, I’ve felt from day one of becoming a Dad, that being a good parent is probably the most important thing I’ll do in my lifetime. Everyone is limited to the amount of impact they can have on the world, but your kids and their kids for generations to come can have a huge impact to make the world a better place. Become a working partner with Mom .. I learned this one from my parents. When one of you has “had it up to here”, the other needs to become stronger. When one of you loses their temper, the other needs to be the one to soften things up. There should be times when you can casually talk to each other about your kids. Take advantage of the opportunity to work as a team. Enjoy all the phases of ...

It’s my nephew’s birthday today. He’s seven years old. He likes to read, play video games, and is a powerful hitter on the little league field. Kids grow up fast. It never seems like it when you’re wading through diapers and spattered baby food, but they do. Before you know it, that bald baby with a big head is going to school and teaching his parents things they forgot they knew. I love watching babies interact with their world. They are constantly gathering information through all their senses and putting it into practice. I remember watching a baby next to me in a waiting room. His mother had given him a small bottle of pop to keep him busy. He grasped at it with tiny fingers, mouthed the cap, turned it, shook it, and dropped it several times. Once kids are mobile, their explorations increase ten-fold. There’s a child at my friend’s childcare that is like a wind-up doll. You put her on the floor and zoom! She’s crawling so fast her arms and legs are a blur. Soon she’ll ...

I have come to the conclusion that I am a human being. It may seem strange to that after 30+ years I am finally figuring this out. But I am no ordinary human being. I have lived under the presumption, inoculated in me at an early age, that I can do anything that I put my mind to. Which, over time, I’ve taken to mean that I can sleep less, eat less, exercise less, and communicate less than the average human being. I can take on school, work, family, and thirteen volunteer positions, without batting an eye. I am Super Mom! I am also bleary-eyed, overweight, moody, stressed-out and overwhelmed. One might suggest the word, “balance.” Balance seems a lot like trying to walk a tightrope. I’m pretty sure I can’t do it, so why try? Yet, I’m not sure I enjoy living like this. I have to drag myself out of bed, guzzle coffee out of necessity rather than enjoyment, bark at my children to get ready and at my husband to stay out of my way. I dread work (like most red-blooded Americans) but ...