Around this time, I thought "where do these random thoughts come from," but then I just wrote it off as a side effect of running- kind of like when you are half way between being awake and asleep and you don't really have total control over your thoughts- running will do that to you.
Anyway, back to the geese. See, I thought about how the only birds that actually need wind beneath their wings are the ones that don't ever get anywhere- they just go in endless circles (until they find a dead thing to eat...then they land, I suppose). The birds that go the distance though, those are the ones that create their own wind by flapping their wings, and it doesn't matter what the wind says or what anything else says- they are going where they want to go because they are going to make it happen by their own sheer force of will. But even then, they can't do it alone. Nope. Birds that fly the absolute farthest go in flocks and fly in aerodynamic v-formations and constantly change the lead to make things easier on the others. This requires all the birds to be strong since they will all have to take a turn supporting the others. None of them NEED the others to succeed; rather, they choose to fly in groups in order to be even better than they already are.
Yeah- it's a weird thought, but Rachel said I should use it as a blog opening, so there you go.
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Well, this weekend has been pretty fantastic for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everything, but I can still write about it.
To start out with, all three offices of Loftus Family Dental took Friday off to hold their first annual summit (a big team-building day of rah-rah-rah and gimmicky motivational talks- but a lot of fun too and very productive in bringing people together around a common goal). We did it at the Coeur d'Alene resort and it was actually a really, really good time. I am lucky to work with such an amazing group of people. That night we rented a cruise boat on Lake CDA and we had a reception-like thing. Again- lots of fun.
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| The team I work with every day- couldn't ask for a better group of people |
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| Here we are in "Great Gatsby" costume before the cruise. |
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| A random picture that ended up on my phone during an activity we did. |
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Saturday was all about family. We started out by going to a park and riding scooters and bikes for several hours. We then picked up lunch at a fast-food place and went straight to the Kroc Center for swimming. The kids love the pool there (especially when the lake/river are still too cold) and we had a great time. It gets easier and easier to do things like this as the kids get older and I am really looking forward to this Summer.
That night, we got a babysitter and Rachel and I dressed up and went on an awesome date. First we ate at one of our favorite places, then we drove to the river and just walked the trail for about 45 minutes while we talked. Finally, we drove downtown and saw an outstanding production of "Next to Normal," a Broadway show about mental illness.
Wow. It was definitely not the kind of show you go to for light entertainment. It was, on the other hand, the sort of performance that sticks with you for a long time and forces you to think about the implications of things. Oh, it also had a pretty awesome musical score- like, how to people think of this stuff? Genius! Two major themes it explored are summed up in the lyrics "Everything's great. Why wouldn't it be great? It's great." Versus the idea of "Give me pain, if that's what's real. It's the price we pay to feel." Another lyric that really got me thinking was "What happens if the cut, the burn, the break, Was never in my brain, or in my blood, but in my soul?" On top of all this, it definitely helped me to appreciate the life we have together in our family that suddenly seems very "normal" even though from time to time things can seem a little crazy.
Anyway, I think that for me, the thoughts and feelings evoked by this play will continue rippling for a long time.
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| Jack is really into tree-climbing lately |
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| Exploring the park |
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| Before our date. Can I just point out how radiant Rachel is in this picture? |
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Sunday was a great day for me on a personal level. First of all, it was my turn to play lead this week at church and the songs that were selected were some of my favorite to play and I totally nailed it, including my little solo part. Can I just say that feels good? It does. Man, I love the guitar.
After church, we went to a park for a family picnic and more playing/exploring/scooter-riding. Rachel bought these Razor scooters for everyone about a month ago just sort of on a whim, and it probably turned out being one of the best ideas ever. Our kids will ride around for hours at a time, and never seem to get tired or bored. The scooters are small enough to take with us when we go places, and they are easy enough to ride that even Maren can get in on the action. Chalk up a win for the parents!
After lunch I went and ran a 5k and set a new personal record, which also feels pretty fantastic. I genuinely think that I am in better shape right now than I have ever been at any other time in my life, and I am loving that my body lets me do that. Thank you Mom and Dad for passing down some pretty great genetic material- it wasn't so awesome when I looked like I was in middle school during my senior year, but it sure is nice now that I can predictably plan on being "25" well into my 40s.
After my race I went down to Qemiln park with the drummer from our band and some other friends and we climbed for a few hours and just enjoyed the mountains in the beautiful weather of a North Idaho spring.
Follow that up with dinner and a great family dessert night (Me and Addy made Andes Mint brownies) and it makes for one really full, really good day.
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| The scooter gang |
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| Lindsey was a great helper with our picnic. Also, I'm not 100% sure where that hat came from. |
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And now here we are on Monday. Once the kids were off to school this morning, Rachel and I went shopping with Maren and Lindsey for paint (we're doing Evelyn/Addy's room) and then we brought the kids on a hike by the lake. Now the kids are sleeping, the house is clean, and Rachel is at work. I just finished the blog and I think I'll take a quick nap before school gets out.
Life is good.
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| Evelyn's school pictures |
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| That stuffed animal on Jack's back is "Rocket." It's his class pet, and Jack has taken him on some pretty wild adventures this week. If I get a chance, I'll share Jackson's report on a different post. |
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