The University of Nebraska is celebrating its 150th birthday, and my building was looking mighty pretty when I was leaving campus tonight.
Go Big Red!
Day 45 – Glow Big Red
Tag: photography
Day 43 – Throwback
I think this is always going to be one of my favorite photos.
This was such a fun day. Cadence was about 3, and we’d spent a day out in the yard at the old house raking about a billion leaves. When Stevie busted out the leaf blower, Cadence thought it was too much fun to run away from his as he blew stray leaves into our piles. I grabbed my camera and caught gold.
I bought a large canvas for Stevie for his birthday, and it has been in his office ever since. After his office was rearranged (and the only photo-hanging wall was made into a giant whiteboard), he finally decided to bring the canvas home. For the last week or so, he has been cleaning and rearranging in the basement, and he told me he was going to hang this downstairs, to which I replied that he most certainly was not, and I promptly swiped the canvas and took it to my office.
Time to do a little decorating!
Happy Feet
I’m a few days overdue for another blast of soccer photos. Forgive me. It’s been a little busy around here. We had our weekly Dinner and Walking Dead Watch Party with this beauty on the Traeger…
We had our air conditioner replaced, a sleepless night thanks to Henry’s latest round of teething. Stevie is planning his next trip out to NY to start cleaning out his parents’ house. And I’ve been writing nonstop any free moment I get during the day between Henry’s naps and picking up Miss C from school.
I finally got around to uploading the photos from Miss C’s latest game tonight, and had to share. It’s amazing to me how far these kids have come already, after just three games. C played the indoor winter league, and that was her first introduction to soccer outside her PE class at school. It’s so much fun watching her and her teammates from the sidelines and seeing them “get” it. Sure, there is still a whole lot of bunching up in a tight group and kicking aimlessly, but as the weeks go on, we’re starting to see the kids spread out, make deliberate passes, and dribble down the field with more finesse.
This week, Cadence had a goal, an awesome assist, and several breakaways. The Chipmunks were totally fired up, and it was awesome to see the kids having so much fun and using the skills they are learning during the game. They played tough–getting back up when they fell down, and shaking off the sting of taking a ball to the face and chest. And best of all, they congratulated each other and came together for a big heartfelt “WE LOVE SOCCER!” cheer in the middle of the field when the game was done.
Sports will only get more cutthroat and competitive from here, but if Cadence can continue having as much fun playing them as she did this week, she’ll do all right.
Go Chipmunks!
Dog & Butterfly
So, it’s getting harder and harder to keep referring to this as a 365 project, since the whole point of 365 projects is to post something every day.
Every
single
day.
And here I’ve been letting a couple days go by in between posts with really no excuse other than the fact that I’ve been focusing so much on so many other things and at the end of the day, it’s easy to set aside my blog because it’s just sort of sitting here. There are no real deadlines, no accountability, no consequences if I slack a little.
Only, here’s the thing…I haven’t been slacking. Not really. I’ve actually been doing quite a bit of writing, focusing on projects that I’ve set aside for WAY too long.
I’ve been working on the memoir, just a little though, because that one is just way too heavy to completely immerse myself in. Instead, I’m finding that the best way to work on it is in bits and pieces, taking advantage of moments when inspiration strikes, and then being okay with walking away and working on other things for days or even weeks in between.
And in that in between, I’ve started a novel, a piece of fiction that has been marinating for years since the inspiration first found me in a dream.
I’m easing back into my writing life and it feels awesome. And I”m excited to see where it takes me, because when I look at my life and everything I’ve ever done (with the exception of marrying Stevie and having my two kids), there is nothing that has ever fulfilled me or fit me quite as comfortably as writing.
My family and my writing are the only things that have ever made me feel whole.
So, I’m jumping back in, continuing to chase the dream of finally seeing my name on that dust jacket. It’s my Dog & Butterfly–the one thing I will keep chasing and grasping and leaping for, because it’s the one thing I’m 100% certain I was put on this earth to do.
So I hope you’ll forgive me if, on occasion, I just don’t have enough words left in me at the end of the day to post here.
And in case you’re wondering…Dog & Butterfly is a song by my favorite band, Heart, a song Ann Wilson wrote when she looked out her music room window and saw her dog in the yard chasing a butterfly. It occurred to her that the chase was impossible, that the dog might never catch the butterfly, but she just kept going, kept trying, kept leaping higher and not giving up. It has always been one of my favorite songs because I know how it feels to face things that seem impossible and to keep going, keep fighting, keep trying, keep writing.
Keep writing.
Keep writing.
Soccer Mom
Hi, my name is Lori, and I’m a soccer mom. I don’t know how that term ever earned a negative connotation (obviously it was thrown around by people who don’t know how awesome soccer is). Either way, I’m a soccer mom, and I’m proud.
Miss C started her spring league today, and it couldn’t have been better. Sunny, 80 degrees, and absolutely beautiful. Cadence played hard and had a couple awesome breakaways, but just couldn’t seen to get the ball in the goal. We’ll work on kicking accuracy later. But for now, we’ll take it. We were proud. Coach Ahmed was proud. And you know Henry was proud (and itching to get out there on the field himself).
Great game. Go Chipmunks!
Happy Easter
Spending Easter with my favorite people in the whole world. It doesn’t get better than this…
Lori Romano 