Rockin' the Vote

A Different Kind of Post

I have been mentally adding up the things I would like to teach Mason as he grows up. I was cataloging them all in my memory, storing them away until I got to a computer where I would unload them in to a single document. I had come across many ideas and many action items. Ideas that were profound and poignant. Even the most common of activities would spark an idea that I would want to teach Mason.

Sadly, if any of you know how poorly my mind works when used as a notepad, you will know that it was lost moments after “cataloging” it. So time goes on, and ideas are born and lost in the Bermuda Triangle that is my mind. It is likely that these lost ideas were so thoroughly misplaced, it was like they never happened at all, causing them to go full circle, becoming reborn as original thoughts later. It was like adding a book randomly to a library but never writing down where you put it.

The solution was to give the ideas to someone else and have that person catalog them. Well this would be great if I hadn't already forgotten all of my great epiphanies by that time. So, I had to enlist my friends help for more than cataloging. He also had a list that he had been adding to over the years. It was nothing huge, but it was a starting point. So I asked if I could collaborate with him on his list to make it more robust and to one day make it my own. While we were able to agree on many items outright, people’s personalities and the way they perceive their reality diverges at some point. So the list split into two lists. Each of us adding things we held important to us, comparing it to the other list and talking about the changes for hours.

I am writing this post because it became obvious that we had a greater resource than just the two of us. We had you, the reader of this blog. I submit to you the list and I make a request. If you think we are missing something, make a comment. If you think we need to reword something, make a comment. If you think we are way off base, make a comment. If you agree completely with something, make a comment. There are two lists so I will be providing another blog address in this post. The second list is here or at least it will be shortly. It resides on my friend Cody's blog.


Without further ado:

Things I would like to teach my kids in no particular order:

Leave things better than when you've found it. Even the smallest improvement is enough.

Balance - Everything in moderation.

Who you are being will speak louder than anything you could ever say.

Keep your word, especially to yourself.

Suffering is optional. You are in charge of your own state of mind.

Reality is merely perception, and you're responsible for what meaning you give your perceptions.

Your words have power. People perceive what you are saying now, from what you've said in the past.

If something seems impossible, you just haven't discovered the first and often the simplest step.

Apologize like an adult. Recount your mistake aloud, address the offended’s feelings and give your word that this mistake will never happen again.

You play a part in everything you experience. Good or bad, it is your responsibility for that experience.

Choose your habits wisely or they will dominate your actions.

Build a habit of evaluating new information, confirm it against things you already accept as fact. Do not be afraid to question what you hold to be truth.

Take care the lives that are entrusted to you. Recklessness at the expense of another’s safety is unacceptable.

Nobody's perfect - What's important is to recognize our shortcomings. Do not hide them from yourself out of shame or embarrassment. Be able to talk about them to at least one person close to you.

Let others make their choices and if that choice is wrong, be at peace and let it stay wrong.

Believe in people to be self-sufficient. Help only when it is requested or the situation demands it.

Distractions

I know it's been a while since I have blogged but various things, like the Olympics and a certain set of vampire books and the everloving cuteness of my baby boy have kept me otherwise occupied. We went from not watching one minute of television to watching 4 hours of it a night when the olympics started. Since we no longer have a DVR, we are forced to watch it in real time which is both suspenseful and a waste of precious time. Not to mention I am dog tired at work in the morning because I was up until nearly midnight the night before. I don't know how the people on the east coast do it! But seriously, is there any better reality tv than watching Michael Phelps? We have our first gold medalist here in Boise, a cyclist named Kristen Armstrong (no relation to Lance). One of my favorite parts of the local coverage about her was when the news asked a 7-year-old if he wanted to be an olympic athlete like Kristen and he said "Uh, that's a lot of hard work and I don't really think I am up for it." I hear ya kid.

And now, some pictures of Mason...

Here he is going to work

And here he is in cousin Syd's pajamas

His tongue is almost always out and to the side because he is now growing some eye teeth.

I forgot

I was not able to get videos to upload to our blog when we first started but I now have that ability. I only just remembered that none of you have ever seen Mason when he was one... day old. So here you go!

Exciting yes?

All because 2 people fell (and stayed) in love...

These are my grandparents Portela. I have way too many memories of them for this blog. Some highlights include fishing with my grandpa and having him say "Stephanie, keep your voice down, you're scaring all the fish away!" He has always had a secret, or not so secret, stash of candy. We will barely sit down to play cards and he'll get the one pound Hershey bar out of the drawer and plunk it in the middle of the table. He doesn't like to lose when playing cards, and he will bend the rules a bit to keep that from happening (though it rarely works against grandma). When we were in Vegas and I was under the legal age of gambling, he came to our hotel room door at 6:00 a.m. and yelled "Who wants to play the nickel slots?!" He would make sure I moved around a lot in the casino so as not to get caught. That rarely ever worked and I was kicked out of several casinos. If I recall, they were also kicked out for allowing me to gamble. He would take us grandkids up to the gas station and buy us lottery tickets. This is also the man who broke up with a boyfriend for me by saying within earshot of said boyfriend "Well shoot Steph, it's too bad there is no spark between you and Will and you are going to break up with him. He's a good lookin' kid." The look on Will's face when he came out of the bathroom Grandpa knew he was in...priceless. That was one awkward ride from Phoenix to San Diego.

On to my grandma...my earliest memories are of her saint like patience while trying to teach us to paint. I am no artist and was easily frustrated, but she would hold my hand and practically paint my picture for me. I cranked out some pretty amazing paintings. I have no idea why they are so similar to the paintings my cousins painted. When I had to stay with them when Tyson had cancer she would let me eat Lucky Charms and promised not to tell my mom. My grandma was the first person I told when I decided I wanted to find my birth mother. She was very understanding and interested in the process. She taught me how to play video poker, until we got kicked out. She didn't just hit the dollar once on the wheel on the Price is Right, she hit is twice. She taught me to pack snacks for later when visiting a buffet because when they say all you can eat, they don't give you a time frame for which to eat all you can. She taught Jake how to play hand and foot and I can hardly beat him. She says words like "Gadfree and Skaliwag". She is the leader of our family "ya ya" sisterhood and still says things like "I would be nothing without your grandpa".

We recently went to Bear Lake to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. It was the first time in many, many years that the whole family came together. I do find it mind boggling that from these two people who made the choice to get married 60 long years ago came 5 children, 15 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Add in all the spouses and that's a whole lot of people. Doyle and Helen know how to have fun, love with everything that they are, and will forever be my heroes.