Life lessons from the locker room...

The top two photos here are basically the way you would see me if you were to stop by my house at any given point in the day. No wonder moms carry their babies to term for 9 months...it's preparation for carrying them around for the next several weeks after birth! I'm learning how to do lots of things one-handed. Like open cheese sticks and put toothpaste on the kids' brushes. I feel very talented at times, and totally inept at others. Such is parenthood... isn't it?!
Lest you think I only take photos of Crew, I am sharing these pictures I took of Brock. I rarely order school photos because I feel like they never capture the personality of the child very well. These photos of Brock took me several minutes to 'work out of him' and even then, you can see the progression of his personality come through. He went from rolling his eyes at me, to finally looking at me with a smirk, and then I started making jokes about Hannah Montana and that's when I got the results I was hoping for. It's also one of the reasons I have thousands of digital photos piling up on my laptop...I should just tell the jokes upfront and save myself some trouble, huh?!
As for the lesson from the locker room, well, it's basically for me. But if you can take something away from it, help yourself. =)
I happened to be rocking a restless newborn as Chip flipped through the channels on tv the other night. He stopped at one point {I have no idea what channel or show it was}, and watched a few minutes of a pep talk given by the Minnesota Gopher's football coach just before the start of a game. He [the coach] was really pumping up the team and laying it all out there- his expectations and their ability and basically just was firing up the team to "go get 'em". One of the statements he made struck me and I have been thinking about it off and on for a few days now. He basically said go out there and play at the top of your game- not just some of the plays, but at every snap...every play demands your best effort.
I can't help but think about that in terms of everyday life. Maybe because I feel like I haven't been at the top of my game lately. Some of that is to be expected. Some of it is due to other circumstances- like the mild infection I got and the antibiotics I've been on for a week. That sort of stuff happens. But I really have been thinking about what a great message and statement that is to aspire to- and I wonder how things would be different if I actually put that into practice.
There are lots of implications and I guess I sometimes feel like I don't need to put my 'game face' on when I'm just home with my family doing routine "stuff". But if I think about my life as a big game, and really it IS bigger than any football game ever could be- even the ordinary days, well then I have a lot of big plays to make and catch up on.
I find I am good about being IN the moment...but I need to work on making the MOST of every moment. And being my best in those moments. Not just when I feel good or when something seems important, but as a mom, as a wife, as a friend, as one who believes in Heaven and eternity, and as one who only gets one shot in life. I need reminding to stay on top of my game. The more I remind myself of these lessons, the better player I think I will be. Easier said than done...