People and Personas

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #4:

Goodness

A few weekends ago while we were camping, a man wandered into our isolated camp. He had walked down the dirt road in nearly hundred-degree weather with no cell service looking for help because his truck had broken down. He was overheated and stressed, as anyone would be in that situation. Scotty gave the man a ride back to his truck, and they tried to jump start it without success. Luckily, another man came driving past and stopped to help, and they were eventually able to get the truck started. 

When the man walked into our camp, I noticed that he was wearing a Trump/Pence campaign shirt. I couldn't help but acknowledge that there are people who would turn him away simply because of his shirt. Now, I believe that most people would have helped him regardless of any political affiliation, but I have no doubt that some people would refuse. Likewise, the same could be said of a person sporting a Biden/Harris shirt. 

Back when talk was beginning about mandating masks in Salt Lake County, I had this little thought:

Britt, there are people you love who are pro-mask. They are good people. There are also people you love who are anti-mask. They are good people.

Right now, I feel like we, as a society, are more divided than ever. I, myself, have some pretty strong opinions about certain things, and I confess, it's hard for me to navigate the opposing views sometimes. Other times, I can see both sides, and I feel trapped in between. Is it possible for both sides to be right? Definitely! Is it possible for both sides to be wrong? Yup. Is it possible that there is no easy answer and that either way, some people will be well-served while others will be harmed? More often than not! 

Here is what I'm trying to remember... this idea comes from the book You're Not Listening by Kate Murphy. Murphy writes about the difference between a person and a persona. When dealing with political or religious views or various labels like "feminist" or "vegan" or "pro" or "anti" anything, "...it's important to remember that what you know is a persona and not a person, and there's a big difference. There's more than you can imagine below the surface" (p. 58).

Here is something I know to be true:

There are people who are Republicans that are good people. There are people who are Democrats that are good people.

There are people who are 100% anti-mask that are good people. There are people who are practicing every amount of caution to prevent the spread of COVID, including wearing masks, that are good people. 

There are millennials who are good people. There are baby boomers who are good people. 

There are people who eat at Chick-Fil-A and shop at Hobby Lobby that are good people. There are people who refuse to give business to those companies that are good people. 

There are people who stand during the National Anthem who are good people. There are people who kneel during the National Anthem who are good people. 

There are Christians who are good people. There are atheists who are good people. 

There are people sympathizing with Black Lives Matter who are good people. There are people who question the intent of BLM who are good people. 

There are police officers who are good people. There are protesters who are good people. 

There are people who shop entirely local who are good people. There are people who shop Amazon relentlessly who are good people. 

There are people sending their kids to school who are good people. There are people keeping their kids home who are good people. 

There are people wearing Trump/Pence shirts who are good people. There are people wearing Biden/Harris shirts who are good people.

Can I confess that even though I know these statements to be true, I still forget? Some of those things are hard for me to write simply because of some of my stronger opinions. What we really disagree on is solutions, and my friends, that is tough because, like I said above, every "solution" to every problem serves some and hurts others. How do we choose who to serve and who to hurt? There are no easy answers. 

I recently revisited a stash of quotes I saved from Brene Brown's book, Braving the Wilderness. "Wilderness" is a great way to describe what we are dealing with right now - a bit of unknown, rough terrain. There are two pieces of advice from Brene that I really like:

One is to "Be more curious than defensive." As we discuss varying views, it is to our benefit to ask others about their viewpoints and seek to learn more. In the end, we might still disagree, but maybe we validate one another and have a greater perspective. 

The other is, "People are hard to hate close up. Move in." We can't let stereotypes and personas keep us at a distance. When we see people closely and get to know their hearts, it's easier to love them. 

Now, please realize that I may be the worst at practicing everything I just wrote about. I get really angry and pig-headed sometimes. I admit, I am having a hard time loving other people and seeing the good right now, so consider this my commitment to reset and focus on people, not personas.  

My Inner Klutz

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #33:

Oops!

Today I had to go buy a quart of paint for a project I'm working on. One employee was training another employee on how to mix paint. When my paint finished mixing, the trainer told the new kid to open the paint and dab a bit on the lid then MAKE SURE TO PUT THE LID BACK ON SECURELY. 

(She said it with great firmness! Hence the caps!)

As the customer who would be taking the paint home, I fully supported the proper placement of the paint lid. Because I have spilled paint in the trunk of a car before. 

I’ve also sat on a paint lid. While wearing a pair of jeans I bought the day before!

And just like that, I've posted my butt on the internet. The best part? When I post the link on Facebook, the preview photo will be my butt. 

I don't think I'm klutzy by nature - I've just become so as my life has gotten more overwhelming. With every child, I've gotten more frazzled, so now that I'm trying to keep my crap together while being pulled different directions all the time, there's a lot of room for accidents and mishaps. 

So let me tell you about my most recent mishaps:

Mishap #1 occurred on Friday. 

I was making the dinner of champions for my children: fish sticks and corn. 

I was also making fish tacos for Scotty and me, so I had a few different food items in the works. At the same time, Scotty got a phone call from a family member, and he needed to leave suddenly and go take care of something. I was trying to get Scotty fed before he ran out the door, so I was throwing fish tacos at him while also getting some corn microwaved for the kids.

I had this brand new unopened bag of frozen corn from Costco, and I set it on the stove so I could open the zipper contraption to pour corn into a bowl. Well... I forgot I had just used the burner to cook the fish tacos, and it was still hot. So the bag melted, and when I lifted it up, all the corn fell out of the bottom onto the kitchen floor, and a big plasticy mess was left behind.

Luckily I’m a pro at cleaning melted plastic off my stove - since I’ve also melted a refrigerator storage bin and my Instant Pot. 

Mishap #2 happened on Sunday.

We were having a family birthday party for Daisy, who was turning 11. Daisy helped me make 24 cupcakes for her party, and we left them sitting on the stove top (don't worry, nothing melts in this story). 

I was trying to get lunch on the table, including smoothies which I had to make in small batches because our blender goblet broke, and all we currently have is the 24 ounce cup attachment. Eva was marching around impatiently saying, "Where's my moovie?" while I was trying to get a cup to pour her smoothie in. 

I opened the cupboard and knocked over a glass, which fell on the counter and shattered, shooting itty bitty glass shards all over the counter, the stove, and the freshly baked cupcakes. I had to throw them all away as not to feed glass shards to my family. It was quite defeating.

-----

So thank you, paint dude, for securing that lid like you should. There's no telling what damage I would have done with an improperly secured paint lid.*

*Says Britt while the paint is currently in her garage with the lid simply resting on the can after finishing the second coat of paint. 

Dip Night: It's a Thing

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #25:

Eat

I had to take a couple days off from blogging over the weekend. Things got a little busy, and the only way I'm able to keep up on a month-long writing challenge is to stay several days ahead with scheduled posts. Time caught up with me on Friday when my last scheduled post was published. 

But all is well! I'm here, and I'll resume my writing challenge to the best of my ability now. 

Even though I just posted about board (or card) games on Friday, I'm going to talk more about games today. You forgive me. I know you do. 

There will also be food. So it's cool. 

As you may recall, we have regular game nights with our friends, Chad and Carlie. Our usual routine is to get together on Saturdays at 4:00 and have dinner. Then our 8 kids run wild while we play games. 

One of our beloved game night foods is this corn dip. Last time we were munching on corn dip, Carlie said, "We need to have a dip night!" So we proceeded to plan a game night wherein we feast on a vast array of dips. Over the weekend, we did it! 

Dip Night!

We had Toffee Apple Dip:

Soft pretzel bites with Tostitos Queso:

Brownie Batter Dip (first with pretzel crisps, but then we switched to graham crackers): 

Sesame Thai Chicken Dip:

Spinach Artichoke Dip (from Sam's Club - because when you're serving 7+ dips, you gotta buy some of them):

And two dips I didn't get pictures of: a store-bought six layer dip with tortilla chips and a cottage cheese dip with potato chips (a favorite in Chad's family). 

Let's just say... I'm already brainstorming my contributions for Dip Night Round II. Because seven dips weren't enough. We need to have ALL THE DIPS. 

For this week's Game Night, we tried out our new game, Mariposas. 

I posted a few weeks ago that I wanted to buy this game, and that same day, I got a text from my sister-in-law saying, "Hey, I ordered that game for you. Just don't ever make me play it." 

The game was released on August 28, and it arrived on my porch a couple of days later. Scotty, Nicky, and I gave it a couple of test runs over Labor Day weekend. Carlie also bought a copy, but she hadn't had time to learn it yet, so we taught it to her and Chad at Dip Night. 

In the game, your butterflies migrate from Michoacan up through the United States and Canada. They collect flowers and hatch new generations of butterflies along the way. It's a beautiful game, and very clever. It was designed by the same woman who made Wingspan (and you should know by now that I adore Wingspan!) 

Dip Night was a success - not only were the dips a hit, it was also a GIRLS RULE night. Because Carlie and I won every single game we played (Splendor, Mariposas x2, and Codenames x2). Thankyouverymuch.

Games We Play With Our Kids

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #8:

Play

Earlier this year, I wrote about about the board games we have played the most according to our Game Night Ledger that we've been keeping for the past few years. Someone commented and asked if I had some recommendations for games to play with kids. Today I'll share some games that I've enjoyed playing with my kids that are a little more advanced than Candy Land and Connect Four.

(In this previous post, you'll find a little more about Qwirkle, Karma, Bohnanza, Dead Man's Draw, Coup, Ticket to Ride: Europe, Cover Your Assets, Splendor, and Love Letter which are all games that Daisy (age 10) and Nicky (age 13) enjoy playing. I'll refrain from detailing those games here, but they are all games that older kids might enjoy - depending on interests and skill level). 

Some other games that are great for kids:

SkipBo

I grew up playing SkipBo with my grandparents, so it's sort of expected that there will always be a copy of SkipBo in my household. Zoe (age 7) learned SkipBo a few months ago, and it's currently her favorite game. This is a great game for young children because they get to use their number recognition and sequencing skills. 

(Hint for parent sanity: I deal 10 cards in the stock pile instead of 20 so the game doesn't last as long)

Racko

Racko is another number game that I was introduced to by my grandparents. In this one, you want to be the first person to get your cards in numerical order through drawing and swapping out cards. BUT in this one, you can skip numbers (i.e. 1, 8, 13, 14, 21 instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). It's quite easy but requires slightly more number knowledge than SkipBo. I haven't tried this one with Zoe yet, but now that I'm writing about it, I'm anxious to play it with her. 

Rummikub

Yet another game from my grandparents! I guess I have them to thank for my ability to count. 

This was my favorite game when I was a kid. In this one, you try to be the first player to use up all your number tiles by creating sets and runs. I just taught this one to Zoe over Labor Day weekend. She got the hang of it well enough that she can play on her own, but we help her out here and there because she overlooks a lot of tile combinations and swapping opportunities.

The Great Dalmuti

This card game is good for a larger group (5-8). This isn't really a game that you win or lose. Rather, you play a round and then change seats according to your rank. You'll probably feel most triumphant when you are the Greater Dalmuti because you're head of the table, and you get to collect taxes. Don't get too comfy, though. If you keep playing, someone will take you down eventually. 

This game is fun, but it's best to do it at a table that allows you to move around easily since it requires a lot of seat shuffling. 

Scattergories

Scattergories is such a classic! It's a word game where you roll a dice that indicates a letter, and then you have a limited amount of time to come up with words that start with that letter and fit the categories on your list. I love the way this game makes kids think. 

Pit

This game is pure chaos, so be prepared for lots of yelling! The goal is to be the first person to collect all the cards of a single commodity through open trading. When you have cards to trade, you call out the number of cards and wait for someone to agree to a trade. It's a lot of fun, and the kids really love it, but you will have nightmares about them yelling, "Two! Two! Two!"

(Parent sanity tip: buy the version without a bell).

Werewolves

Every kid should get a chance to pretend to eat their siblings in the night, werewolf-style. This is a role playing game where you are either a villager or a werewolf. In the “night” the werewolves select a person to kill. In the “day,” the village debates the identities of the werewolves and votes to lynch someone. This would be a fun game to play with a group of young teens. I have dreams of hosting some fun Werewolf nights with Nicky and Daisy’s friends someday (ya know, when corona isn’t such a thing).

(Parent tip: wanna know what kind of liars your kids are? This is your chance! Play Werewolves or Coup with them). 

There are a lot of versions of werewolves. Here are two that we play:

The first is The Werewolves of Millers Hollow.

You need at least 8 players and a moderator to get ideal gaming from this version. A good moderator is key to a successful game. We like to have everyone look at their roles and then slip their cards into a sandwich bag with their name on it to help the moderator keep everything straight. We then have the moderator hold the cards.

Different characters can be used in the game to increase the complexity. There are three expansions to the game- New Moon, Characters, and The Village. Or you can buy a set called The Pact that includes everything. Some of the additional characters are really dumb, though. 

The other version is an app called Werewolf.

The app makes it super easy to play. You just need the app on one device, and everyone passes it around the circle, and it tells each person their identity and exactly what they need to do. The app eliminates the need for a separate moderator. It allows you to select which characters are in play and specify a few other preferences (the paid version has more characters and settings, and it’s only a few dollars). The app also makes "daytime" voting really easy. 

We’ve been using the app to play with our kids and our friends and their kids (age 10 and up). As with The a Werewolves of Millers Hollow, some of the characters are really dumb, so you just have to try them out and see what you like. A group of 8-10 is best. With too big a group, people have a hard time staying focused, and it’s not really fun. We played with 15 a few weeks ago, and it was just a waste of time.

We have also played a version called One Night Ultimate Werewolf that combines a physical game with an app. We’ve only played it once, and I don’t remember being very impressed, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t win me over eventually. I just haven't played it enough to give it a thorough assessment. 

A few other games that we've enjoyed playing with kids are Catchphrase, Telestrations, Codenames, Catan Jr, Monopoly Deal, Machi Koro, Boggle, Taboo, and Scrabble. 

Wanna know a few games I don't like? Killer Bunnies, Cranium, Villainous, Saboteur, and any game where the verbal instructions begin with, "It's kind of like Apples to Apples." Also... Clue. But my family (including Scotty) loves Clue, so I suck it up and play anyway. 

 

Flippin' Great

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #22:

Success

When I was young, I always wanted to learn to do back handsprings on the ground and back flips on the trampoline. 

I had a gym teacher who was a former gymnastics coach, so one day I asked him if he would help me learn to do back handsprings. I had done them several times with spotters, but I could never muster up the courage to try doing one on my own. My teacher spotted me, gave me a few pointers, and then said, “There’s nothing more I can do for you. You have to do it on your own now!” 

I was on the high school dance team, and in one of the dances I was in, there was some partner work but an odd number of dancers. I volunteered to be the odd man out and do a back handspring during that part of the dance. I thought if I committed to it, I would stick with it and finally reach my goal. 

Guess what!

I never did it. Not even once! I would stand there and psych myself out every time. I had no idea how to conquer my fear. 

So instead of doing back handsprings, I just slipped off stage for a second and then snuck back on. 

Easy peasy. No handspringy.

It was the same with back flips on the trampoline. I wanted to do them so bad, but I could never get over my fear. I would watch all my friends and cousins do back flips, and they would tell me that it wasn’t hard - they said back flips are actually easier than front flips because you can see the ground better. Yet, I never did it.

It might be one of my life’s greatest regrets. Should I try now? Heavens no! I have way more reasons to refrain from backflips nowadays. It's actually a relief to let go of the dream. I'm secure with my choice to keep my feet planted on the ground in my late thirties, thankyouverymuch. But I regret not doing it while I was young and spry. 

A few years ago, Nicky started asking me how to do back flips on the trampoline. My instructions were, “Don’t be afraid of them. I don't know what else to tell you." As a person who's never back flipped, I have no business coaching my son, so he watched some YouTube tutorials and became fixated on back flips. He asked his cousins for tips and watched them do flips. I watched him do exactly what I did - psych himself out over and over. 

The other day while we were picking raspberries at Scotty's mom's house, Nicky was jumping on the trampoline,* and suddenly we heard Eva celebrating, "Nicky did a backflip! Nicky did a backflip!"

In full disclosure, Nicky's actually doing a front 

flip in this photo, but we're cool, right?

He did it! And since I know how bad he's been wanting to do back flips for years, it was such a joyous moment. Now he back flips on the regular, and he's always asking me to take him to Grandma's house so he can practice. I know back flipping on a trampoline isn't that great of a triumph, and kids much younger than Nicky are already doing them, but as a mama and a person who never conquered her fear of doing one, I'm pretty proud!

*Have you ever seen a white trampoline? My in-laws bought the white mat a few years ago, and we thought it was the weirdest thing ever, but it's actually pretty fabulous. The store they bought it from said no one bought them, so they took them off the market.  

Decor Galore

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #13:

Simplicity

I was really excited to decorate for fall this year. I tried to time it right so I wasn't the crazy lady who put fall decor out too soon, but on September 1st at 9:00 a.m. I ran downstairs and pulled my holiday bin from the shelf to begin transforming my home into an autumn wonderland. That's when I realized I only had two fall decorations in there.

Oh.

But then I remembered I had some wood stuffs in my garage that go on my front porch, and I have a couple of wreaths (one for inside the house and one for the front door). 

My front porch (I haven't put up an autumn wreath yet. 

I might skip it this year because I'm digging the white wreath).

See that chair? My uncle made it. I've had it for, like, 17 years. 

You rock, Uncle T!

I also bought a few fall throw pillows a couple weeks ago at Ross. 

Throw pillows!

So in total, I have about seven fall decorations. 

My living room. It recently underwent a bit of a shuffle since we 

finished our basement and moved our TV downstairs. Now that

 I'm looking at a photo, I'm noticing it's looking rather brown these days. 

This pumpkin garland was one of the first fall decor items 

I ever bought, and I still love it. Last year I spruced it up by 

adding the ribbons. 

Hello Autumn sign (on the reverse it says Give Thanks). If you 

look closely, you can see that we've never finished installing baseboards 

in our living room. Because we're cool like that. Also, I bought 

that end table from Hobby Lobby for $14.91. It was 90% off. 

Let's all cheer!

Next month, I can add my two Halloween decorations. 

And in November, I'll swap those out for my one Thanksgiving decoration. 

It's good to have a plan. 

Why am I telling you this? Because today I'm writing about simplicity. I love decorating for fall, but I keep it very simple. I used to go mega overboard for fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Then for Christmas, I went ultra mega overboard. 

One year, at Christmas time, when I was putting my fall decorations away and getting out the Christmas stuff, I got stuck in this horrible cycle of arranging and rearranging things. Additionally, I didn't like this and that, so I went out shopping for new stuff. And I had things that I couldn't find anywhere to put. Then I felt exhausted and didn't want to carry all my totes back to the basement. And I had to vacuum up glitter all season long. Decorating for the year-end holidays completely wiped me out, and I was never satisfied with the results. 

The next year, I found myself in the same pattern, and I thought what am I doing? This is making me crazy! And for what? 

So to keep myself in check, I wrote a note and stuck it in the bin of Christmas decorations. It said something like:

Dear Britt,

I just want you to remember that you don't have to go crazy decorating for Christmas. It doesn't make you happy - it makes you lose your mind. It takes the joy out of decking the halls. Chill a bit, you freak. 

Love,

Britt One Year Ago

After that, I started taking it easy on the holiday decor. Over time, I narrowed down my decor items to just a few favorites, and I adopted a NO GLITTER policy. I allowed myself one Christmas bin and one fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving bin and one all-other-holidays bin. Then last year, I narrowed it down even more. Now I have two Christmas bins (one is throw pillows - which take up a lot of space, but I LOVE some good throw pillows*) and one all-other-holidays bin. I will allow myself to purchase new items so long as they will fit in my existing bins. If they don't it, I have to get rid of something to make room.

Now it takes me about seven minutes to decorate for fall and twenty minutes to decorate for Christmas - and that includes putting up the Christmas tree because I wired and hot glued all of my decorations to my tree two years ago. All I have to do is haul it in the house from the shed and plug it in. Best thing I've ever done!

Simplifying my holiday decor has made all the difference in the world. I enjoy putting out my decorations. I don't get overwhelmed by it. I'm happy with the amount of items I have (in this case, less truly has been more). And I don't dread putting it away at the end of the season! 

Now please know that I'm not trying to make any sort of statement about how anyone else should decorate for the holidays. If you have fifty bins of fall decor, and you love it, and it doesn't stress you out to deal with all of it - go get 'em, tiger! But for me, I feel so much better now that I have simplified my process. 

Now I just need to simplify about 80 other areas of my life!

*I have always appreciated throw pillows, but for years, they didn't really work in my home... because kids. They would beat each other with them, throw them around the room, and get them so dirty! I found myself constantly policing the throw pillows, so I eventually just had to get rid of them and have a "No Throw Pillow Household" for a good decade. Last year, I decided to give throw pillows another shot, and even though I still find them out of place constantly, I feel like we are now in a phase of family life where I can have them! Add that to the list of things I enjoy about my children's ages. 

Bedtime Woes

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #12:

Yesterday

Yesterday was Labor Day. 

We spent the weekend camping - our longest camping trip yet! Three nights!

I deem it a success. 

Camp activity #208: Throwing foam airplanes

While we were camping, my mother-in-law (the garden hoarder) kept talking about how windy it was supposed to get in the coming days. This really freaked Zoe out. She was worried about sleeping in the tent and about things blowing out of the back of the truck while we were driving home (even though we would be home long before the wind was supposed to start). She begged us to leave camp a day early, but we didn't. 

Camp activity #435: Shooting bows

As of bedtime last night (back at home), the wind hadn't picked up much, but when I tucked Zoe into bed, she again expressed worry about the wind. This time she was concerned about the noise the wind might make in the night, so I offered her some earplugs. I put them in her ears - not believing for one second that she would actually keep them in. Daisy overheard the talk of ear plugs and asked if she could have some, too. I handed a pair to Daisy, and then Eva chimed in, wanting ear plugs. 

Clearly, I'd opened a can of worms.  

Long story short, Scotty ended up going out in the garage to get Eva some noise cancelling headphones. For the next ten minutes, we had to listen to Eva and Zoe yelling at the tops of their lungs from their beds:

"Eva, can you hear me?"

"No! Zoe can you hear me?"

"No! Eva can you hear me?"

Until Eva decided that sleeping in headphones wasn't going to work. 

Meanwhile, I had to tuck Nicky into bed and do this weird nightly ritual he insists on. He likes me to make him into a "volcano." He curls into a ball and makes me lay a body pillow over him. Then I have to place a pillow on each side of him and cover the entire mound in a blanket. I then have to bounce him like a basketball at which point he explodes from his volcano and falls off his bed, knocking everything off his nightstand.

Every night, people.

Every. Stinking. Night.

After I made the volcano and escaped Nicky's room, I had to go bounce Daisy like a basketball. She doesn't require volcano building, luckily, but she has her own weird thing. She insists on sleeping with a nightlight every night, and last night, her light bulb burned out. She was in a panic because she ABSOLUTELY cannot sleep without a nightlight.

But get this!

She also wears a sleeping mask. 

Nightlight.

Sleeping mask. 

Nightlight.

Sleeping mask.

Are you with me here? 

So in order to finally get my dang kids to go to sleep, I had to replace the bulb in Daisy's night light so she could cover her eyes and go to bed. 

Sigh...

Camp activity #86: Making scones

Camp activity #112: Throwing footballs at each other

Camp activity #337: Dragging mothers-in-law 

to the top of the mountain

Camp activity #361: Driving to the top of the same mountain 

nine hours later to get cell phone service to make sure we didn't 

need to evacuate for wildfires