snow induced thought

note: after writing this, i realized that it's along similar lines of a previous post by georgiame. maybe, there's something to this snow stuff that induces thoughts on life & the metaphors therein.

i'm not much of an outdoorsy kind-of-guy. i get sunburned easily & any coloring that i may have is simply due to being 2nd degree sunburned as a kid. i don't like to get dirty, wet or get anything on my hands. i know, i sound like a complete wuss- & that's okay- i'm not out to impress anyone.

i woke up yesterday morning to mindy saying something as she was looking out the window. i had to see what she was talking about, but before that, I needed to lie in the bed for about 15 mts. more. it was cool to see the snow, as we were in 29 palms (near palm springs) this time last year. sorry, if i'm bringing it up considering the amount of snow most people encountered last year. denden sent me pictures of what his front yard looked like last winter & me/mindy from 29 palms just snickered. we looked @ each other, as if to say, "suckers"! anyway, after calling nv roads, me & min decided that it would be good/safe to stay @ home & chill. congrats to all of you that made it to church on sun. the brownie buttons will soon be arriving. :>0

after reading in ephesians while sipping, okay gulping, on some black coffee, i decided to do some personal grooming (don't go there), which includes the following areas that have hair (some very little): head, nose, ears, neck, back, eyebrows, chest, & stomach. hopefully, you haven't eaten in a while & don't have any food readily available for chucking. let' just say that i'm "hairily endowed", except on my head where it's most important. :)

so, i'm doing the "trimming" & hear kayla say that she wants to play in the snow. my first thought, honestly & raw, "oh, Lord, make her be quiet, please!" i like it inside where there's nice reading chairs, books, & the background noise of a football game- not to mention i needed to get my "hair" in control. so, i was about halfway through my hair maintenance, when the nagging inner voice of needing to spend good, quality time w/my kids was screaming @ me. i tried incredibly hard to make it go away, but it jut got stronger. i then proceeded to label this inner prompting as, "i'm just feeling condemnation. i'm a good dad. i don't have to do everything that my girls do. they can go outside, make snowmen, & i'll watch from the window. that worked for a little while until i realized that my girls were outside & their wussy, whiner dad was inside doing hair maintenance.

i immediately stopped what i was doing, then got on the closest thing to snow clothes i could find: sneakers, sweats, work coat, beanie, & cotton gloves. i was definitely a site to behold. kayla is 10 & i can't remember a time when i've ever played in the snow w/her- the other 2 ladies knew nothing of this "playing in the snow" thingy.

i decided to make the best of it & changed my attitude. it dawned on me, like many times before, that most struggles to enjoy myself or seize the moment- have to do w/ choices. choices that change attitudes & see beyond myself. on a broader scope, it's this seeing past myself & choosing to be positive- to be a major epiphany type moment that changes my whole viewpoint/paradigm in experiencing joy.

the girls had made 2 (they did 3 total) snowmen by the time i had made it out there. aren't dads supposed to help their kids make snowmen? anyway, the "good stuff" had yet to happen on the bennett clan front yard. mindy came out shortly after i did & looked a whole bunch better than i did (that is if you like women in hoods w/red noses. ;-)). we threw snowballs, got hit by snowballs, laughed, slipped, slid, got out of breath, sweated, & even ate snowballs that made it inside our mouth from someone else's skillful snowball throwin' arm. other than Becca hyper-extending her knee from not being able to see the curb (she quickly recovered), it was totally awesome.

there are way too many metaphors swirling around my mind @ this time, so i'll keep it short. there's lots of treasure/blessings in things seemingly boring, irritating, & inconvenience-ing. a slight change in my attitude & a choice was made. a choice that strengthened relationships, increased joy, made for fun, & will never be forgotten.

my thoughts, today, remind me of a georgiame post about "seizing the moment". & a resounding question concerning this, is this:

do i want to continue missing out on the awesome gifts/blessings/joy that each day has in it, because i'm too busy or don't "feel" like it?