Don't sweat the little things

It's easy to say and hard to do in real life.  I really do try to let that be my motto for my teenage parenting.  What's a big thing?  Well, for each individual parent the big things are different.  For me the big things are sabbath day church attendance, unchaperoned parties (or parties with chaperones I don't know), wasting money and talents, being kind, or dressing in a provocative manner.  What are the small things for me?  Tank tops, missing class/school when you have good grades, weekday church activities..for me, those are the small things.

Let me give you an example:  I am okay with McKenzie wearing tank tops now.  I am okay with her wearing shorts that are a little shorter than I would like.  When do these small things become big things for me?  Well, lucky for me, Kenzie hasn't left the house in shorts that show her buttocks yet...that's a big thing for me.  However, she has attempted to leave the house in tank tops that show her bra straps and fastenings, in shirts that show her belly, or even better...have a v split down the back for what I call "easy access" for your significant other.  I am not okay if she comes out in an outfit that has me only looking at one thing.  If I can't look at anything other than your chest hanging out...you need to change that outfit.  Usually I won't even buy such things (and won't let her buy such things for that matter) but every now and then she tricks me, saying she will wear a tank top with this and then she sneaks out.  Just last week she tried to leave in something that was a big thing for me.  I made her change.  Then, because of course I don't trust teenagers completely (although mine are pretty good kids), I texted her two best friends and her brother and asked them to tell me if she had changed into the outfit I did not approve of.  I brought an ugly sweater of mine out and told her that I had done this and if I heard from her friend or brother that she had changed, I would show up to school, remove her from class and make her change.  So, please, if my daughter is in a tank top, or short shorts, or doesn't attend class regularly...please know I am fighting bigger battles and to me, that's the small stuff.  It's a delicate balance.  My favorite mom writer (can I call her that...a mom writer?) wrote about it here two years ago.  Funny thing is, I didn't have my own teenage daughter at the time and I myself thought, "Wow, those girls shorts are too short!"  Oh the wisdom time and experience give us.

'Nuff said.  Now for the good stuff.

Kenzie had her tryouts for Grease last week and

 she got the part of Jan!  Yes, you can see by the time mark on facebook I was anxious (probably more anxious than she was) about which part she got.  I'm just that kind of mom...all nerves when my kids are doing something difficult.  I feel the same way before a wrestling match...only I don't have to wait for the result overnight so I can actually sleep then.  She was so excited because she didn't think she would get the part of a pink lady.  I'm a little nervous with the work load she has at school and the time it will take to get this part down really well, but I'm also happy for her.  Just so you know, Jan is the pink lady who eats all the time and is a little silly.  She has a duet with one of the greasers in the musical called mooning.  You can view it here.

Kenzie and I had our annual girls weekend (it's just something I started last year) to go and view a musical together.  This year we traveled to Salt Lake and saw two different musicals, Utahoma (a mormon spoof of Oklahoma) and Forever Plaid.  Utahoma was cute and funny and cheap, so worth it but Forever Plaid was wonderful.  I would love to see it again one day.  My mom and sister, Anjee joined us and it made for a great weekend.

Kenzie and Grandma bought the same shoes the day before...hence the picture.  Mom wondered if they were too "modern" for her and I told her, "Mom, you're only 60 once...add some color to your wardrobe."

While we were down there we got to visit all my nieces and nephews that are attending BYU to celebrate some birthdays.  It was fun to visit my alma mater, BYU and fun to see the kids.  I could feel the excitement in the air.

Got to remind myself to stop posing sideways...makes my arms look super fat...oh well.  Now, I'm going to take a moment to brag about my beautiful niece Emily (of course all my nieces and nephews are beautiful and talented).  She is the dark haired girl in the blue and white dress.  She made that dress...amazing, no?  I was impressed.  So much so that yes, I am mentioning it on my blog.

On our way down we listened to the book To Kill a Mockingbird.  I absolutely love that book and love the history of our country it brings to life.  It's not history that I lived, but it helps me understand why our nation is struggling so much with racism and division today.  I think sometimes, because it has not been that way in our time (and I know in some places it really is still that way), we have forgotten the many injustices that our people metered out to others in the past.

Our building is moving along and has had some fun visitors to the site.

Look closely...there is a bear in those branches of that tree.

As for the rest, we traveled to and from Utah safely and even got to join our boys for some last minute waterskiing on the way home Monday.

To those in Texas suffering the after affects of Hurricane Harvey, our prayers are with you.
To those in Florida, hunkering down for Hurricane Irma, our prayers are with you.
To those in Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington fighting the massive forest fires, our prayers are with you.  Stay safe!