My Mini Makeover

Feeling uninspired and a little lazy at the end of April, 2012, I decided I’d make May, 2012 my “Mini Makeover Month” and declared this on Facebook. Each day, I was to make an improvement to my life.  This was a way to motivate me to address those tiny to-dos that had been lingering in my head as needing to be done but just not getting done for one reason or another.  It was also a way to motivate me to do something different in an attempt to just feel better about myself.  Really, the only requirement I had for something to qualify as a mini makeover was that it couldn’t be something I would ordinarily do that day anyway.  For example, I had been getting some 3-mile runs in periodically the months leading up to Mini Makeover Month – such a run would not qualify as a mini makeover (even though I think it’s a good thing).

My declaration having gotten a little attention from my Facebook friends, I posted my mini makeovers on Facebook every day in May, typically in the later hours; and someday soon I’ll compile them in a consolidated list.  For now, I will mention one which bears mentioning because it was the trigger for me to start the blog I’ve been meaning to start for some time now but just haven’t, well, because it’s just easier not to.  The mini makeover?  Simply, for Day 11: “Celebrate bowling championship at banquet; commit to starting blog by end of month and tell people you're going to do it. Complete.”

Looking back, the bowling part of that was a little cheesey.  I think I wanted a way to tell people that my bowling team won the league without announcing it directly. It’s my passive aggressive nature.  The real meat of that makeover was the starting-the-blog part.

So I failed to do so by the end of May, not for lack of trying.  My hang-up was what its name should be.  I knew I wanted the general theme to be about being a mom to Cal and Ella. There's some really good material in that.  But none of the names I came up with had a good ring to it (from my perspective)… at least, none did until my good friend from high school and my cousin-in-law made some suggestions on Facebook that led triggered the name that I think is perfect:  “The Leatherkid Chronicles.”

So here it is, a couple of months later than announced as my mini makeover goal, my blog about being Cal’s and Ella’s mom and many of the stories, conversations and perspectives that come with that.  For me, being their mom is a genuine joy that is not without its challenges.  And I like to share the everyday bits, sometimes to make people laugh, other times to show how cool my kids are and even other times to confirm with others that I (or my kids) am not crazy.

So my first bit will be the one I shared on Facebook this AM:  Those who know the Notre Dame Fight Song may appreciate this exchange I had with Cal this AM as we listened to the torrential downpour that was happening outside.  It went something like this:

Cal: "Mother Nature rains on Notre Dame football players."

Me: "Oh yeah? Why is that?"

Cal: "They shake down the thunder."