Burns Aren't Whooses

A life changing book, "The Parenting Breakthrough" has lead me on a search the last couple of months for a family motto. This week was the week. Burns Aren't Whooses. I came up with the slogan while convincing AJ to keep pedaling on the death march I took the kids on. The park doesn't seem that far away. Trying to add something to the good mom list, I packed a lunch and we headed out with AJ & Aly on their bikes and the younger three in the wagon. Thanks to mapquest, I just found out it is actually almost 4 miles round trip. To my credit, the slogan was created after the first 1/2 mile. To AJ's credit, he did gut it up and completed the trek smiling. To Aly's credit, she rode almost the entire way there and back.

I realized that something sounding like a really good idea until it is actually happening isn't an isolated incident but rather a regular occurrence in this family. In fact, AJ first experienced it at a young age of 4 days. When most new families are still holed up in their house, our family was out enjoying a full day of traditional Memorial Day festivities. At 3 weeks old, we headed down to southern Utah so I could coach soccer. At 3 months old, he learned to put off hunger with a binky or bottle of water for 30 minutes or so because his mother wasn't going to bear her chest in the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, or Paris Opera House. The list continues with sleeping outside on the hard ground because your parents are refinishing the floors, going from only child to brother of 4 in 23 short months, barfing in the back corner of the burb the entire 12 hour drive to Utah, riding in the burb with the snow pouring in the back window, and on and on.

Despite choices you make or whatever life throws at you, gut it up and see it through because the Burns Aren't Whooses.