Tucker's Landing

"Be the person your dog thinks you are." ~ unknown

I got Tucker with my roommate almost 16 years ago. Tim and I were dating and I was living with two girls in a house. Tucker was not the most obedient dog and constantly had problems with separation anxiety and feeling confined, but he was loyal and loving. He was playful and snuggly. He stood by me through the "single dating life".  He was there with us through graduating college, getting engaged/married, buying our first house, moving as many times as we did, being pregnant and having babies.  He taught Cameron what it means to be a dog.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~ Roger Caras

Tim's favorite Tucker story to share is that I got the wrong dog. Long story short: Tim and I went to the Humane Society and picked out a dog. The next day my roomie and I went to go pick him up. We brought him home and when Tim came over the next day, he swore it wasn't the same dog. To this day, he believes that it was a yellow lab that we picked. Regardless of what dog we picked together, the Tucker dog that we brought home was the dog that was meant for us.

My favorite tid-bits about Tucker:  When we made pancakes, Tim always made a small one for him. Tucker would take it and hide it for later. If Tucker was invited to come up on the bed, he wanted to get under the covers and snuggle.  No matter which house we were living in, Tucker always found a spot. You could usually tell his spot because it was the one obvious, warn, brown spot on the carpet.  In each of our homes, we began to call this, "Tucker's Landing". We even joked about how it would be the best name for a bar when we retire.

Tucker had a stroke on Friday night as the kids and I were finishing dinner. I wasn't sure what was happening, but knew that it wasn't pretty. The boys were nervous because, well, because I was nervous. Tim rushed home and Tucker welcomed him with tail wagging as if nothing had happened.  Saturday morning after I let Tucker out, Cameron and I were just turning on some cartoons when I heard Tucker in the garage. He was having another stroke. After that one he was hurting, and it was obvious. It was time to say goodbye.

Tucker & Cameron - 2012

Tucker & Payton - 2015

Sixteen years is a long time. I like to think that Tucker and I grew up with each other.  Tim and I laughed a bit on Saturday night as we stayed up late remembering him. We got messages and notes from old friends about how much they had loved Tucker. He was one of our group, part of our family and will be so missed. We were very sad to say goodbye, and our house is not the same without him. Tucker's Landing feels very empty, to say the least.  However, sixteen years is a long time - he was with us longer than some of our friends marriages lasted.  I am truly grateful that it was fast and that we were able to minimize the pain as much as possible. 

Tucker, thank you for all that you were, even when we sometimes grumbled your name. We will miss your patience, your easy demeanor and your welcoming wag. Give Leeya a hug for me. 

Here's to you Tucker, we love you!

Lessons Learned: First Soccer Team

Well, we survived and we've learned so much already. 

They named their team the Pokemon Dragons. Cameron doesn't even know what Pokemon is. 

Confidence is not something easily taught and nervous habits start young.

Snacks drive a team.

Coaches really do make a huge difference in the outcome, especially at 3 years old, and for our first time out, we couldn't have asked for better!  

There are good days and bad days on the field too.
They shouldn't switch goals at half time until they're at least 7, just saying.
It's easy to get attached to your ball.

The three things that I wanted Cameron to really get out of his season:  

new friends, new adults, new ideas.

We wanted him to be comfortable with his team and the idea of working together. Obviously that idea will grow as he does, but this was an excellent start. He learned every single players name, and made sure that he high-fived them all after every game.

We wanted him to know that there are other adults besides his parents and teachers that he should be comfortable with. He loved Coach J and gave her a high five at the beginning and end of each game. He always told her thank you and left with a smile, no matter how much or how little he played (his choice mostly).  He was just excited to be there and doing it. He felt big and important. He loved that we were there cheering him on.

We wanted him to hear some new ideas/concepts:  hustle, offense/defense, goal, teamwork, pass, etc.
Each week Coach J tried to teach a new idea and it was pretty amazing. There were some genius ways that they tried to get some of these "new" words across by teaching certain skills totally age appropriate to help the players. From high-fiving a stuffed animal (mascot) that hung out on top of the goal after they scored or playing red light/green light to help them hustle with the ball and dribble. They are all things that Cameron understood and that we can/will continue to play at home.

I'm proud of my Pokemon Dragon and I know it will seem silly down the road, but I'm glad that he was up for it.  Great Job, Cameron! You weren't the star player, but you didn't have a pacifier in your mouth or wear a diaper on the field . You weren't crying on the sideline the whole time or sitting with your parents. You were a part of the team and you even scored a goal or two.  Don't worry, it doesn't really matter that it went to the other team that one time, we won't tell anyone.

How 'bout them apples!

Halloween was such a treat, the fact that it fell on a Saturday night and included Daylight Savings was even sweeter.

There are so many moments, so many things, that I have sealed up in my heart after this weekend. Between school spirit weeks and tailgate trick-or- treating, fall parties and being outside, there have been lots of random pictures and tidbits that I'm holding onto for as long as I can.  Payton's bank of facial expressions and Cameron's ever-growing sense of humor are over-filling this glorious life, daily.

Our family costume was awesome, one I will definitely hold on to for a long time. Disney holds a very special place in my heart and these costumes, well let's just say best.halloween.ever. Who knows, we might pull it back out for a dance party at home one night next week... or re-create it again a few years down the road.  Cameron was thrilled to dress up as Donald Duck and his smile was glowing when he first put on his costume.  

 Payton didn't really love the Mickey hat, but otherwise he was a good sport and followed his brother around like a shadow. Cameron grinned when I called him "Donald".  We had been practicing trick-or-treating and started both boys off with one piece of candy each from our stash.  The first house we went to (Cameron's first time trick-or-treating), no one was home.  At the next house, a nice man held out a bag of candy and told Cameron to pick something he'd like, Cameron proceeded to say "Trick-or-Treat" and put the candy from his bucket into the man's bag instead, it was hysterical. We walked down the driveway and Payton decided to dump his candy into the WET gutter and giggle as he splashed and played in the puddle.  Together, we decided that we'd all rather just go home and pass out candy. Turns out, we are all far better at giving than trick-or-treating.

Our street has started a tradition of gathering for a pot-luck to kick off the trick or treating. It's so fun to see kids learning who their neighbors are. Figuring out the people in our very own community. We've had conversations about what to do if we ever need help, who's house we need to go to. We've made sure that Cameron knows who our neighbors are so that he knows who is "safe".  Just today we had a neighbor that came to ask for a hand in changing a tire and Tim took Cameron to go help. It's so important for them to know community: church communities, neighborhood communities, school communities, etc.

The boys were able to dress up for school last week, but were asked to wear costumes that could "get dirty". We got creative with a farmer/cowboy and a super hero.  

(Capes, overalls and brothers. be still my heart.)

A final thought on the upcoming, uber-thankful season: it's my favorite.  We give thanks daily, but I love the reminder, love that there's a holiday to bring it all together.  Because, really, what else is there than to be thankful for all of this goodness.  Oh and PS - I know exactly where Payton and Cameron get their expressions and personalities - those apples don't fall far from their trees.

Enjoy these apples. I do.