2015-2016 school year. Week two. 

I'm already tired, y'all. 

I don't know even have any good excuse. I'm a year older? I've been feeling like Stella needing to get my groove back? I'm wrestling with big questions in life? I'm raising middle schoolers and high schoolers? I haven't gotten my sleep back on track yet? Oh, maybe it's the seasonal allergies? Seems something is always blooming here in Texas.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's the whole Blue Bell ice cream thing. The whole "the world is coming to an end with no Blue Bell" musings that about wore me out. Because--news flash-- when you are allergic to dairy you have little sympathy for those having to deal with no Blue Bell.

Welcome to my world. 

When, just when, Blue Bell, will you be creating some coconut milk ice cream down there in Brenham?

Misery loved the company. But now everyone is all,"OH YAY! Blue Bell is BACK!"

And I'm all... whatever. 

For whatever lame excuse I might offer, I'm just a bit tired. I have little by way of deep wisdom to share today. So instead I'm sharing the random and truly shallow thoughts I've been having lately.

More or less.

About things we could use more of, and that which we could use less of here in the land that I love.

1. More length on shirts. Less exposure of leggings. Yes, I know. Everyone has weighed in on this topic. But really. Can we get more length on our shirts--think tunics covering the hiney-- and less exposure of leggings? This is the thought rattling around my head when I drop my high schooler off to school. Or when I'm in the airport and for some reason, the whole legging is comfortable for flying look has taken over. But the shirts? They have not taken over. They have not even gone beyond the waist. Nothing but too much visual of body parts I don't want to see.  Hey, girls. Here's an idea. You know that dress that barely covers your backside? It's the perfect companion piece to those leggings you want to wear.

2. More childhood sports for fun and less competitive crazy. Lest you think I'm just defending kids with no athletic prowess (such as I was), let me clarify. My sisters-in-law are incredibly talented athletes who were both on highly competitive club or select teams. One even got a full athletic scholarship for college. SO, I get it. There are highly talented and motivated elite athletes who thrive with the opportunities of very competitive select teams. HOWEVER, I tend to think this is less the norm and more the exception. Can we have fun childhood sports opportunities for our kids that teach them about teamwork and sportsmanship and giving it your all? Where kids can enjoy the game for the thrill of it? Without adults who cuss out the teenage referees and without coaches who scream at an injured athlete to get up and shake it off. Hey coach--he's 7. He's still losing baby teeth here. Can we keep some perspective?

3. More dialogue and understanding and less arguing. On all sorts of topics. In all sorts of venues. From social media to the media to interactions between real people. Can we quit arguing our points so loudly that we never hear each other? Can we quit going from nothing to ninety in our being offended and yelling our position?  Perhaps we could learn to dialogue respectfully and seek to understand each other. Put differences aside for the greater good to consider how to reach a consensus? Maybe the whole election thing is fueling this fire in me. I don't know. But I'd really like people on opposite sides of the issues to realize that no one is ever won over by expressing your opinion in full volume. Change happens when we seek peacefully to talk AND to listen to one another. I swear, I'm going to have to put democrats and republicans or Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj in one of those "work together" t-shirts like I saw on Pinterest. 

4. More free time and less forms. And more savings and less checks. Yeah, it might just be the start of school time around here. Because my poor children are approaching me sheepishly. With a stack of forms in their hands. That require me to fill them out and attach a check. They know that my head will spin around and I will spew green stuff from my mouth because of my great disdain for this time of year. When I have more homework than they do. And my bank account has less money than a week ago. $4 for this. $25 for that. Not to mention the darn online forms that my oldest needed to complete for athletics. And we filled it out THREE times. Every time receiving an email confirmation that it was received. And every time, my son coming home saying that they didn't get it.  Look, I know you people need to know my cell number and my middle name and my kids' emergency contacts. And you need money to pay for their extra things at school. I know that. I don't envy the position you are in, having to receive all those forms and checks and process them and get it all sorted out yourself. So basically, I have no solution. I'm just a mom of three kids whose hands are cramped from filling out forms and who seriously just sent an envelope with $7 in change to pay for something at the middle school. Sorry! Hugs and love to my favorite choir teacher.

5. More character and less scandal. I just want to express it here. So the truth can finally come out. The reason I chose to not be famous is to avoid the microscope that would find a scandal. Yep. That's the only reason. Because here's a news flash for you. All of you, professional athletes, celebrities, reality stars, and the like. When you get put on a pedestal, someone is looking to take you down. That's just the way it rolls. We live in a culture of celebrity worship that cannibalizes the very people we admire. We are a fickle society that way. It's some weird "fan girl turned hater" so I can feel better about myself sort of thing. All you have to do is look at the magazines in the check-out line. The headlines quickly turn from the media darling to the one we all attack. On a smaller scale, we tend to do in our relationships, too, by the way. We are all about that one friend or person and the minute they show their humanness, we turn the tide. So, I have a couple of things to say about this. 

FIRST, if you are a celebrity, there's a Bible verse you may want to consider. It says to live above reproach. Live in such a way, with such character, that there aren't scandals that must be covered. If you are a professional athlete, remember that you are a role model. To whom much is given, much is required. Remember that people are watching and looking up to you so embrace that aspect of the position you've been given. Surround yourself with truth speakers who uplift you and encourage you. Avoid drama. Stay off the radar. Give them nothing to talk about behind your back. OR, on the front page of a magazine cover. 

SECOND, you are human. We are all flawed and broken. So when you make mistakes (because you will), own up to them. Take responsibility. Be humble. Seek help. Own it. And make a plan to safe guard yourself from recurring issues. Run hard and fast to the grace of God. Because those who live the most grace-filled lives are the ones who are continually aware of their position as a wretched sinner before an Awesome God.

THIRD, remember how human people are. How about we are more forgiving and less harsh in our personal relationships and our public opinions? How about we put ourselves in the shoes of others, realizing that you have no idea what it is to be in the lime light like celebrities? You have no idea the pressure of it. Or the pitfalls. Or the conflict of it. Wanting something like fame. And then realizing that you can never live up to the hype. Because people weren't made to be worshipped. Only God was. And as far as our interactions with each other, let's take a step back and choose grace. Choose to seek to understand more than you seek to pick apart flaws.

So, there you have it. These are my musings today. More or less.

And while there's so much more that I could say, I think less is more.

So I leave you now to consider. What do you need more of in your life? And what can you use less of?