To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Fun

Introducing WAFFLES! Because we all need to have more fun!

Last Sunday we brought a new puppy into our home. Much to our surprise, it was incredibly difficult to come up with the PERFECT name. We had some great ideas from friends and family across the country, so thank you! We also had some challenging family group texts… it seemed we couldn’t reach consensus. I wanted a name that represented this stage of life: strong, adventurous, travel, brave… We just couldn’t seem to nail it down and now I know why – I needed a change of heart.

One (late) night – during the puppy’s midnight “wake up and go out…” session – I laid awake thinking about changing my direction. My mind went to something FUN, something that would make us all laugh. I was going to wake up and research fun, giddy & humor in all languages and come up with a few new ideas to toss out to the family. I think my initial idea is still good, but LIFE CAN BE PRETTY CHALLENGING, so adding a SPARK OF FUN made total sense.

When I woke up, one of my boys had sent a few names on a late night text. One being WAFFLES. It was JUST PERFECT!

How can you call the name WAFFLES and not laugh? Not only is she the color of waffles, but my boys often visit Waffle House with Pa Pa Mallory. So, there you have it…  FUN, APPROPRIATE and IT BRINGS UP GREAT MEMORIES of someone we all LOVE.

I had a few folks suggest I share this for today’s blog post! Can’t wait to share more puppy stories along the way! I hope it will challenge you to incorporate FUN into your life this week!

#MarchMadness

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

March Madness officially starts TODAY.

The NCAA Basketball tournament dominates the next few weeks for many people. I’m not a huge basketball fan, but it’s so much fun to see people get excited about watching their teams play out their dreams. Here are a few insights on why this time of the year is both magical and “mad:”

  • It seems almost everyone joins the fun: Even if you don’t know a thing about basketball, many people jump on the bandwagon and complete a bracket in an attempt to claim the guessing-the-most-wins prize. Some pick by colors (ahem – that’s me), mascots, season records, and of course there are those who actually know what team could win based on solid criteria. Regardless, it’s a ton of fun!
  • “Scratching your way to the top:” Watching teams come back from a 20-point deficit with five minutes left always leaves me thinking the refs must have their back. Anyone who is a KU fan remembers the 2008 series and Mario Chalmer’s infamous 3-point shot to win the game, after KU shocked the nation with overcoming a 9-point deficit with two minutes on the clock. It’s that kind of drama that makes someone who normally doesn’t care join in around the TV appreciate the ENERGY and VICTORY.
  • EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE – CINDERELLA STORIES: This is the BEST. For a few weeks in March, any team can show up and show off. It’s fun to watch the magic Cinderella videos online, or SportsCenter.  We’ve seen names such as Butler, Wichita State and Davidson come from seemingly nowhere and make an amazing RUN FOR THE BIG WIN.

I hope you’ll spend some time over the next few weeks getting wrapped up in the “MADNESS,” all the while remembering that you also ALWAYS have a chance at achieving the CINDERELLA STORY of your own making! It takes GRIT, PASSION and HARD WORK, but the VICTORY is like none other! Enjoy your weekend!

Grounded and grateful: 3 reasons to reconnect with friends

What fun it was to spend a day with my college sorority sisters on Saturday. I have to say, after not spending any quality time with them over the past 25+ years, our time felt like we were still 19 hanging out talking about God knows what.

Today, my hope is that you will find value in connecting with some of your friends from the past. Here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea:

  1. They GROUND YOU! Sure, we have all moved on and experienced life, but these gals know me. They know me before the career, the family, the kids, the deaths, the divorce… Yes, life may change you, but your CORE is the same, and surrounding yourself with the folks who knew you “back then” is refreshing. I’m certain that if we would have had access, we would have permed our hair, put on some thick blue eyeliner, and sported some killer 1980s outfits!
  2. They INSPIRE YOU! This one I hadn’t really thought of and it was the most surprisingly cool part of the weekend. These ladies have gone through so much and despite it all, they have persevered and came out a quarter of a century or more later better and more beautiful. I felt like I could get through anything by hearing their stories.
  3. They PROPEL YOU! I know we were friends and we probably cheered each other on during college to some degree, but let’s be honest, at that point in our life we are all trying to get through, to achieve, to aspire, to move up the ladder of life. In other words, I’m not sure we propelled each other forward on purpose. What I know now, is that the encouragement these ladies gave me over the weekend is enough to keep me pedaling and pushing ahead.

We all need to be in “community,” and connected, and although I have an absolutely wonderful group of friends and colleagues, coming back to “home base” for me was notable. My encouragement is for you to reach out, schedule some meaningful time, tell the stories that “made you” and where you’ve been, what your hopes are…

It may be some of the best time you have spent in years… It was for me!

Go ahead, jump the fence!

(Photo creds: We Heart it)

Having the right photo or image is always important to me when I prep for a blog. I told my son I wanted to do something funny today – something to perhaps add some levity to our day and get away from anything too serious.

Initially, this idea of “jumping the fence” was captured in a conversation about diversity and the need for us to not be afraid to experience different cultures, food, people, environments, etc. That is still a good idea, but what’s better (I hope for you too) today is this perspective of the image.

Through all of the stress that America has realized over the last few months, and what seems like a never-ending back and forth accelerated by social media, WE REALLY NEED TO LAUGH.

So maybe this photo captures how you feel as you try to get away from your friends’ viewpoints on Trump…? Or, perhaps you had so much fun watching the Grammy Awards on Sunday that you gave some thought to changing career paths to become a rock star… You know you’ve got that image now of you on Monday morning with your blazer on and your friends cheering you on running & jumping toward your new found PATH TO GLORY.

No matter what it is, make it a demonstration of fun, friends and no doubt a lot of laughs. (By the way, that may be me struggling to even get up the dang fence.)

I’m in the mood to jump the proverbial fence into brighter territory. Into something meaningful and beautiful and truly FUN. Grab your tribe this weekend and create some memories filled with laughter!

Create some FUN this weekend!

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I try not to forget some of the best parenting advice I was ever given at our family summer camp in Pine Cove, but I always seemed to get “sucked” into our daily routines.  (As you know, these turn into the story of our lives.)

So, what was the advice? SIMPLE: CREATE FUN! Stop the daily routine, the stress, SURPRISE everyone (including yourself) and call a time out for FUN. Their simple question was this: “When is the last time you jumped on the bed with your family?” Good question. Not sure I had since they were toddlers. We did it when we got home that summer, and I’m not sure they would remember. More than likely because it was a “one-and-done” activity and frankly that is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have always had a lot of fun but I honestly don’t think I did enough to create fun “along the way.” For those of you with younger kids, I wish I would have made a calendar notification to do just this… I think it’s worth it… Kids remember these moments.

When I was looking for the right photo, I found several of retired couples jumping on the bed. I thought that was super cool as well. It was a reminder that this advice is true for all of us. Whether it’s a pillow fight, jumping on the bed or between beds in a hotel room, it’s important that WE CREATE SOME FUN!

The fourth quarter is always one of the busiest and the most stressful. New school year, year-end push to achieve goals at work, the holidays, and oh good god, the comfort food that sends us to the gym to ward off the weight gain. All of that can catch up, so call a TIME OUT this weekend, or better yet TONIGHT. Turn up the music and CREATE SOME FUN!

I’d love to hear how it went!