My Callings...

I have been blessed in my life to have been called to be a number of things.

1. A daughter
2. A student
3. An athlete...OK, I was a swimmer and that is all :-)
4. A sister
5. A grand daughter
6. A cousin
7. A friend
8. A niece
9. A wife
10. A mother - of which I am the most proud!!

Really the list could go on and on but after a conversation with one of my sisters today I know that I have been blessed to have been called to be a teacher and a coach and maybe more importantly, a mentor.

Children have come and gone in my life for the past 21 years, none of which belonged to me through blood ties, but all of which belonged to me for a moment as I introduced them to the water or took them to a place (and times) in their swimming careers that they never thought possible. Those children looked up to me, trusted me with their lives and their hopes and dreams and they allowed me in to their lives.

Some of those children are now getting married while others are finishing high school or finishing college. Some of those children would not recognize me if I showed up at their doorstep today but yet I will always remain a person who left an imprint on their lives.

I had coaches who made all those impressions (and more) on my life and because of those coaches I worked hard to hone my craft and become the very best coach and teacher that I could be. I am most proud of those moments when some of those children say "I remember when..." I made an impact and I have furthered a sport that I love with every fiber of my being. I have inspired others to pass on this sport to another generation with a passion that is needed to REALLY be a teacher.

Anyone can teach....but not everyone can be a teacher. I am blessed to have been able to have that title. I am blessed to have been a part of and a memory for so many children over the past 21 years.

My name is Dayna Harvey Palmer and I have been a teacher and a coach for 21 years....and I am not sure that I will ever be able to quit. It is my drug of choice and I am totally OK with that. Actually, I think that I am kind of proud of it!!

So, here is to never really "retiring". May I continue to be blessed to get to touch the lives of other people's children in the environment that smells of chlorine be that as their teacher OR the teacher of the teachers and the coach of the coaches :-)

Here is to inspiration and passion!

Funny things...

Each of my kids say some of the most amazing (and usually funny) things. Driving in the car with them always gives me a few laughs...

Landen: "Mama, I am your big boy baby." Landen wants to be a big boy but he knows that Mama is a little sad that her baby is growing up. He is giving me the best of both worlds :-)

Bryden: "Can people breathe in Heaven? I think that they are probably all astronauts." Could you guess that Bryden goes to a Christian school and that her Kindergarten class just finished a unit on Space? :-)

Hayden: (as we are driving by Gold's Gym) "Mama, I want to take you there so that you can get your muscles back. When I was in your tummy I made it very big." Oh how I wish getting all those muscles back was just as easy as walking into Gold's Gym!!

My children are a joy...most of the time :-)

May I Please Ask...Why Me??!!

I am an insomniac. I have been this way for MANY years (probably since college) but it has become worse over the years. I am sure that having kids, starting a business from scratch, owning a house that does not clean itself or having a kitchen that has not figured out the fine art of cooking meals on its own and a washer and dryer that don't get the laundry done without alot of help JUST HASN'T HELPED!!!

No matter how tired I am, as soon as I lay down at night my brain flips on and needs to run down all kinds of lists and work VERY hard to create new ideas for me to work on. My dear husband says that the cure would be to just try to go to bed at 9pm. There are 2 problems with that...the first being that I loose the entire night of peace and quiet but the second being that I would probably wake up at 3am and not be able to fall back asleep. I speak from experience on that one.

So, here we are on Thursday afternoon. Just to add to my sleeping issues...everyone in my family has been sick.

Last Tuesday - Landen threw up all night
Last Thursday - Hayden threw up all night
Last Saturday - Jim had to ward off throwing up
Monday afternoon - picked up Bryden from school early with a 100.8 temperature.
Tuesday - Bryden home with 102 temp.
Wednesday - Bryden still home with 102 temp that finally broke at about 8pm.
Thursday - Landen has a 100.8 temperature.

Anyone see the pattern here??? Things are not looking good for the hope of going to bed early or that this next sickness isn't going to run through the Palmer household.

Maybe the only way that I am going to get some much needed sleep is to get sick. I know that if I end up getting sick I will be out for at least a week. So, I will get some sleep...but there will still be the issues of the house that doesn't clean itself...the washer and dryer that can't do laundry without help and a kitchen that refuses to cook meals!!

May I Please Ask...WHY ME!!?? :-)

Stop Chicks

A few days ago we ordered in Chinese food. I have 3 children who run the spectrum of liking food. Bryden will look at it and say "I don't like it". Hayden will give it all a go and then pick out what he likes and doesn't like. Landen doesn't have a picky bone in his body...if it is on a plate...he will eat it.

So, the food has arrived and I am pulling it out of the bags and opening everything up. Bryden is on the counter with "helping" me and she says "Mama, why do we have stop chicks?"

What?? Not sure what she was asking me, I turned to look at her and see her with a set of chop sticks :-) Bryden has a way with words...see post on Swabs and Bald Seagulls :-)

I don't think that I will ever eat Chinese food with chop sticks again without thinking of my sweet girl.

How Blessed

I think that I am pretty lucky...I have been blessed with a great family. I look forward to 2008 being a year that I create more opportunities to connect with my family. My kids love to read and color and swim (imagine that!!) and play outside (a bit cold for that right now) and play dressup (yes, all 3 of them) and just really be kids!! I love that and I don't want to miss out on a single minute.