Facing Your Fears

I came face to face with a big one recently. As many of you may know from reading my posts or just from knowing me, I am NOT a good flyer...never have been and probably never will be. I just don't get the whole big metal tube staying up in the air thing....Anyway, a good friend of ours recently acquired his very own plane. COOL...most people might say....well, his wife and I weren't exactly thrilled. You see, I don't do well on big jets, or little jets, or jets of any size...I do not like them here or there...I do not like them anywhere.
So you can imagine my chagrin when Chad and Ryan expected us to actually get in this little bitty PROP plane...yep....not even any jet engines....just a tiny little fly of a thing that could be swatted out of the sky by even the slightest puff of wind...or so it appeared to me.
Karissa and I steadfastly refused to get in the thing for a LONG, LONG time...don't remember exactly when he got the plane but it may have been close to a year ago as he has had time to get his pilots license etc...
I had never even laid eyes on the plane but Ryan had been up with Chad many times and even took Garrett up a couple of times in it and declared it safe....hmmmm....yeah.....right.
Well, one beautiful Sunday afternoon I was trying to be a good and pleasant wife and mom and said lets do something fun...anything you wanna do we'll go do....TOTALLY WRONG THING TO SAY....because the next thing out of Ryan's mouth was....Karissa is in Houston visiting her parents and Chad's invited us to come flying...ummmm....is that laundry or dishes I hear calling my name?

TOO late....I really couldn't back out...besides....I want Ryan to think I'm a cool kind of wife right? I think? So....we all four load up in our jeep and head to the airport...the whole time I am shaking in my boots...When we arrive the sight of the plane does not comfort me at all....tiny, OLD, and in my opinion....rickety looking....

Can I really do this? Garrett is so excited...unfortunately I have discovered that he is an adrenaline junkie just like Ryan...NOTHING scares him....


so we get in and I close my eyes as Chad speeds down the runway....Karissa is REALLY gonna hate me for this...my stomach hits the floor as I feel us leave the ground....what was I thinking....open my eyes just a bit....hey, is that my house?....there's Louisiana Tech and I see WalMart....kind of cool....wait...what was that? Wind? A little turbulence....Are we going to die?....No...we're okay...I see more and more landmarks that I know...


this is so different than a jet...you can see stuff and I get to wear these super cool headphones to talk to everyone else in the plane....

Maybe this wasn't so bad...in fact, I'll admit...it was kind of fun...Grant got bored with it fairly soon but we were only up for about 45 mintues...


ok...I'll admit...I'd do it again....but ONLY if there was like NO wind anywhere on the planet....
This is one fear that I am glad I faced and put to rest.....NOW.....telling Karissa that I am a traitor is not gonna be so easy....Sorry, my friend, I caved....it really wasn't so bad!!!!

Where Did The Time Go?

This morning was a momentous occassion in the Madden house...Garrett started kindergarten today. He really was excited about going to school again. He wanted to see his friends from last year in pre-k and he wanted to go to recess and yes, for now, he is even excited about learning new things. I woke him up, fed him breakfast(yogurt and granola bar along with his coffee milk) and got him dressed. The whole time he was smiling and eager and raring to go. I did pretty well too...on the outside. I smiled and answered his questions and pumped him up about his new
teacher Mrs. Underwood (I've heard that she is a wonderful teacher...strict but loving) which I think will be WONDERFUL for Garrett as sometimes he needs to be reminded that he is NOT the one in charge all the time. But inside I was a
little bit sad. He looked so big and grown up in his
school uniform. Where has five and half years gone? It seems like yesterday Ryan was handing this tiny little bundle to me and I looked into these wide staring eyes and fell in love instantly. I remember being taken aback that he looked at me so intently and for so long. I didn't know that newborns could look so inquisitive or convey such emotions with their eyes. He stared and stared and we had a little conversation between the two of us. He seemed to be saying, "Well, here I am, Momma." and I said, "Yes, my beautiful boy, here you are. I don't know, my son, if I'm quite ready for this journey. I thought I was but now...looking at how tiny and helpless you are, I don't know if I can do this." His little eyes were steady and they measured me up and slowly, slowly, slowly they closed and I felt him say, "Oh yes, you can do it. I trust you to take care of me. I feel safe and warm and loved and I know you'll do fine, Momma. God brought you and me together and he knew we needed each other." Oh how it seems like that moment just happened yesterday and here he is waving goodbye to me so excitedly as he left for school with his Daddy. I know he went to pre-k last year and it shouldn't be such a big deal to me but it is. In Pre-K it wasn't real. I could keep him home with me anytime I wanted and no one would say a word. Kindergarten is for real and he has taken another step on this journey towards independence. Please, God, guard my boy today and everyday. Help him to always have a happy heart, a willingness and hunger to learn new things, and a friendly and outgoing spirit so as to comfort those who need it. Thank you, Lord, for the precious gift you gave us when Garrett was born. We will do our best to raise him into the young man you want him to be.
Garrett, I hope your first day has been wonderful....can't wait to hear all about it when I pick you up. Only two more hours for this anxious Momma to wait.