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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

The Unsinkable Daviss Clan




By: Samantha S. Daviss

I have never ever claimed to be one of those moms or women who has it completely together. I am fairly organized. I keep the house neat, I know when and where everyone is supposed to be, I typically have snacks, drinks and dry clothes on hand in the back of my car. But for the most part I look like a whizzing tornado most of the time between work, three boys, a house, and a husband.

But this latest adventure for our clan really took the cake on humor, Griswald Family antics, and just plain old southern engineering and proprietary Daviss skills. We recently took a nice long relaxing family vacation. You know the kind where the waters are warm, the sand is soft and white, and your only concern is when your rum punch is running low. I’ve never actually been depressed to come home from a vacation, but this time I was. Because even though it’s summer time, I knew we had lots of work at the office waiting for me, more planned summer activities like baseball and swim lessons, plus birthday parties to host and to attend. So I wasn’t ready to face the music of reality.

And this adventure I was definitely not prepared for. You see my husband and I are building our “forever home” on the lake, so we saved up for a boat and some jet skis for the kids and everyone to play on. And the day we returned from our trip, we receive a nice phone call from one of our future neighbors saying that our boat is floating down current way past our dock and their dock and got lose in a really bad storm we had just gone through.

So “Hi Ho Silver” off my husband goes to rescue our boat. Luckily our sweet neighbor beat us to it and tied it off to another neighbor’s dock down the way until we could really focus all time and energy on retrieving our boat. So of course the next afternoon when my husband and I were going to salvage it, the seas were mighty rough and too windy. So we gave it another shot the following day. Luckily it all worked out.

The key to our rescue is the boat we were rescuing didn’t work, it had blown a fuse, so we had to use another boat to tow it back. Because why would anything be simple and easy for us? So we tooted down the cove in one boat with the kids on board, to save the other boat. And guess who gets to jump off and untie all the ropes and figure out how to maneuver this massive pontoon boat away from our neighbor’s dock…well this gal of course.

So we did it. But now as my husband is towing me out, he is driving in reverse; and I can’t help but laugh. Picture it…a four and five year old on the bow of a ski boat waving to mommy who is stuck on an inoperable pontoon boat while daddy is dragging her to our dock backwards. Pure chaos.

So once we get to our dock the pontoon boat starts to drift to our neighbor’s dock. No big deal, I jump off and drag it around manually with the lead rope tied to it. I walk up his dock, to the sea wall, and start heading for our dock. It’s going great, no problems. Wait a minute, I feel a jerk…the boat stops. And of course the propeller is stuck in the mud now. I pull, I tug, I slip and fall in the grass. 

And now I’m laughing so hard my husband who is out in the middle of the lake on the boat that runs, mind you, has no idea what I am doing.

He parks that boat, everyone unloads. We ask the five year old to hold the steering wheel in place so the propeller to the pontoon boat is facing the deeper waters while my husband and I both tug. Well that didn’t work. So we launch the ski boat back into the water, he comes over and tries to use some horse power to pull me out, all the while I am jumping up and down on the bow of the pontoon boat maybe to shake it loose from the mud.

Low and behold…it worked! It worked too well. As it dislodged itself and went forward, I went backward and landed on my bum in the middle of the boat.

Now I have absolutely lost it. This is just too funny. And I am so hoping our neighbors can’t see the antics going on. So onward and upward, we get it freed and tied to our dock safely, finally.

So we can’t blame all of the chaos and insanity on our children. A lot is offered up by the adults, but as long as you go through life with a smile on your face, a little humor in tough situations, and an adult beverage waiting for you at the end of it all, everything will be just fine.

Just remember to smile, laugh and have fun with life because it’s just too darn short not to enjoy it.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

All Boys Club




By: Samantha S. Daviss

I get asked all of the time…”Are you all going to try for a girl?” or “Do you ever get sad that you don’t have a girl?”

Nope…not me, not this gal. I guess what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you. Isn’t that how the old saying goes? So I don’t know what it’s like to be a mother of a girl, nor do I really want to know. And as for having more…nah, I’m pretty sure I would like to be standing upright at their high school and college graduations instead of being skyped in from my nursing home room.

So our family took another adventure/vacation together. No major catastrophes on this one. But I did notice the looks and head tilts I got when people realized I had three boys. Typically the youngest was always by my side, so people would bend down to talk to him and compliment on how cute he was and how lucky I am. And I couldn’t agree more. Then about that time the teenager would come leaping up asking for money or for me to hold something. So that passerby would comment on how lucky I was to have two such wonderful boys. And then finally the middle one comes bounding up as the teenager’s shadow.

And then it happens…the obligatory head tilt from the stranger. “Oh my, you have three boys.” And I respond with a smile and a nod. “Well you are one brave and strong woman”. And with that I typically agree. And it may be the fact that I am wearing a rubber ducky bucket hat on my head (since I am a walking hat rack), with two little backpacks on each arm, plus my purse, plus my carry-on which of course is full of nothing but snacks, videos and games for them on the airplane.

I actually sat in my seat this trip realizing I had packed nothing for myself. I had no book, no laptop, my kindle and iPad had been confiscated by the four and five year olds; so I sat there with the lime green Leap Frog head phones on listening to the news and the clips they played on the plane television screen.

I know boys are wild, but boys are special and awesome too. On this trip our biggest problem was who got to sit by Mommy on the airplane, and who logged more time in Mommy’s lap. It was a little overwhelming at times, but it was also the best feeling in the world. Are there shoes, dirty socks, pee pee puddles around the toilet, and clothes everywhere all the time? Of course there are. But if my biggest concern and the drama in their lives is who gets to sit next to Mommy, or who can give Mommy the most hugs…then I say no need to shake your head at me being the mommy of all boys. I have completely got it made.

Yes I am that mommy that has a soccer bag on one arm, the two baseball bags on the other, my purse, a few bags of groceries, dirty clothes, and bags of trash that need to come out of the car that we live in every single day. I feel like sometimes I need to just stand there and people can start draping their clothes or bags off of me and I can just walk around with my arms extended out and they can grab things off as they need them.

But I am slowly learning to make the boys carry their weight. They are learning how to carry their own bags when we travel, and pick up around the house, and help mommy haul in the groceries when we get home. After all…I do in fact have three strapping young men in my house…so why not put that to use?

But to those of you who feel sorry for the “All Boys Club” of moms, don’t. To those of you who aren’t members is who I feel sorry for. I met a lady on the beach on our trip and she and I started talking and she too is an all-boys club member. Three boys herself, and we both raised our hands and squealed in delight. Because, yes, we know what it takes to be a mom of all boys; but we also know how blessed we are.

So don’t feel sorry for us mom boys…envy us!

Monday, June 8, 2015

He’s still my baby



By: Samantha S. Daviss

This was a joyful, yet tear-filled weekend all the way around. I had a lot of my friends who had kids that graduated from high school. I can’t imagine the day that I have to look my boys in the eyes and realize they are now old enough to make their own decisions and choices and be moving on to the next chapter of their lives. I cried and I smiled all weekend for my friends. I can only imagine how proud they are, but also dealing with the emotions of letting go.

However, we reached a milestone this weekend in our house… my baby turned 13. I have been unbelievably blessed by three very intelligent, healthy, independent, and caring young men in my life. It’s hard for me to think of my baby as a teenager, because there are still nights that he crawls up next to me in bed to watch TV or he needs a shoulder rub or he just wants to give me a hug.

I had more fun watching him this weekend with all of his friends, throwing a great 13th birthday party, and toting them all around from activity to activity. Even though it wore me out and I ended up with a sinus infection and laryngitis I still had a blast watching the smiles on all their faces.

It’s amazing to me, I am enjoying watching him grow, and change, and mature (some); and I’m not going to be one of those moms that doesn’t realize he’s not 40, when in fact he really is 40. I will slowly loosen the reigns when need be; but right now I am having so much fun with him during this time. Of course there is the occasional bad attitude, or smart mouth, or laziness that most teen parents have to deal with…but that’s just hormones and them testing their boundaries with you.

I can remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I remember what my hospital room looked like, all the crazy chaos of the day with grandparents trying to get there from Texas (since he was born in Minnesota). I remember how long it took my epidural to wear off and how numb my legs were. Everything about that day is burned into my memory. Not only was he my first born, but he has been my buddy along our path of adventures. We have climbed many hurdles together as a team.

And no matter how old my baby gets he always knows he can talk to me about anything. In fact he has told me that, and it just fills my heart with joy to hear that. I know one day I will have to hand him off, and she will be his best friend; but until then I always hope we have this incredible bond that allows us to talk, stay in touch in each other’s lives, and be there for him whenever he needs his momma.

There are days I look in the mirror and think, “No way you have a teenager”, but then there are those days that I do. My biggest joy in life has been watching all of my boys grow, mature and change at their own paces.

One has matured in certain ways more than the others, and vice versa. Even though they have all had the same life, been given the same opportunities, it is always amazing to me how different everyone can be.

So to that I say enjoy your kids for who they are. Don’t try to compare them to others (especially other siblings). And enjoy them while you have them because one day very soon you will be staring down the payment end of a college tuition invoice, or a car payment, or even a wedding or rehearsal dinner bill.

Everyone says time passes too quickly, and it most certainly does. Live in the now, enjoy them while you can.