Going Home

I can always tell when it is time to go home.  It basically comes down to how much clean underwear is available.  We are about down to the last pair for all the kids. Hence, tomorrow morning, we are hitting the road. It is time to go home. 

Today we went to church and then got around to doing something at about 3:30 pm. We started to just drive around and then I remembered the wetlands in Carlsbad called Baquititos. It was a trail that started close to the freeway. Holy cow, was it loud. The noise started to dissipate as we got along the trail, thank goodness. It was beautiful and there were lots of birds in the far distant waters. I just didn't care for the freeway. The kids enjoyed grabbing sticks and dragging them, racing each other, and trying to throw rocks into the water.

As the sun got lower, I knew we had to try to get to the beach in time to watch is set. Fortunately, the beach was only about 1 mile away.  We made it and it was wonderful. However, I forgot my good camera, so the only way to capture anything was on my little camera phone.

Rinar and I really did not want the kids to get wet. It quickly spirals out of control when a kid gets wet at the beach. And believe me, there were some close calls. But mostly, we got away pretty unscathed.

And now it is time to get back to life and the heartbeat of the every day. It is the place where the magic happens, the day-to-day things we do to help our kids grow and realize their full potential. Raef and Zach only have 6 years before they will be on their way to great things in this world. I don't have a lot of time left to help them with the day-to-day. Time is slipping away. I just hope that all of these little moments we have had and will have will be enough to get them on their way to an amazing life. 

I have been very blessed. I am so thankful that after years of sacrifice and hard work, Rinar and I have ended up where we have always wanted to be. We live in an absolutely beautiful little corner of the world. The more that I think about it, the more I realize that it is everything I could have hoped for my family. And with all of the traffic and chaos of Southern California, I know I have it good. I look forward to going back to my peaceful oasis in the city.

And this is my new mantra. I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately. I have come to the conclusion that if I want to be successful and accomplish the goals I have set for myself, I am going to have to start consistently waking up earlier every single day. This is hard for me. I have never been a morning person. In fact, I can be downright grumpy. I usually set my alarm for early and then when it comes time to wake up, I frequently talk myself out of it. But this is not going to work. I have known for a long time that I need to get up early in the morning. I have procrastinated making that change in myself for far too long. I am feeling the urgency of it now. But changing this will come down to choosing it daily, step by step.

Every single day I make decisions. And the little decisions add up to big things. And those things will determine my destiny.

I am going to start focusing on making better "small" decisions. It is going to start with waking up early. I know this is the key to great successes in my life. I know that if I lead, my children will follow. I have greatness within me. I feel it. I know that it is there. And the older I get, the more I realize that the greatness does come from consistently doing the small things, day after day after day. And when I mess up or get off track, I am going to forgive myself and start over and just keep going. And as many times as it takes until I become master of myself, I will do it.

But not until Tuesday. Tomorrow will be a long drive home.