Valerie Who?

I promised myself I would write at least 15 minutes a day for the next 2 months. Not necessarily a blog post, but just writing.

It's hard.

Send the whine-bulance, seriously. Or wine-bulance, take your pick.

There are so many things that are so much more important, but I guess it is surprising me how hard it is to think up something to write every day.

Maybe it is just hard to be clever every day. I guess everything doesn't have to be clever, but I like to make people laugh, think, be amused.

Currently, I am sitting in a room with 3 teenagers watching a food channel program with kids and baking and Duff and Valerie Bertinelli.

The teens know Valerie by being on Jenny Craig commercials and Hot in Cleveland. 

I was like, "excuse me, she was married to Eddie VanHalen".

Teens: Blank stares.

"Seriously, who doesn't know who Eddie VanHalen and VanHalen are? And she named their kid "Wolfgang"."

Teens: Crickets.

"She was also on One Day At A Time."

Teens: More crickets....

Teens; they really do have so much to learn....

Oh February...

Back in January, we had no snow,

We joked how winter was a big no,

We wore cute shoes and didn't slip,

We could go out to dinner and not trip.

Then February came. Ouch, what a slap,

Our driveways became an icy trap,

Many snowbanks are now above the first floor,

We may never again use the front door.

We've missed multiple days of school,

Decreasing our summer time in a pool.

We've shoveled so much, our biceps are strong,

Who needs the gym, free workouts aren't wrong.

The bitter chill has settled over the Cape,

We brush snow and our windshields we scrape.

Our feet have not seen anything but heavy boots,

We only eat chocolate things, definitely not fruit.

On Facebook, snow pictures have turned to throwback pics,

Beach scenes, bathing suits, summer sunsets in the mix.

Elsa is seen on Post Office walls as "most wanted"

Kids wearing "Frozen" shirts are now taunted.

Snowbanks have taken on a life of their own,

Town snow budgets have been blown,

When will the last of it disappear?

Hopefully soon, but as of now it's unclear.

The good news is the clocks move ahead in 2 weeks,

The extra sun will feel good on our cheeks.

The arctic cold will hopefully dissipate,

This is something we can anticipate.

Our thoughts will turn to hamburgers and grills,

Painted toes, flip flops, summertime thrills,

Beach towels, swimming, castles in the sand,

Bikinis, sundresses on bodies that are tanned.

Not much longer now Cape Cod,

We will be thawed.

Enjoy the longer sunny days that soon will be,

Holding on to a positive attitude is the key!

Mental Toughness

As many of you know, I was a ski racer when I was younger. I loved it: being outside, skiing, competing, being with my friends. It was also a family thing in my house; 4 of us skied all day and my mom was always in the lodge waiting with lunch and warm hands to warm up our toes. I learned so much from ski racing. I learned time management, how to deal with disappointment, how hard work pays off, sacrifice, and mental toughness among other things.

One of the most important things I learned was to try all the way to the end. A race course can be anywhere from 25 seconds long to 2 minutes long (approximately). The courses are never the same although they have the same elements in them. The mountains are all different that we raced on, the coaches setting the course all had their own ideas, but the one thing in common was that there was always a little space between the last gate and the finish line. We were taught not to stop trying on that last gate, but to think of the finish line as the last gate. If we thought the race was over at the last gate, we just might relax enough to fall, stand up straight or just not push through to the finish line. Since everything is on a timer, gliding through the finish line could cost valuable tenths of seconds and be the factor between 1st place and 4th place.

This is an important factor to remember in any sport. My daughter, B, swims competitively. I try to get in her head and explain to her that sports are 90% mental, 10% physical. The girl is a power house, but sometimes she lets the girl swimming next to her psych her out. Yesterday, she said she glided into the wall at the end of a race instead of pushing. She is in high school and is just beginning to realize little things that could make her faster. She has made great strides this season and it is beginning to dawn on her that mental toughness and fighting for the wall at the end of a race is crucial.

Last night's Super Bowl was a perfect example of not giving up in the final seconds. The Patriots were looking at losing another Super Bowl. Did the defense give up? They could have. But mental toughness prevailed and they kept fighting. Malcom Butler made one of the most fantastic plays of the game. The winning play of the game.


Mental toughness is not something only for sports. It's for believing in yourself and all that you are capable of. I think it's time to take some of my own advice....