this week on Tommymom, there will be not one, but T-W-O giveaways….why? because I love you!

you, the readers,” rock my world”, “float my boat”, “ring my bell”, whatever cutsie little saying you’d like to apply…i’m game, babycakes! so in the spirit of Valentine’s Day and all, I want you to “feel the love!”

i have noticed that there is a serious lag in conversation…and…it means one of three things, or possibly all of them.

1. you’ve all come down with a near-fatal case of laryngitis that causes paralysis of the fingers as well

2. i’m standing in an empty “auditorium”, tapping the microphone loudly (THUMP, THUMP, THUMP) trying to see if it’s really “on”

3. you’re all dying to say something, but need to be bribed.

I’m personally going with number three, knowing the caliber of the readers here, so feel free to chime in and see what the TWO FABULOUS MYSTERY PRIZES will be!

Winners will be announced next Monday right here on Tommymom.com. so stay tuned!  and keep those comments coming for your chance(s) to win!…there will be plenty to talk about this week!

now, a word from our sponsor.

this post is continued from February 3, 2010…

I would like to be able to tell you that the “she was going down” reference in my prior “PK/PP” post…

eluded to my driving need to defend my little brother.

That would be a shameful lie.

I was out to protect the most valued individual in my mind in this particular situation.

Myself.

I was not going to mingle with duck droppings.

On any level.

And besides…”she was going down” is merely a historical reference.

Because she was.

The bucket as mentioned, was a 5 gallon beauty that was filled to the top at the scene of the crime.

DeDe was no wimp.

She was farm bred stock through and through.

She hoisted that baby up and out of that pond faster than you could run for the highest hill.

Well, almost…

That’s where I had happened to relocate when I saw my brother’s need.

And did nothing.

I’m “there” for him like that from time to time in life.

It’s what older sister’s do that have appearance issues…

Sacrifice the weaker link for the greater good.

The force from the dump, caused DeDe to take a step backwards…

and she was standing on some very slippery “ground”.

The rapid shift in the weight of the bucket threw her off balance right along with my brother.

Down they went…

into the pond…

the contents of which, to this day, I’d rather not contemplate.

And just in case you’re wondering…

Tim’s pants were no longer white.

They began to laugh…

and laugh…

and laugh.

I was still in shock.

DeDe looked up, smiled and said very cheerfully…

“Oh, come on!…this is so much better!”

We’re having fun and we’re on equal ground now!

I’m still not certain that this defined the reality of the moment,

but it definitely defined the beginning of a friendship.

That has lasted 40 years.

Right about here, I’m feeling somewhat obligated to define the “perky paradox” piece.

If you’ve ever seen “Green Acres”…

you’ll be able to go with this…

we’ll begin with this post and elaborate more later.

You see…

I had pretty much ONE IMPRESSION of “Life on a Farm” in those days…

It was most certainly coming out loud and clear in my interaction with our newfound community as well.

Looking back…

I was the one that deserved the “duck dropping bomb.”

I was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment.

I thank God every time I think about that incident…

that I DID get the attitude adjustment…

and my brother got the bomb!

My dad came out of the house to load up for evening service…

saw the condition of my brother,

tipped back his head and howled…

and got a towel for him to sit on during church!

He was totally unfazed.

See, my dad saw the influence that the “uber-city chicks” were having on his daughter.

He didn’t care for it one bit.

In fact, I found out later, he was quite concerned.

He didn’t choose to resond by just totally cutting those girls off…

he chose to redirect me to new pursuits, friendships and interests.

Contrast that with so many people’s parenting style today…

they feel “trapped”, “unvalidated” in their pursuits at parenting, so the focus is on themselves…

“they need a break”…so many times this results in play dates and liasions that aren’t closely monitored for

content…

worldview…

overall influence.

Parents wanting a strong foundational basis for Leadership Education and it’s ultimate goal…

see things from a totally different perspective…

CORE is the most critical phase…

it influences who you will become.

CORE is static…

as you will see later on in this story through example,

you are forced to draw upon it throughout your life.

It is paramount to choices…

actions…

decisions.

Influence.

Are you keeping a solid pulse on your CORE?

What about the CORE phase of your children?

Part of the mission of Tommymom is to keep it real, folks.

Yessirree…

No “slappin’ a happy face on it” over here for the sake of community.

We’re gettin’ down and dirty…

Honest.

Humble.

Which is why I’m going to show you how farm life really looked back then.

Here’s DeDe in 1972…upstairs in the bedroom of the “old house”…

where, if you look at the slant on the right hand “wall”…

which is really a ceiling…

you’ll know why, when we sat upright too quickly from the beds…

we were rarely in our right minds!

may I just say here how much I love her?

She about had a coronary when I said that I was using this photo…

to illustrate the level of “farm chic” that was flowing freely in that decade, and upon which I’m going to elaborate further…

and then let me use it anyway!

more on the paradox piece next week…stay tuned!