Christmas at the Scotkas

Enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family. Thanks Mom and Al for coming up to join in the festivities! We loved having you!

Sampling the freshly made dona salsa

Blizzard of 2017

Snow. A rare treat for us Central Texans. We were dusted with an inch or so. This is our Winter Wonderland on the backyard. Yes, it melted by mid day. But we enjoyed it while it lasted!

The year in Review- 2017 Highlights

Kelsey started working at Juiceland in January. 

Nathan turned 21! Pictured here with girlfriend Reagan.

AJ bought a wave runner!

Many hours at the lake this year.

Trip to Universal Studios to see Harry Potter attractions. Here is Kelsey's first reaction to Diagon Alley!

Our 28th anniversary in South Padre.

I turned 50 this year and celebrated with friends at the Oasis.

While in Florida- Sasquatch sighting Coco Beach. 

My lake buddy Shadow. 11.5 years

Our "non traditional" Thanksgiving Day was spent on the trail around Lake Georgetown.

Giving Thanks

The Christmas decorations are out in the neighborhood. Radio playing Christmas music. Christmas sales have begun. Is it December?

Nope. Thanksgiving.

Such an overlooked holiday that just blends right into Christmas. We cook all day, eat a big meal, maybe watch some football and then get ready for Christmas. What happened to actually taking a day out to show gratitude?

This year, since I was on call, we were landlocked. It was just the four of us for Thanksgiving. So we had a family meeting and decided to do something a little "non-traditional" for Thanksgiving this year.

We got everyone out on a beautiful day hike along the San Gabriel River/Goodwater Loop Trail along Lake Georgetown. It was relatively quiet- a few other nature lovers. But for the most part we had the trail to ourselves. We chatted, laughed, found our first geocache. Since my kids are adults, we don't see much of them these days. They are busy with school, work, and their own lives. But I loved our time out there on the trail. Feeling really grateful for these important people in my life.

We did come home in time to heat up a previously smoked turkey, a home-made pot of pinto beans and some store-bought tamales. Add a couple veggies and a salad, and there was dinner. No fuss, no muss. We ended our day with a fire in the outside firepit under the stars on a cool but not cold evening. A vegan apple cobbler topped off our quiet night.

As I headed to bed that evening, I thought for the first time in a long day, I had a Thanksgiving Day truly full of thanks.

2016 in Review

 Merry Christmas from the Texas Scotkas! This year has been full of fun adventures, accomplishments and change.

We started 2016 off with an amazing trip to Big Bend National and State Parks with friends Lauren, Josiah, Veda and Bear. Saw some amazing sights, hiked, camped more remotely than ever (Ask me about the poop bucket we shared for 3 days. We are REALLY good friends now.)

AJ and I celebrated our  27th anniversary in a "staycation" in nearby Georgetown where we hiked and saw fossils, ate some great meals, danced, and biked around the red poppies.

We said goodbye to Kelsey's kitty Milo in a tragic accident. His mellow, laid back self  with occasional demands (feed me NOW, pet me NOW) has been greatly missed. Our home feels lonely, and a lot less hairy with just one furr-ball now, Shadow, our 10.5 year old black lab. He's slow now but keeps us laughing.

One major highlight of the year was our trip to Sequoia National Park in June! What a beautiful place. We did lots of hiking, sightseeing, picnicking, and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the huge trees. We even brought one home! (A tiny sapling which will take 2,000 years to reach maturity. I hope someone waters her after I'm gone).

We rounded out 2016 with one last trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico to meet up with my family to celebrate Thanksgiving! Lots of great food, fun, laughs... we created some wonderful memories together. We even took a day trip to White Sands National Monument, which was incredibly beautiful, awe-inspiring, and quite fun (we did slide down the sand dunes and made "sand angels")

Nathan has been living at home since the beginning of 2016 taking a break from school- he's been working full time and has learned a lot from being out in the "working world". He's headed back to school in Jan 2017.

Kelsey graduated from St Edwards in May and enjoyed a few months of travel to celebrate. She's moved in back with us to save some money and enjoy some well deserved time with her brother. Those two are the best of friends. The good news is, they are also awesome "day laborers" and work well together getting things done around the house. Here you can see them helping clear the cedar from the greenbelt behind us.

 AJ made a job change in July and left the state after 15 years to join Shoretel as their "Security Dude". He's loving the drive down 620 towards the lake instead of I35 to downtown. He's been enjoying the change, the new challenges, and the new team, including a very cool boss.

I'm doing the same old thing-- teaching lots of classes, helping families bring babies into the world and survive the first few weeks postpartum. This year I attended one of the most wonderful births of all- a homebirth after cesearan for one of my closest friends. I'm reminded each and every time what a beautiful and sacred event it is to share with a family and I am honored every time I'm invited.

Blessings to all of you for 2017. I hope the new year brings peace, happiness, fulfillment and joy in whatever path you take! And if that path brings you in our direction, our doors are always open!

Raising Successful Children

What does it mean to raise successful children in this day and age? How does it compare to expectations we had 50, 100 years ago? What should we be spending our time doing in order to raise "successful" children?

This topic has become more important to me now that I have two adult children. As Kelsey graduated from college, most people congratulated us, then asked "What is she going to do now, does she have a job lined up?" Or as people have heard that Nathan is choosing to take a break from college, "Are you worried he isn't going back?"

It's made me think of how we currently measure success:
Graduating from a good school with a "useful" degree (ie not the liberal arts)
Getting a job quickly, making as much money as possible early on.
Get settled, buy a big house, nice car, fancy clothes.
Later... make a couple of kids, and get financially secure enough to pay for college for your own children and repeat this cycle.

How did we used to measure success?
I imagine 50 years ago (1966- a year before I was born) I think the measurements of "raising successful children" was about the same minus the college degree. Parents hoped their children would finish high school, stay off drugs, get married, make babies, live in a nice house and live the "American dream."

What about 100 years ago- 1916?  Ultimately we hoped for healthy children who would live without "wanting" for physical things like a roof over their head and plenty of food to eat. Survival was still not 100% guaranteed. Just making it was considered a success.

So how do I measure success? Of course I hope for the basics for them-- a safe place to live, a roof over their head and good food to eat. But after that, what becomes more important than that degree from an important school or the high salary is something a lot less tangible:

Scotka Measurements for Success
Honesty and integrity
A loving soul who cares about others regardless of race, religion or species...
Curiosity and a desire to learn and grow
An ability to work with others, communicate well, listen respectfully
The ability to love and accept oneself

This is what I hope for my children. These are the things we spent time on when they were little. These are the things we try to demonstrate to them in our own lives. Because I know if they are able to do all those things, no matter where they live, no matter what they do, that they will be a success.

California Summer Trip June 2016

We visited the Sequoia park a few years back for a quick day trip on the way to California and everyone fell in love with the majestic Sequoia Trees and we promised we'd come back. So June of 2016 we packed up the truck and headed west. We left Texas in a torrential downpour but as we traveled the skies cleared and our drive was smooth. With 4 drivers, it feels "easy" to make the 1400 mile trek in 2 days.

We spent a few nights with friends Kelly and Mark and their girls in Huntington Beach, walking the beach area. We even rented cruisers and spent a couple hours up and down the beach! We also got to see Grampa Dave and ride around in his fun cars (Nate got to drive the Caddy this time!)

Then off to Sequoia National Park Monday morning. We arrived late afternoon after a full morning of packing and grocery shopping for the week (3 stores!) We settled into our "cabin" which was essentially a hotel room on the inside set in a "campground" setting with a picnic table and wood burning stove on the outside. We enjoyed multiple hikes in and around the area, seeing some famous sights like the Grant Tree, the Sherman Tree, etc. We even hiked up to the top of Moro Rock for a fabulous 360 view of the area. Still snow on the mountains!

Every day we hit a new spot of the park, every day we came home tired and dirty, but enjoyed the beauty of those beautiful Sequoia trees. We saw plenty of wildlife too, including a black bear in a meadow on our drive out!