When I was pregnant with Clayton I read a book that encourage parents to allow others to give their kids nicknames. They said more names, more love. Those nicknames represented connections and relationships that will enhance your child's life experiences. 

Friends, coaches, and others have given Clay some names - Mr. Chisum, C-note, Clay Dogg, and others...

When others show favor to your kids, it gets your attention. It makes you proud.

Clay got his first graduation gift. It was from neighbors we had not even sent an announcement to. They just loved my kid.

I appreciated that so much. I was overwhelmed. It hit me big.

When I lost 100 pounds I decided that I wanted to go get my lab work done to compare. I knew that they would be different than the labs I had draw in 2018. They just had to be. What I didn't anticipate was how drastically different EVERYTHING would be.

All my numbers were lower, better, and improved. I was stunned. When my sweet friend and PA went line by line through the comparison report, I just cried. She said they were link teenager scores. She never gets to tell people their labs are perfect, but I sure loved it when she told me! 

​It's incredible to see how what you fuel yourself with really changes everything. There are things that you know like, "Eat less. Move more." Easier said than done, but when you SEE the results, it's astounding. 

​Sure I wanted to loose weight, but being healthy - there's nothing better!

With my friends, especially those that I travel with for work, I tell them, "If You See Something, Say Something!" That isn't just an airport slogan. I mean, if I have lipstick on my teeth, my jacket looks better unbuttoned.. whatever it might be, tell me. For the love of Pete, tell me. You know you've seen people and you think, "poor thing doesn't have a clue..."

Years ago, I was on a date on Valentine's Day at a restaurant near a college campus. A girl at a table next to us had us saying that very thing. Her boyfriend handed her a gift bag and she pulled out a Playboy Bunny t-shirt. Who does that? What an awful, disrespectful gift. She was loud and a little tipsy, showing  her "gift" to us and the other tables around us. Then the guys she was with started burning the bottom the wine cork and wiping the soot on her nose, but when she did it, nothing was on their noses. She had no idea they were laughing at her. They were snorting, they were laughing so hard.

When the guys went to play darts, we called her over to our table, helped her wipe off her nose, and explained what we saw. We could have chuckled, rolled our eyes, and ignored it. Calling her over was the right thing to do. We don't know what became of her, if she listed to our advice, or if she kept seeing Hugh Heffner. 

Sometimes life gives us warnings. 

Life is sketchy at times. We need friends and sometimes strangers to give us advice, point out what is sometime obvious to others, and to help us avoid lipstick on the teeth and Hugh Heffner. 

Sometimes you see something and say then say something. Sometimes you have to stand back and watch.