Monday, April 14, 2008

Feeling the Ryan-Pride...

I've always been proud of my siblings. I guess that's an inevitable side-effect of being in a family...You assume yours is the best. I really am so proud of them.

Two examples from this month: Kathryn has started a super-cool cake business in Clovis.

Click the logo to go to her website or go to http://crumbs.weebly.com/

Travis is running for office at his graduate school. His campaign video...


How could you NOT vote for him?

So I've been thinking about how the kids in our family are willing to take risks and try new things. I give full credit to Mom and Dad, who not only always told us we could do anything we wanted to, but led by example.

I remember Mom would decide she wanted to do something new: make chore charts, choreograph a Ghostbuster dance for Mickey Cox Elementary talent show, buy 3 houses at the same time (out of PURE love, seriously,) coordinate an unofficial Christmas Tone Chime concert in Mercer Square, learn stained glass, make Kathryn's wedding cake and centerpieces, remodel the house, learn viola, take goofy photos of all us kids and all our buddies at Fulton Mall, travel cross-country in an RV that probably shouldn't have made the journey, the list could go on and on!

So she'd just do it. The results weren't always textbook - okay, they rarely were, but textbook is boring. And I think the best part about it is that it wasn't always successful. Sometimes business ideas failed. Sometimes a cake would weigh 400 pounds and be a little too dense to eat. Sometimes we'd be nearly thrown in jail (or out of hotels.)

But we always came back for more. And it never killed or ruined us. There's very little to lose in life SO JUST TRY NEW THINGS! And that's what I've learned. Thanks Mom and Dad.

8 comments:

Brittany said...

Thanks for the monkey-dust, Kasey. I was reading your entry to Britt because I thought it was so well written until the last line...monkey-dust!

Tiffany said...

Is that why you are so amazing, Kasey? I mean I assumed it was because you had amazing parents, but that just confirmed it for me. I have been trying to adopt this new attitude into my life lately, but am not having much success or motivation, this really helped. Thanks for the inspiration. I seem to be getting a lot of that from your blog lately.

Tiffany said...

I couldn't get the link to work for the Crumb's website. I want to see it.

Judy Ryan said...

You give me more credit than I deserve (though I encourage that whenever possible). I'm not the one ho put herself through college by sewing wedding dresses. In fact, the famous one I made (for Kelly) started coming apart at the bustline, and she had to hold her bouquet strategically up-front and center for all the pictures. (I love your monkey dust, and I don't even know what that means...)

SpaceyKasey said...

Mom,
Monkey-dust is the famous Paris-ism from Parcheesi. If ever he pronounces "Monkey-dust" as you roll you inevitably roll the worst possible outcome.

I think Travie's claiming I'm jinxing his campaign. :)

TNIRYAN said...

This mad embrace of life will eventually catch up to you and kill you all via heart attack or something else stress-induced. Or perhaps I'm the only one at risk since I've been plunged into this life-style through marriage as one who has been dunked in ice water. But I will admit it has been fun in parts. But the moment I get kicked out of anyplace or nearly arrested, I promise I will never look back and laugh.

SpaceyKasey said...

Irene,
Pashaw! We didn't ever really almost get arrested. We did get chastised by hotel security once, though, over a particularly exciting game of Parcheesi.

Admit it, you love the madness. It makes you look more sane. :)

Fisher Family said...

So that is why you are so so talented. I'm so glad I got to meet your Mom at Ryan's baby shower. So funny that she and my Mom had so much in common. The Judith Ann's.