tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23718098094322165692024-03-14T12:58:49.217-05:00Life Like MineThe life of a wife, a mom and a writer. Approaching it all with laughs and luck.Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-61049525848820326842023-09-15T09:57:00.001-05:002023-09-15T09:57:27.514-05:00Top Three Questions The Top Three Questions We’ve Gotten Since Our Son Went To College:"What’s it like to be an empty nester?"It’s pretty damn awesome. I highly recommend it!I took over Gabe’s bathroom. It’s one advantage of him not planning to visit home until Christmas.Sure, the house is more quiet. But when you only have one kid and said kid is active, he’s already out of the house a lot. And when he’s homeKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-50132853848273162382023-08-27T09:58:00.009-05:002023-09-15T10:26:40.864-05:00Thoughts from a dad: prepare for takeoff This is normally my space, but I want to share my husband's thoughts of sending his only child away to school.My husband isn't one to tap into deep emotions often, so I know how sincere he felt when he shared this on his social media account."A dad’s dream of his son becoming a football player to the reality of becoming a pretty darn good Spoofhound soccer player and a pilot. A 2,600-mile Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-2756785760415227792023-08-21T10:07:00.013-05:002023-09-15T10:09:23.858-05:00It's not Maryville, Missouri I sat on the hotel balcony and watched the sun rise on the first day of Gabe’s new life and couldn’t be more at peace. The Universe and I had a great conversation.From the drive-through check-in to unloading the cars to unpacking, it took less than an hour before Jon and I were on our way. Embry-Riddle has this down to a science! (The tents were even air-conditioned for the workers.) And Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-83268037148675912852023-08-18T10:10:00.008-05:002023-09-15T10:11:56.056-05:00We were the sunI snuck this pic while Gabe fueled up his car, the first step in a 19-hour, 1,300-mile adventure. We quietly slipped out of Maryville in true Gabe fashion: before the sun cracked the horizon, with neither fuss nor fanfare.I carried him for 9 months. It was just him and me. Connected in a way neither he nor I will experience with anyone else in the universe. Ever. For that period of time, he and IKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-3629062355705632032023-08-15T10:17:00.015-05:002023-09-15T10:20:23.701-05:00First passenger I threw up all day, every day for nine months straight when I was pregnant with him.That was followed by 24 hours of labor, narrowly avoiding an emergency C-section.Damn right I got to be his first passenger.So proud of this kid.Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-16503328262587892682023-08-10T10:21:00.012-05:002023-09-15T10:22:52.734-05:00Spreading your wings My mom came over last night to celebrate my dad...and came bearing a gift for Gabe. A set of my dad's wings.If you know my kid, you know he's not sentimental. But I could tell this one got to him because he immediately went up to his room and stored them in a special place. Then he came back downstairs for dinner and listened to my mom's stories of Dad in flight school, how he had doubts Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-4270031463118125402023-08-09T06:50:00.000-05:002023-08-09T06:50:11.534-05:00Coming home My dad died 16 years ago today. Yesterday, as you know, Gabe earned his pilot's license. In the same town my dad was born in, the same town he died in.We don't live in Brookfield. It just happened to be the closest airport Gabe could take his checkride. I like to think Dad had a little something to do with that.I've had this dog tag since my dad died. He wore it all through his years in theKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-38813013680729478902023-08-08T06:48:00.000-05:002023-08-09T06:49:08.486-05:00Fly high, Eagle! My kid did a thing today.Gabe passed his checkride today after a short delay due to last week's bad weather. He's officially a licensed pilot.I snuck over to Brookfield and stalked his progress. From orals to preflight to flight exam, it took about four hours. After congrats and handshakes all around, he hopped back in the plane and headed home. Next up? College and instrument rating.ThanksKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-10901435273675190752023-08-06T10:23:00.005-05:002023-09-15T10:24:27.702-05:00I'll always be the Rookie Thanks to KMBC for hosting a great 70th anniversary celebration, which was basically a family reunion. General Pat Patton took a chance on me and hired me right out of college to work at KMBC-TV and promptly nicknamed me Rookie. I was 22 years old with a new broadcasting degree and suddenly working for the top ABC affiliate in the country. Life couldn’t get any better.Yet it did. Because I Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-7692275940401895192023-06-19T07:08:00.001-05:002023-08-09T07:10:04.082-05:00Juneteenth This pic is from our Charleston, South Carolina, trip a few years ago.Stumbled across this space while heading to the Old Slave Mart Museum. Charleston is a city that screams some terrible history. Gadsden's Wharf was the largest slave port in the nation with more than 40 percent of all enslaved Africans first stepping foot in the US through its dock; more than 100,000 people during the Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-27494987286048913622023-05-21T07:07:00.000-05:002023-08-09T07:07:46.615-05:00Steel Magnolia And I didn’t cry. #SteelMagnoliaA memory I’ll always treasure: handing my only child his high school diploma. One perk of serving on your local board of education.Photo credit: Maryville ForumKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-46994338501940223892023-05-11T07:15:00.001-05:002023-08-09T07:16:45.773-05:00Remember momentsFor my son and his fellow classmates as they prepare for graduation:Remember moments, not days.Moments are the who and the what and the why and the when. They’re fragments of time - of life - that you gather in your memory and hold deep in your heart.As you graduate high school, this is one of those moments.As humans, we spend time wishing it away.We can’t wait to grow up.We can’t wait to get Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-86449936257691127072023-05-10T07:17:00.001-05:002023-08-09T07:19:47.413-05:00Goodbye, BearThirteen years ago, the Universe gifted us with this beautiful soul.Yesterday, we had to give her back.People who don’t like dogs still loved Bear. She was just that special.She’d been slipping recently, a rollercoaster of great days, good days and bad days. Her heart and mind were still 100 percent “with it,” but her body had become too fragile. In a perfect world, she’d have drifted off Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-12635800903567033342023-05-05T07:11:00.001-05:002023-08-09T07:12:36.453-05:00Indisputable tie Photo credit: Paul Bates PhotographyGabe’s been lucky to travel to many places in his short time on the planet, but he fell for Ponce Inlet when he made his college visit to Florida. He was pretty sure Embry-Riddle was going to be his ultimate choice, but I think his visit to the peaceful Ponce Inlet, just a few miles south of the hustle and bustle of Daytona Beach, made it feel like Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-61096746520658790282023-03-12T16:53:00.000-05:002023-03-12T16:53:10.602-05:00It will never be like the early days I miss the little towheaded blonde who worshipped the ground I walked on.Who chattered endlessly about his days at school and time with friends.Who held our hand and gave us hugs.Who crawled onto my lap for book time.Who created the corniest of jokes and discovered the weirdest facts to share, who sang the theme to SpongeBob SquarePants and worshipped Scooby-Doo.Who wanted to stay at the Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-17502994057680463902022-11-29T15:19:00.002-06:002022-11-29T15:19:53.875-06:00Lessons of sport At last night's end-of-season soccer dinner, Coach Gonzalez and several of the boys commented about how grateful they are for the community's support and how it's grown for the team over the years. The crowds we had at games this season were fantastic! Thank you, Maryville. Many people don't understand the game as well as football or basketball. American society often dismisses the Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-6168659412996581782022-11-14T15:21:00.006-06:002022-11-29T15:24:10.227-06:00I'm no parenting expertListen to your kids.I’m no parenting expert, but the best thing Jon and I have ever done as parents is listen to this kid.Because if we hadn’t, this moment never would have happened.Thanks to Kristin Schmaljohn- Little for capturing this after the Spoofhounds lost in the state quarterfinals. I told Gabe that I was so proud of him, of the choices he’s made, for advocating for himself and for what Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-80689365851642453502022-11-11T07:07:00.001-06:002022-11-11T07:07:51.492-06:00In that moment (Photo Cred: Kristin Schmaljohn-Little)There’s a brief, special moment that happens before the start of a sporting event. It happens after the last note of the national anthem and right before the crowd breaks out in cheers.A beat of complete silence, of nothingness, but it somehow conveys anticipation and excitement all at the same time.I hope our Spoofhounds and Bearcats live a lifetime Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-53060159216179972312022-10-21T12:49:00.001-05:002022-10-21T12:54:59.073-05:00It's in his bloodA heart attack - the very definition of a widow maker - took my dad when my son was just 2 years old.
So, no, Gabe doesn’t remember anything about him. He has to hear all of my dad’s stories secondhand. A little bittersweet, sure. But it was a fact I’d long come to terms with over the past 15 years.
Until my son decided he wanted to become a professional pilot.
My dad was a pilot.
He Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-31171837286021636062022-08-26T07:37:00.005-05:002022-08-26T07:37:45.349-05:00Effort-Less (Flashback)In honor of the soccer season starting Monday, here's a Life Like Mine flashback.Effort-less(originally published Oct. 1, 2010)“We should make him run laps,” I muttered to my husband in disgust.He snorted in response. “He’s 5.”I shrugged and gestured toward our son as he fluttered around the soccer field like a ballerina on LSD.“I don’t care,” I said. “Look at him! He’s not even trying. I’ve seenKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-75749825236380355042022-08-25T12:43:00.000-05:002022-08-25T12:43:49.666-05:00Be a bridge, not a roadblock Our son began playing soccer at the age of 4. I'd like to say it was love at first sight (it wasn't).During the ensuing years, he also played basketball and baseball and football (and video games because, you know, he's a kid). When he started seventh grade, we allowed him to begin playing tackle football. And when high school came around, he had to choose between soccer and football since Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-20281896837342731442022-08-24T14:57:00.002-05:002022-08-24T15:04:20.359-05:00A good tuck and roll I remember those early days of starting school when our now-teenage son was just a little squirt. Making sure he had all the items on his supply list purchased.Finding him a cool backpack and lunch box.Shopping for new clothes and shoes.Picking the outfit for his school photo.Carefully labeling all his stuff because God knew he was gonna leave something on the playground, at lunch, a Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-11786592138438009322022-07-01T16:39:00.008-05:002022-07-05T09:46:14.406-05:00Letting go My only child will be a senior in high school this fall, and I know I’m supposed to be freaking out about it.Weighted down by melancholy at the thought that he’s entering this final chapter of his childhood.But I’ll let you in on a secret.I’m not sad at all.I relish the thought about what’s coming. Senior year? Bring it on.Does that make me a bad mom?In many ways, my son is a quintessentialKelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-36270196459187799052021-06-20T09:00:00.002-05:002021-06-24T15:38:00.098-05:00Living on in the hearts of others My dad was one of those quiet leaders.The type of leader who becomes class president without really trying.He didn't talk a lot.Instead, he led by example. Did his own thing.Joining the Marines after college to avoid the Army's Vietnam draft.Choosing one of the most dangerous jobs - a fighter pilot - and followed it with one of the hardest ones - a farmer.He worked hard.He followed the Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2371809809432216569.post-74812715995157955292021-06-19T08:00:00.004-05:002021-06-24T15:38:10.909-05:00All for one. One for all. History was made this week. May we each do our part to make our communities safe and successful for everyone.Kelley Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238157015458337919noreply@blogger.com0