What is Important to Me in 2010

Heavy question. I've thought alot over the last part of this year about what is really important to me. I've come up with a pretty short list-in no particuar order.
1. Being a good parent. That's a given, I suppose, but how often have you thought of the enormity of that responsibility. The responsibility to my children to teach them right from wrong, to be compassionate and generous, to be responsibile and kind, to trust their relationship with God, or me to constantly model all of those behaviors. Almost more than you can bear.
2. Being a good daughter. What does that mean? When I think of my children, I inevitably think of my parents. They need to know I love them, respect them; and, they need to know they did an ok job of raising me. (Hopefully, they think this!). I want them to have a good relationship with my kids, and I need to constantly let them know what the gift of my happy childhood means to me and continues to do for me.
3. Being a good wife. It is so easy to take your spouse for granted, and I know I do it regularly. He knows I love him. He needs to know how much I like him. How much I appreciate how dependable and helpful he is. How much fun we have when we get those treasured moments alone. I lucked out in the husband department, and I don't tell him that enough.
4. Being a good Christian. My relationship with God has grown and matured. I concentrate on wanting my actions to reflect to everyone with whom I interact what being a Christian means. Of course, if I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing, this definition will change from time to time.
That's it! All of the other little things fit someone or another into one of these categories. Through many trials, loss of friends and family members, illnesses, and job losses, these four things have gotten me through. Happy 2010. What is most important to you?

We went to family wedding this weekend. You know what struck me the most? How young the bride and groom were. They were obviously old enough to get married, it's just that I remember my own wedding like it was yesterday; yet, fifteen years later we have lived a lifetime since that day! It was very sentimental! We watched this young beautiful couple that has their lifetime ahead of them. They have no idea the bursting and unctrollable love they will feel when they have children. They have no idea of the pain they may feel when friends begain divorcing or fall fatally ill. While we have certainly had our share of good and sad times, it made me realize that we wouldn't even trade the sad ones. They've made us who we are today as a couple. We're not perfect--far from it. But we are the Dippels and I like the Dippels. What a beautiful wedding and what beautiful memories it brought back. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.

It's a Boy!

We found out recently we are having a boy. Did we care one way or the other? Not really. I confess to feeling like I'm more comfortable with girls because I understand them, I know how they think, I know their emotions. Boys? Not as much. I've been spending alot of time trying to tune into my young six year old son. Result? He amazes me. There is an undeniable bond between a mother and her son. When I see him acting like a gentleman, being considerate, or doing something consistent with what our family's values are, I am full. I am proud. I am tearful. (That may just be the hormones.) I love him dressed up like a little man. I love him all dirty, sweaty, and smelly. I love him watching him sleep. He makes me laugh. I decided what most kids need is the same--boy or girl. Love. Knowing I love them and knowing there is nothing they can do or not do to change that. Knowing that I like the person they are. I hope they know all of these things.

Missing Babar

This is a picture of my grandmother, I called her Babar, at her 90th birthday party. You may wonder why a classy southern belle would be blowing a party favor while having brunch at the club. The answer seems clear enough to me--her great-granddaugther asked her to! I have spoken to many friends about how much I loved my grandmother. She lived down the street from me almost my entire life. I spent probably as many nights at her house as my own--and so did my friends. My friends knew to call me at her house if I wasn't at home. We'd all come to her house sometimes for lunch, sometimes after a football game. Sometimes we had the courtesy to call. But probably most often we didn't. She loved listening to our stories. She passed away peacefully a couple of years ago. It has surprised me how sad I have been at losing her. You're supposed to lose your grandparents. But this really hurts. I think about her almost every day. Especially now with another baby on the way--the only baby that she will never meet. I had a dream the other night that she walked by me and touched my cheek as if to say, "it's alright, I'm here." I hope she looks down on us and meets her last great-grandchild. I miss her. She epitomized Southern hospitality. She was Christian. She was gracious. She was welcoming. She was beautiful. She loved family. She loved fried chicken. She was my Babar.

And Baby Makes Three...

Wow. My husband and I just kept repeating this three-letter very insightful word. Wow. We're going to have another baby. Wow. With a 10 year old and a 6 year old, we weren't expecting to find ourselves here again. But wow. What an incredible and wonderful surprise. My mind wanders ahead 5 or so years as it did with the birth of each of my children. I imagine their relationships with each other and smile. I fast forward 10 years and imagine our house full of friends and girlfriends and boyfriends and laughter. A big, loud, chaotic, fun house. That's what I've always wanted. We are thrilled, surprised, shocked, excited, and scared. Because mothers do worry about everything that can go wrong, I worry we've tempted fate too many times with two beautiful healthy children. Are we too greedy to expect a third? Am I really too old to do this a third time? Is a third c-section healthy? I have been praying and I hope you will join me in praying for a healthy pregnancy and delivery and a third beautiful healthy baby to join the Dippel clan. For those keeping count, that's five grandchildren on my side and ten on David's. I love being this baby's mom already as much as I love being it's brother and sister's mom. Wow.

Team Dippel takes it to Germany

We have just returned from a family vacation to Munich Germany. It was our first trip to Europe and we took the kids--whew! We were visiting David's brother and his family who are living and working there for a couple of years with his company's Munich office. It was the trip of a lifetime and I see how people get the "travel bug!" David and I both want to go back just as soon as we can. What struck me the most is how young America seemed in comparison. Every building there seemed to date back hundreds of years (at least). Most had been re-built after being demolished in the war. The churches were amazing--there is no other word. I thought of what I might show folks visiting here as "must-sees." There are many of course, Barton Creek, Antones, the Capitol.....but none with the rich historical history of Southern Germany. Another thing that struck me is that I thought many times about David's brother, Daniel, whom we lost too soon to cancer in 2005. I thought about how much fun he would have had on that trip hanging out with his younger and older brother seeing parts of Germany they hadn't seen before. What a blessing to spend that time with David's brother and his beautiful family, and to expose the kids to Europe at such a young age. What a privilege! We can't wait to do it again.

Why I Chose to Become a Lawyer

I wish there were an inspiring answer to the question, "why did you become a lawyer?" The truth is, I don't remember the exact moment. I wish it were something altruistic, like an uncontrollable desire to help those in need. Yes, I have volunteered many hours for Volunteer Legal Services and it does feel amazing to help someone get disability benefits or to leave an abusive marriage. I went to Girl's State in 1987 and that was my first introduction to the world of politics. I felt exhilarated learning I won the race for DA of my dorm. But I don't think either of those experiences was the true motivation. The hard truth is that, as an immature teeanger, I probably just thought being a lawyer would be glamorous and I would earn alot of money. The reality is that it is far from glamorous. It's plain hard work that never--never--stops. You're never "finished." It's dealing with alot of jerks and knowing that to be professional means not to reciprocate. Looking back now, with hopefully a little persepctive and a touch of wisdom, what I really think led me to the law is that I have a favorite uncle who is a lawyer. I think the world of him, and he makes me feel like I mean the world to him. He is what I imagine a big brother would be like. He is a good person -- a person who tells it like it is, enjoys life, and is smart, funny, and clever. He has a way of distilling what I think are huge problems to manageable decisions. And usually with a joke. I love him dearly, I think I wanted to be more like him and I wanted him to be proud of me. I guess that's not such a bad inspiration after all. And the money's not bad.