Uncommon Sense, the title

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a title :)

If you've been here since the beginning (that would probably make you my mom, or sister), this blog started as a pregnancy tracker, and a place to put pictures upon the baby's arrival.  Back then it was called "Our Growing Family" and was a simple place to update friends and family who were far away.

Sometime after Maya's arrival I changed the title to "Stuff from Us", since we were no longer a growing family.  When that seemed too mundane, it changed to "Who reads the title, anyway?" which was a fitting summary of my mild frustration at not being able to sum us up in a neat little title. 

Saturday, inspiration struck.

Dave has mentioned to me that when I work with Parker, things cross my mind that he wouldn't ever think to do (it's not that I'm brilliant, he's just never had a dog before, and I have good animal intuition).  I've asked him to point this out as it's happening---show me what he's talking about.  So Saturday afternoon, we decided to take Maya out on her bike, and I wanted Parker to walk close to her.  Kind of like this:

But sometimes hanging out changes to touching . . .

And sometimes touching changes to grabbing . . . (which is not cool)

(Grabbing is rare, but when it happens I think 3 things need to happen instantly.  1.  Parker needs to stay still, and trust that I won't let him get hurt.  He can't address the situation, he needs to let me.  2.  I need to respond immediately to get Maya to let go.  3.  Maya needs to realize that grabbing is not funny or a game, and practice petting gently.)

Anyway, we paused on our walk, and  Maya was petting Parker so nicely---but then grabbed.  I got her to let go, Parker ran behind me, and Dave was about to start walking again.  I stopped him and said that Parker needed to stand next to Maya and relax, Maya needed to pet him nicely, and we needed to give him some treats---otherwise Parker would think that if a kid grabs him the best thing to do is run away, and then we'll move on.  

Dave said "See!  That's it!  I would never think to do that.  It's simple, it makes sense, it just wouldn't have crossed my mind.  It's common sense, but it's like, UNcommon sense.  You have uncommon sense."

And I said "That's a great blog title."  :)

And the more I've thought about it, the more perfect it is for us.  Most of the compliments that I've gotten on the blog have to do with our uncommon sense.   We think outside the box to come up with uncommon creative ideas (hello, somewhat ghetto crawling mats, a weighted license plate for a baby walker, trying to train our own service dog, etc).  We might have an uncommon sense of humor, tending towards the darker/more sarcastic side, a little irreverant (even when you're losing your hair, you have to look on the lighter side). 

Maybe most importantly, we have an uncommon sense of perspective.  People have commented at how impressive it is that we don't get bogged down by some of our struggles . . . but really?  Things here aren't so bad (I mean, we have breakdown moments, but they are fewer and farther between).   State of mind doesn't have to be something that just happens, it's a choice. 

And so, I think we have a permanent name, brought to you by uncommon sense :)