A Mother's Day Sentiment
Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, my own personal angel.I totally lucked out when God gave me to you. Thank you for teaching me to love unconditionally, to be loved, and to love who I am. Thank you for teaching me about perseverance and how to dust oneself off when life knocks you down. Thank you for teaching me about joy in the simple things...Like fresh picked strawberries, or swimming out to the deep end, even if you're scared, because the water is cooler there, and there's nothing like floating on your back in the middle of the ocean.
Happy Mother's Day to my Grammie, who listened to me tell stories where Princesses rode giant panthers through dense forests, and for helping me spy a leprechaun when out for a walk. Thank you for always having an ear, or a story to tell of her own.Thank you both for teaching me to always find time to dance - to throw up my arms and spin and it's OK if you've got two left feet, there's Grace in that.
love always,me
I remember...
This Friday my eldest son Michael was off of school, on days he's off, I normally let my youngest who goes to preschool half of the day stay out as well. However, I don't really get any time alone with Mike anymore so I thought it would be fun to have some "Mommy & Me" time. Mothering boys is a challenge, but it's also wonderful, especially when you embrace every fun thing about their little boyish ways. We only had three hours but I was determined to pack every second with fun.We went bowling and played in the arcade, for the first hour and a half. I then planned on taking him for some frozen yogurt (his favorite) so that he could use a coupon he received for getting good grades, unfortunately everything in Miami seems to open pretty late in the day and the yogurt place was closed. We ended up browsing for books at Barnes and Noble, where I snapped this photo.
As he walked down the street with me he wasn't even that disappointed the yogurt place was closed. He grabbed my hand and said, "it's okay Mom, I'm having fun."I thought my heart would burst, right there on Sunset Avenue.Love & Mothering,nicōle
I'm Going To Miss This
Motherhood is fleeting in a way. Our pregnancies, in retrospect-fly by, as do those early newborn you don't know if it's day or night, or if you're coming or going phase. Then things start to settle down and in the blink of an eye the first year has past and you marvel at how much your baby has grown and perhaps you think to yourself, I can't believe I'm doing this, I am a MOM. Somewhere between their first piece of birthday cake and the sticky mess that ensues you may even access in the back of your mind how much you've grown this first year and how the love for your little one has grown exponentially and far faster or greater than you ever thought possible.Yes. Motherhood is fleeting. Before we know our little babies are toddlers who staunchly say to you, "I do it. I DO IT!" When-in a rush to get out the door for some appointment you are inevitably late to you try to dress them, or put their tiny shoes on their little feet. But, the look of determination and independence on their precious face causes you to pause. To take a deep breath and sit and watch and count your blessings that you get to bear witness to and be apart of this very mundane, yet so very important part of your child's development.When, after what seems like an eternity by that ever ticking hand on your watch the shoes are on and your ready to go out the door you can't help but smile and be proud at their major accomplishment a mirror no doubt of your child's face.Before you know it, it's the first day of school and you're putting on your brave face while you can't believe how amazing your child is doing. You wait and watch them, and when you think they're not going to look for you-for one final good-bye before their new adventure begins you see it and smile. Yes. Motherhood is fleeting, and while I'm reminded of Shakespeare's As You Like It, suddenly while I write this; I can't help but smile at my boys- who at this very moment have dumped their toys (they should be cleaning up) and are hiding under the baskets pretending to be superheros in disguise. It's no Norman Rockwell scene, but what about motherhood, childhood, or life in general for that matter really is? Motherhood is messy. It's exhausting and magical, frightening and empowering, it can make you feel completely alone and like you belong to a special sisterhood-in short-motherhood is hard work. It is with-out-a-doubt the most important thing I will ever do. Somedays I want to pull my hair out, then others I wipe tears from my eyes when I'm struck by how blessed I truly am.Earlier today I had just such a moment, when my little Evan awoke up from his nap-his eyes still half closed, blanket and his kitty cat in tow; a,"I'm still tired, and why are you not still laying next to me?" whine escaping from his lips. I scooped him up into my arms where he fell right back to sleep. He's not done that for some time and I couldn't help but recall all those precious moments when he was brand new. When I sat and held him while he slept, then I thought of Michael and how much he's grown in six years and how I'm looking forward to, albeit with a slight trepidation (How I wish they could stay little just a while longer!) for all the firsts and everything else that life has in store for us. I couldn't help but think how much I'm going to miss these days when my boys still come to be for cuddles and to kiss bruised knees.Once we become mothers we are mothers for the rest of our lives, but it's not fair that our time with our little ones passes so quickly. I plan on being even more mindful of how short childhood really is, and take the time to basque in the little things that when it's all said and done my children will remember and I will look back upon fondly. I will not think about the late appointments, or how-for instance it's taken me just two hours to write this post, because in those two hours I've stopped to roast marshmallows over our stove for an impromptu treat, I've blown raspberries at a toy cannon, and did forward rolls on our living room floor. Two hours filled with laughter, and tickles of silly faces and big round eyes full of wonderment. It was two hours well spent and although motherhood is fleeting, I intend to soak up every last second!xo,
How Do You Measure Up?
Often in life, we compare ourselves to someone, something, we try to be the person we think we should be, instead of the person we are. I'm not saying that trying to better yourself, to be kinder, to be more than what we are as a person is a bad thing. What I'm saying revolves around the superficial. Open up any beauty magazine and your bombarded with ads telling us what we should look like, what we should be wearing, and even how we should act. Sometimes it's less superficial. Sometimes we try to be the person we think our lovers want us to be, or who are parent's want us to be...I can't tell you how grateful I am that I do not suffer from this.I have my mother to thank for that.I've been thinking about my mom a lot.She's not perfect. She recognized that. She taught me to appreciate imperfections. The most important thing my mother ever taught me wasn't how to put my makeup on, or to cook, or the best way to get grass stains out, but of self love. She may not have always had it for herself, but she certainly taught me to cherish the person I am. To love me. She did this by loving me unconditionally. By letting me express myself-even if that included wearing her-to big clothes when I was twelve and wished so much to be grown.By teaching me to love myself my mother made it really easy for me to love others and for other people to love me. A fact, that I am very grateful for. I'm no where near to being perfect and I like that. I measure myself against me and the ever evolving person that is who I am.How do you measure yourself?
Bath Time Swim
This evening, as I gave Mo a bath, we overfilled the bathtub, and instead of emptying some of the water from the tub, I let him have a "swimming pool." I even contemplated giving him a super-soaker water gun to play with but thought better of it since I didn't want to get completely soaked, and as it was the likelihood that the floor, bath mats and anything else within splash distance of the tub was going to be covered in water made me think that was probably the dumbest idea I've had in a while twice. I felt terrible for about a second, thinking that I was taking away a whopper of fun that would elevate bath time to a whole new level. [I might hand him the super-soaker the next time his dad is doing bath time. We've got two, and they could have a water fight. I will be far, far, away where water can do no damage to my blow-dried tresses.] It made me reminisce about those early baths when I barely put an inch of water into the tub and had to hold him up while he splashed. I'm at the point now with Copper, and it just made me smile to think about the past and the future. Copper will have his fill of bathtub swimming pools; by then, Mo will probably be on a shower-only basis. I sincerely hope he still wants a swimming pool from time to time when he's at the ripe old age of eight!