Moms, some days it’s hard to let ourselves be loved exactly how we are. We think he must be up to something when he shows affection. How could he possibly be attracted to this? Doesn’t he see these dark circles? Doesn’t he feel the extra pounds I’ve put on? When we reject ourselves, we can end up rejecting others without even realizing it.
You wonder why I wonder
Why you’re staring at me
When I look in the mirror
I don’t see what you see
I see a tired mother
You see a grown-up girl
I see an empty shell
You see your whole world
I rarely put on makeup
You hardly seem to mind
I stress and fret and fuss
You just want me to unwind
I worry that you’ll …
Yes, this picture is creepy. That’s the point.
Do you notice something strange about this doll? I mean, besides her missing pants. (She was a garage sale find given to Anna by her great aunt, and perfectly sized for Anna’s new doll house. We can find new pants for her someday, right?) Yes, my creative mind immediately began concocting fantastical tales about how this silver haired plastic figurine may have lost the bottom half of her wardrobe.
But my daughter pointed out something else. Something much more insightful than my 12-year-old humor, “I see London, I See France…”
When I handed her the doll, she held it in her little hand, and stared intently for at least minute. Certain she would ask about the “wardrobe malfunction,” I prodded her with, “Honey, do you notice something strange about …
If I ever said I couldn’t wait for my daughter to get a little bit more independent, I take it back. If I ever said I can’t wait until she’s (insert age here) so she’s a little less emotional, I take it all back. All of the milestones I celebrated and encouraged, I wish they’d taken longer to happen. She just turned three, and yet her development has gone into double-time. I can still feel the smoothness of the top her infant head on my cheek as I rocked her so many nights ago. I can still see the hilarious faces she used to make when she yawned as a wrinkly, squawking newborn. She is wonderful. And beautiful. And she’s ours. I delight in seeing her make new discoveries. But someone, please make it stop! …
At 4 a.m., I saw my husband off to work. I made him a cup of coffee to go, and watched him drive away on a 1.5 hour commute to his job site. A job site where he would be outdoors nearly all day in 100 plus degree heat, only to take short breaks in the air conditioned job trailer before heading back out into the blistering sun. He’s a hard worker, as hard as they come. I’m sure he would have loved to outsource part of his job today…like I did.
That’s right. I took my toddler to her old daycare, and kept the baby home with me. So technically, I outsourced half of my job. Why? Because I felt it was the best thing for my family, to give her …
Need to make an on-the-spot major decision on household conduct? Chug one of these first.
“I think we’re going to have a grease fire. Honey. Honey?! Are we? You’re a firefighter. Can you tell me? Do we need the extinguisher?!”
“Mommy, get me a snack. I’m hungry,” my three year old whined while following me around the kitchen as I frantically flung open the windows. “I’m hungry. A snack. Snack. Can I have a snack? Please?”
“Anna, in just a second! Mommy’s trying to prevent a fire. Dave, do we need an extinguisher?!” Meanwhile, the baby is running around with an obviously poo-filled diaper. Whee!
My husband casually looked up from the laptop, where he was surfing truck listings on Craig’s List. “Oh…there’s a lot of smoke. Maybe.”
Maybe? Maybe?! That’s it! I wasn’t going to risk losing our …
I’d like to tell you about Erica. My second born. Her big sister gets all of the attention on momma’s blog, but little sister is a personality all her own. Anna is my squeaky wheel, mainly because she is three, and challenges and delights my mind in ways I never knew possible.
Just tonight, Anna told me, “Mom! I just saw an angel! In the sky! It was a girl. She had magic in her ears!” When asked the angel’s name, she replied, “Water bottle.” See? There she goes, stealing the spotlight from a post about how her little sister never gets the attention. Anyhoo…
Erica is a delight. A chubby, bubbly toddling bundle of energy and curiosity. How do I love Erica? Let me count the ways:
1. I love how she passionately …