Category: gratitude

children, gratitude, happiness, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Amazing Energy

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hard at work, or something like that

The energy disparity between me and my boys has always been quite extreme.  Since my wisdom tooth debacle and following slow recovery, this energy chasm has widened.

As I slowly walked the boys over to a friend’s house to see if she could come over to play, I was amazed by two things.  The first being that since it was my first time outside in almost two weeks, the air seemed lighter and the sky seemed brighter even though it was drizzly with rain.  The second, as my boys rocketed ahead of me at intense speed, was how much faster they move through life than me.  Even when I was small and filled with that natural energy little people possess, I always stuck close to my Mom and was extremely introverted and quiet.  An exciting day for me consisted of listening to my ‘Annie‘ movie soundtrack, doing arts and crafts and lots of time spent alone in my own imaginary, wonder-filled world.   My boys are so different.  They are outgoing, boisterous and love anything rough and tumble.

Today it didn’t matter to me.   Yes, I’m the lady in the neighborhood with the two wild boys.

And that is perfectly fine with me.

In fact, it’s kind of amazing.

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children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof), self-discovery

Find ‘Me’

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When Mad Dog travels, like he did over this past week, my life with the boys becomes slightly more adventurous.  Thankfully, lately, I have been appreciating these adventures more.  I also managed to miraculously schedule two dinners with friends (one I invited to the house after the boys were asleep) and a lunch with my mother-in-law.

I haven’t had that much social activity since the early nineties when children were a twinkle in my eye and my hair was taller than a full-grown palm tree.

It was rather strange.  While I was physically stretched to the max maintaining the family routine and meeting my social obligations this week, my spirit felt completely full. 

I’m learning that as my children grow and need me less,  I need to embrace this (as much as I can because it hurts ever so) and find myself a little more each day. 

That’s what friends and a fabulous mother-in-law are for.

children, gratitude, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery, Taekwondo

The Sparring Truth

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Now that T.Puzzle is a camoflauge belt, he technically is allowed to spar.  This means I am technically allowed to be completely neurotic about it.

the good ol' days when T.Puzzle was still a non-sparring yellow belt.

Oh, my denial runs deep.  I keep wishing and hoping that his sparring days are far, far in the future.

In class as I grabbed a seat another Mom asked me, “Has T.Puzzle sparred, yet?”

I went into this long explanation about how he has not, how I’m not ready for it, he’s too young, too timid and maybe Mad Dog can take him to a sparring class because I don’t want to see it.

I think a simple ‘no, he has not’ would have sufficed.

Needless to say, as soon as I’m done with my crazy little speech, the instructor approaches me and asks if  T.Puzzle has his sparring gear.

Today is the day.

Yikes!!

The more I thought about it the more I realized my concerns about T.Puzzle sparring had nothing to do with him.

I am associating this with him being grown-up.

Newsflash— he is growing up.

Sometimes knowledge like this is worse than a flying high kick to the head.

After it was over, it was all relatively harmless, and T.Puzzle shouted, ‘that was the most awesomest!’, I paused and tried to be grateful for how well he handled it. 

Me? 

I still have a ways to go yet.

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Pinch Me

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More often than not, Mad Dog and I have these surreal moments, especially as a weekend draws to a close, where we look at each other in disbelief and say, ‘the boys were really well behaved, weren’t they?”  It’s almost like we need someone to pinch us or that we need to thumbprint our kids to make sure that they are really, truly ours.

When public outings for so long have been a battle ground, it’s refreshing when they simply become enjoyable.

I didn’t see that coming at all.

And, for those who read this blog regularly, I bet you didn’t either.

Fun at the Alligator Farm.
gratitude, happiness, kids, marriage, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

2, 4, 6, 8 Who Do I Appreciate?

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Do you ever wonder if your partner understands how hard you work to make everything seem easy? 

How when he may (or may not) reach for clothes for the kids, they are clean, neatly organized and always at hand?   This goes for karate uniforms, too.

Or, when he walks in the door, the kids are playing with each other in a respectful manner (someone had to teach them this and they need almost daily reminders of how to continue to do so), the house is clean (relatively speaking) and dinner is cared for (most nights).

And, what about all the learning these kids need to do that you have to help them with?  Eye appointments and doctors visits, too?

Believe me, I’m just getting started here.

Now, before you stop reading in protest Mad Dog, let me flip it around.

Do you ever feel like your partner understands how hard you work to provide for her and the kids?

How about all the long hours spent alone in an office (with no windows, mind you!) on endless phone calls trying to accomplish seemingly impossible business feats and doing so while making it all look easy?

What about trying to manage a team that is scattered across the nation that looks to you for leadership and expects nothing but excellence from you? 

Or the myriad of calamities and unexpected projects that pile up on your already overtaxed work schedule?

And what about the time spent away from your boys?  You know they are incredible and they grow by leaps and bounds every day, and you have to miss some of the really important and downright cool stuff.

You are handling all these things and doing it well even at great personal cost.  Does your partner get this?

Really?

I don’t know that I do.

Sometimes I’m so focused on feeling underappreciated in my own corner of the world that it begins to feel like a part-time job.

Are life and relationships ever going to be exactly how you want them to be?

Nope.

What can I do today to take care of myself, give myself the recognition I desire and honor and appreciate my partner in the process?

I love you, Mad Dog and appreciate you!

I guess that’s a start.