Tag: life lessons

children, eyesight, gratitude, happiness, health, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

Limitless Sky

WFAM

Life hands you challenges sometimes. When you are faced with these, it is often difficult to understand why.

I have two young boys that were born with a rare genetic eye disorder called ectopia lentis.

I don’t know exactly why this happened.

All I do know is that it has put us on a path in life that is beyond anything we expected. We have been connected to amazing people we never would have met otherwise. We have had to test our mettle over and over each time victorious in the knowledge that as a family, we can overcome any obstacle.

So, I may not know exactly why vision challenges came into our lives. At least now I’ve had time and growth to realize some of the amazing lessons that have gone along with it.

If we can do this, we can do anything.

Think about any challenge you have lived through or are living with right now. If you can do that, you can do anything, too.

The sky’s the limit.

This is a pic of the boys being introduced by the director at the Vision is Priceless annual fundraiser. We are very thankful to this organization for all they do. Check out their link in my blog roll.
children, gratitude, happiness, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery, Taekwondo

Wise for His Size

WFAM

It was Full Speed’s turn to graduate.

He was fired up from the start.

Once he donned his sparring gear he felt unstoppable.

He attacked with everything he had.  His opponent didn’t stand a chance.

Full Speed breaks out his flying spin kick.
Go Full Speed!

One of the best parts about being six years old is that life and its lessons haven’t completely caught up to you yet.  You still believe in the impossible.

Santa will visit your house.

Life will always good.

And, in Full Speed’s case, you can imagine that you are a six foot, 190 lb. man who can beat anyone or any obstacle with a spin kick and a heart like a lion.

Maybe Full Speed has something to teach us all.

gratitude, happiness, mommyhood

Vacation from My Vacation

WFAM

I know you all can relate. Vacations are great but sometimes it would be nice to have a few ‘recovery’ days before heading back into your normal routine. Especially if your normal routine involves the likes of T.Puzzle and Full Speed.

My sister and her family are leaving tomorrow. We have been very lucky to get to spend so much time with them. It has felt nice to reconnect with my nieces and nephews. They are a great group of kids.

Here are some of the lessons I learned on this vacation:

1. No matter how much time or distance separates you from the people you care about, the love you have for them remains constant.
2. SPF 100 does not prevent sunburn on a Florida beach in the heart of July. Ouch and ouch!
3. When you are three and five (like my boys) having your cousins around to play with is tantamount to having cookies for breakfast or watching fireworks every night (which we did our three nights at Disney last week).
4. Some of my best vacation memories will be the simple ones. Quiet conversations with my ever evolving nieces, watching my oldest nephew bond with T.Puzzle and Full Speed, marveling that my littlest nephew finally lets me hold him without tears and soaking in the chaos that is my family and loving it.

Thanks for the memories…

All the gang at Bukkets Bar and Grill oceanside JAX Beach
children, life in pictures, mommyhood, self-discovery

The Little T.Puzzle That Could

WFAM

When we were at the beach and precariously attempting to navigate the two blocks to the restrooms, I had a strange moment of observational clarity. I was feeling frustrated with little T.Puzzle because he was lollygagging behind and then to slow matters even more, one of his crocs slipped from his foot.

nine month old T.Puzzle

“My croc!” he yelled, and then proceeded to take an eternity to retrieve it and place it back on his foot. Once the croc was correctly placed he determinedly rose red-faced from the sand and swiftly marched (and I mean MARCHED) to catch up with me. As I watched his arms and legs pump forward I felt admiration and a pause of understanding. If I were three years old in this big, big world I bet that I would hit a few bumps and meltdowns as I made my way, too.

In this moment I saw little T.Puzzle’s stubborn streak as a gift because I know that once we channel it for good, he will make his own way. Then I will have an even harder parenting task than anything I have faced thus far.

I will have to let him.

me and little T.Puzzle, took this pic myself
children, grief, loss of parent, mommyhood

It Wasn’t All Sad

WFAM

I made a pact with myself. Yes, Mother’s Day would be sad, and yes, I would do my best to enjoy it despite the sadness. It sort of worked. I went for a run in the morning. I’m not a huge fan of running but I am a huge fan of occasional solitude. The best part of my run is when it is over and I’m walking towards home to cool-down.

As I open the door to the house, I hear the shower going. Mad Dog was showering the boys before our Mother’s Day outing. He was doing it without help. I know he is perfectly capable but I went upstairs to investigate.

Here’s what I found:

Apparently while Mad Dog was finishing up in the shower, the suspects decided to proceed with their normal bathing routine unassisted. They know enough that once they are clean that Mom slathers them up with lotion before they get dressed. So, Little T.Puzzle got a hold of the body lotion and as you can tell, the rest is mess-covered history.

These shenanigans helped cheer me tremendously. These amazing Mother’s Day gifts from my the boys helped, too.

This was my second Mother’s Day without my Mom and in a lot of ways it was painful and in some ways it wasn’t so bad. My life must go on because I am a mother, too. My boys are depending on me and I sure am lucky to have them.