Supporting you in motherhood, one little blog post at a time
It’s that time of year again. Mad Dog and I are setting off on our annual cruise. It’s amazing how much more patience you have for your children and laundry when you know in a few days you will be sailing across the ocean. Oh, and like I told my good friend, the prospect of unlimited champagne mojitos helps, too!
I will return next week and I’m sure I will have some stories to share. Thanks for reading my little blog. I appreciate it.
Bon Voyage!
Whew! Full Speed had a whole week off and T.Puzzle stayed home most of the week, too.
You know some mayhem ensued.
Oh how it did.
We were a busy bunch.
The week started with a ‘date’ for Mom and Full Speed.
The boys saw Santa with their cousin.
We celebrated Thanksgiving and Mad Dog’s birthday. And yes, as a nation, I do believe in our entirety, we felt extreme gratitude that Mad Dog’s birthday coincided on this special day. Or something like that.
Then, Mad Dog and I celebrated his birthday again as Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Pink graciously hosted our boys. Upon our return, it is unlikely they will be invited back anytime soon. Apparently, someone really needs to talk to their parents about their rowdy behavior. Our apologies.
Then, if all that wasn’t enough, we decorated our Christmas tree. I tried oh-so-hard to let the boys do their thing without anxiously hovering about. They seemed to have fun and I did too, just as long as all our breakable ornaments were hung at the top of the tree (by me!).
By the end of the week, we had two very tired boys on our hands.
When all was said and done, the thing that I am most grateful for is that I was actually sad to send them back to school because we had so much fun together.
Mothering these two strong spirited boys has not been without challenge. To be able to say that I am honestly going to miss them as they trounce back to school is a turning point.
I am learning that even though there were days during vacation that they drove me to tears with their outlandish and stubborn behavior, I am now beginning to see the emergence of who they really are underneath.
Thankfully, they are two very cool little dudes.
Hope you all had a great holiday!
My ‘vacation’ is officially over and a semi-quiet has settled over my house. It is in this quietude that I can reflect back on all the fun and a little bit of the sad. It has been well over a year since my Mom’s passing and I can honestly say that the grief process has gotten better. In my everyday life I’m adjusting more and more to her absence, but when big or interesting events like this recent vacation pop up, the sting of her loss still gets me.
Mad Dog and I were married at Disney World in December of 2003. Since that time we have made several trips back there and up until her death, my Mom was always with us. This last trip without her had a lot of great moments but also had some moments we wished my Mom could be with us. Our kids only slightly picked up on our random bouts of sadness or so I thought. As my sister and her family were leaving for home yesterday, we got very emotional as we said goodbye. There was no dialogue about missing our Mom, but the emotion exchanged in the air between us was palpable.
Once my sister’s family was gone and I was left with the boys and my sad thoughts, Full Speed looks at me and says, “I miss Grandma.”
“I miss her, too and so does Aunt Skee. That’s why we seemed sad today.”
“Mom, don’t be sad. Aunt Skee has her kids to keep her happy and you have me and little T.Puzzle to keep you happy.”
My heart was warmed by his perceptive compassion but I couldn’t help but wish my Mom was right there in that moment to see it.
Miss you, Mom.
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…
This vacation has been pretty spectacular. I think some of the best parts of it have been the unplanned parts. The cabin we are staying in has a huge theater room and we have had many ‘double features’. The kids will watch a movie first and then we will all pile in for a family movie. Of course by the time the grown-ups arrive in the theater room, it is completely littered with popcorn. It’s almost as if the ceiling has opened up and a popcorn rain-shower ensued.
One of the other best parts is the view. The smoky mountains are absolutely beautiful. I’m not sure if I like it so much for the beauty, or for the knowledge that my Mom would have loved this view, too. She always loved the mountains and we will always, always love her.
