Why Didn't I Think Of This Sooner?!

See how inviting that looks?!  No toys ... serenity!!!  Photo compliments of Emilee Ramsier Photography

Putting myself at the bottom of the priority list is something I have successfully learned from my Mother.  It’s also the thing about her that bothers me the most … imagine that!!  Since school has just started (and we are now in full day Pre-K, Yay!) I decided I would take a short little trip to visit my sister in Atlanta.  Being the fabulous freelance photographer that she is, a job popped up at the exact time as my visit, so it got postponed!  Not wanting to waste a babysitter all lined up (to pick up from school), I made the executive decision to book a hotel room for myself and check out of Motherhood/Wifehood for 12 hours!  What a genius decision!!

Posting up at a brand new local hotel was just what the doctor ordered!  I ate dinner alone, watched a movie in my room alone, slept in and even got some work done!  Much needed headspace.  Upon re-entering my life, I found everyone was alive and well … actually thriving.  It was nice to realize my Husband was capable of making the bed AND he ACTUALLY knows where the dishwasher is and how it works!!

Next time, I am thinking a little more time, and being further away might be a better way to unplug and recharge … ocean waves … feel me? 

A little perspective always does everyone good!

Mother's Day LOVE

This year marks my third year celebrating Mother's Day!  It's been an amazing 2.5 joyous years of disrupted sleep, ear-to-ear smiles and a LOVE so BIG I could explode from time to time!

So many things have changed with Motherhood ... more than I could have digested being on the other side of giving birth!  It is true what they say ... it changes EVERYTHING!  The perspective I now have of Mothers has been eye opening.  I always knew how important Mom's were - I knew how truly LUCKY I was to come from generations of such LOVING, caring and nurturing Mothers/Grandmothers - but now to look around at the bi-products of amazing Mothers, it's beautiful to see what that LOVE can GROW.

Inspired by the street I grew up on, Letchworth Drive, some neighbors have helped me to conclude just how powerful the LOVE of a Mother can be.  At my childhood friend/neighbor (Adam's) Memorial Service, I could not help but to notice how truly exceptional he and his siblings were/are.  All full of LOVE & LIFE, gracious, patient and giving ... four children all this way?  How did their Mother do it?!  When I shared my observation with her, and asked how she was able to succeed in raising 4 amazing children, she told me she instilled in them family values, "I told them all they had was each other."  That emphasis on family values and LOVE shaped the way they live their lives and it's apparent to all whom cross their paths.

The other GINORMOUS story of a Mother's LOVE that comes from Letchworth Drive is Sarah Sanford.  Her an her husband, Vance, were unable to have children of their own when they decided to adopt.  Home to Letchworth Dr. came a little girl named Jane.  The family of three was complete ... almost!  And then the call that changed it all!  Jane's biological Mother was pregnant again and did not have the ability to care for the baby ... and the question asked, "are you interested in adopting again - Jane's biological brother?"  OF COURSE!  And the family of four was brought together!  (Read their story here in Sarah's own words!)

Jane & Jude's biological Mother not only was unable to care for her babies, she was also unable to care for herself while carrying them.  With no prenatal care or general well-being care for herself while pregnant, Jude suffered a stroke in utero which in turned caused him to develop a tremendous amount of physical challenges.  Told he may never walk, and a long laundry list of terrible expected physical outcomes, Sarah & Vance have tackled some hurdles no parent or child should have to face!  They have provided endless LOVE, support and dedication to caring for the children and especially aiding Jude in overcoming the tremendous hurdles he was faced with from the moment he was conceived.

That LOVE makes me speechless.  Sarah's LOVE brings me to tears.  She has a LOVE BIG enough for a family of four and carries the weight of their world on her back.  In and out of the hospital, to therapy, to medical treatments, up all night, and facing and dealing with the scariest healthcare situations for her little one you could imagine are all in a days work for this Momma.

Sarah's LOVE has changed the course of the world for Jane and Jude.  She has busted a cycle of unhealthy patterns and given these two lives a LOVE they would not have otherwise known in their early lives.  I have seen similar patterns broken in my own family - and all it takes is a Sarah that has a LOVE so BIG and STUBBORN it will not allow anything but LOVE to survive.

Thank you to the wonderful and amazing woman I call Mom.  Thank you to my beyond amazing 98 year old Granny for providing our family with generations of unwavering LOVE.  And most importantly THANK YOU to all the Mother's in my world that inspire me to be patient and LOVING during the sleep-deprived & challenging times.

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Four Generations on Ivan's maternal side!  photo taken by EmileeRamsierPhotography, April 2013

A little LOVE can ago a long way ... and so I ask, if you feel so inclined to donate a few dollars to the pot!  The goal is to raise some change to give Sarah Sanford a Mother's Day serenade!  With the monies collected she has to spend it on treating herself!!  Pedicure, nails, cleaning service, date out with her hubby, etc!  Visit here to donate

The sweetest Mom I know, on the street I grew up on with two of the LUCKIEST children in the whole wide world!  Jane, Sarah & Jude

Am I creating a monster ... What is "spoiled," anyway?

Today I visited the State Fair twice!  That's a lot of corn dogs if you know what I mean ... In watching some of the competitions today, I could not help but feel bad for some of the animals.  This coming from a city girl that knows NOTHING about farming or raising farm animals.  I'm sure they were all properly loved and taken care of, but the simple tug on a horse that didn't want to go that way or a calf that wasn't interested in having his picture taken, or that brown bear that I KNOW didn't want to live in that trailer and travel the fair circuit made something inside of me squirm.  That got me to thinking about my own animal handling skills and knowledge (which more than a few around me say is ridiculous - and not in a good way). 

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Isabelle ... clearly, she knows how to work it

Isabelle, my 9 year old Yorkshire Terrier is Queen.  She knows it, I know it, the rest of the family has not quite digested it.  So then I go from fair animals --> my treatment of animals (and admittedly Isabelle is SPOILED which can be beyond annoying to say the least these days, however, she did come by it honestly) to --> my treatment of Ivan ... OH GOODNESS ... is he doomed to be spoiled rotten?!

I'm of the belief "he's only 1 year old for 365 days," kids should get to be kids, and so on ... Life is too hard, and too fast, too soon.  So, between hugs, I am going to do my best to try to let him feel some pain and experience some contrast so he's able to be a functioning adult.  But until then, until the adult part (which I have 17 years to prepare for), I am going to love him and hug him and as some would say, SPOIL HIM!  (Guess this is my first formal apology to his future wife.) 

I've recently added this book to my reading list - To Safe for Their Own Good by Michael Ungar - I'm looking forward to learning what he has to say ... 

To be alive, we do need to experience risk, loss, and contrast in order to expand ... I know this, OH MY do I know this, and how painful that sounds to watch!!!  ... Holy Motherhood ;)