Friendly
TWF
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s one of those moments that stick in your brain forever. The kind that makes you laugh every single time you think of it. The one that you share with people, over and over and over.
The one that you can’t imagine your life without and had you not been paying attention or willing to grab onto it – you would have totally forgotten about it and your life would seem emptier and you’d never know why.
I was at a Spanish Honors camp, I was about 16 and for whatever reason, I was wearing a Violet Femmes t-shirt. It was one of those with “old-time” photos, where the three guys were dressed up and it looked all vintage. I was wearing this – why anyone didn’t stop me, I don’t know, either way … if someone had stopped me, well, my life would be different. And not in a good way.
This skinny, long haired beauty approached me at a welcome picnic, she looked at my shirt and said “is that your family?”
Dear God. Three men on my shirt, two of them dressed as women, the words VIOLENT FEMMES etched across the top and this girl thinks they’re my family?
“um, no, they’re the Violent Femmes.” Her name was Jennifer (but we call her Jennifer Helen, got that?) and that began an amazing relationship that continues to this day. We are both 33 years old, we’ve been together through everything; engagements, marriage, careers, job loss, births, cancer…death.
If you and I were sitting in a room together, drinking coffee and eating a dessert, I’d tell you ALL about my Soul Sister except that’s not the point of this post.
The point of this post is to share with you how I’ve watched this person, this person with the biggest dreams, the biggest heart, the biggest smile, so full of life, how I watched a dream of hers hatch from her heart and soul and watched it evolve and turn into REALITY.
She’s a workaholic. She’s a loveaholic. She’s a funaholic and she’s an amazing Mom to three kids, a wife to an awesome (and totally handsome) guy, she’s full of life and wants to do it all. Over the years I have watched her struggle with time and how to manage all of the different facets of her life.
Then one day an idea popped into her head as to what she needed to do to create this path of peace and inspiration, as a wife, Mom, friend, daughter, career-woman, sister, aunt. She created it and now she’s expanding it to share with women everywhere because we, as women take on too much. We, as women, want to do it all except we can’t and so this idea, like a butterfly flying off a branch, gracefully took off from her mind and landed in Chicago.
Triple W was created. For Jennifer Helen. For me. For you. For her, over there.
I’m telling you this as YOUR friend. If you can make it Chicago on September 10 and 11th, you need to attend this conference. Last year, I was at the “beta” launch of TWF, it was small and I walked out to completely inspired to LIVE as a working Mom, a wife, a Mom. I left with tools to help me live my best life.
And that was just the “beta” version of TWF.
So, now, TWF is just two weeks away and I feel like it’s my job to tell you about it because I know you struggle with the very same things – trying to accomplish it all and when you can’t, you feel you have failed. IT’S TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. This is what Triple W is all about.
I’m sure there are 15 reason why you feel you can’t attend, I even gave myself the same reasons; money, sitter; travel. But after sitting with my husband and discussing this, we agreed that this purchase would probably be the purchase of a lifetime. And not just for me but for everyone that surrounds me.
So, I am going.
and I am so proud of her.
and I hope you go, too.
and ignite your bones
Posted by: | CommentsI’m sitting on my couch. The hum of the washer and dryer can be heard from a distance, Eli’s swing is playing the sounds of birds and water. Eli is on the other couch, sleeping. Peaceful.
My windows are open, it’s seventy-five degrees outside. About every four minutes the most gentle breeze comes through my window and washes over me.
I wait for the next one to come, it always does.
I can smell the fruit I cut last night, the clothes that I softened with lavender softener. The sun is shining.
The sky is blue.
Anna and Noah are at their Grandma’s house. A sleepover with cousins. The kind that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives… someday they’ll tell their own kids about root beer floats, walks at a park, sleeping in the same bed as their cousins. Waking up to see Grandma.
Brian and I watched a movie last night, we folded clothes and ate pizza. We took turns snuggling with Eli (while the other folded the laundry.) It was the best date, I am not lying to you. I walked around inside the house with Elijah and saw the sunset, I felt a nudge to go out and enjoy but my heart reminded me that what was inside my house was more beautiful than anything else. Even the sunset. (usually)
(sometimes)
I’m feeling pangs of sadness as I think about the summer coming to a close. The kids starting school next week. Did we have enough s’mores? Enough trips to the beach? Why do we save all of the “good” stuff for summer?
We don’t, the good is just more flirtatious and light in the summer.
I do not want fall and winter to come but I’ve decided to accept it and let it wash over us. We’ll continue to make the most of this life.
I was sick this weekend, so sick. Brian and my parents were shopping for computers, I was alone with the kids when I suddenly became ill. so sick. so fast. I cried as I picked up my phone to email Brian “I AM SO SICK.”
Later they told me they looked at each other and knew what to do. They came right home. Brian took the baby from my arms, I laid down and slept. I woke up to the sounds of my Mom playing with Eli, Brian talking to my Dad, the kids playing outside. I stayed sick but I wasn’t sad that I was sick, I was surrounded by SUCH GOOD that my sick was okay with me.
I am better.
Today, I realized how thankful I am to have all of this laundry to do. We have clothes and a washing machine. I have a family that wears these clothes, they spill the food we eat on their pants, the food that comes in abundance. The food we eat, sitting around a kitchen table or a table on our deck. There are birds chirping in the distance and plans made for the week ahead. The week that will soon be over. Starting the official end of our summer vacation.
A wise friend once said “I decided to stop trying to make friends with time. And we just made peace instead.”
Yes. That.
About Elijah
Posted by: | CommentsThanks for leaving such great comments about Elijah on Friday. He is so sweet and to see him in so much pain breaks my heart into a million, trillion little pieces.
I wanted to pop in and give you an update. Fortunately, his ears looked great, his throat looks great and the doctor feels pretty strongly that this is not allergy related.
This is what was happening… I would start to nurse Eli, he would nurse really well for maybe two minutes, then he would take a big gulp and start to scream. He was very obviously in pain. Getting him to settle down was nearly impossible. The problem continued because he was still hungry but it hurt him to eat.
So, what’s wrong with him? Reflux. Yep. The medicine he was on was still working just not as well. Seems his case is pretty severe, which is completely sad because, well, it’s just sad.
It’s also sad because we are on a new medication which costs $60 for a twenty day prescription, this in addition to the $30 a month he’s already on. More than NINETY DOLLARS a month.
Something seems so wrong about that. Don’t you think?
But we have an answer and for that I AM THANKFUL!
Many of you asked about Eli’s outfit on Friday and I can’t believe I didn’t share with you who it’s from. My friend, Angela, from Ellie Beans sent it to Eli after he was born. I LOVE this little outfit. She has an entire shop filled with really adorable (handmade!) awesomeness. Anyway, you should check it out. (she didn’t ask me to say this, I just wanted to share something I love with you all, especially before school starts!)
Here’s another shot of Eli sporting his motorcycle digs.
He’s a cool guy.
and he’s much happier, too.
Enough
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday was one of those days where everything was good. It wasn’t always easy, but everything was good.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.
If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.
–Oprah Winfrey
I’m grateful for the summer food on our table.
My kids. Their hearts are so full of life that it rubs off on us.
I’m thankful for summer shoes on clearance at Target in July.
Not pictured: prayer at church, peanut butter ice cream cones at our local ice cream parlor, kid-sized swimming pools, neighbors who can bake, family car rides in the country, a clean bedroom, sitting on the floor with the kids, tickle parties and a husband who gets it.
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward
Beginning
Posted by: | CommentsI look at these photos and I think a number of things.
1. Last year at this time, I was not pregnant but desperately wanted to be and Sarah was about 14 weeks pregnant.
TIME FLIES.
2. Why didn’t we try this 15 minutes earlier when Eli wasn’t so unbelievably tired?
and
three.
This is the first photo shoot of many, they’re going to be together for the rest of their lives.
Sarah and I are pretty excited. I can’t say the same about the boys just yet.
(Trey, six months old, is on the left. Eli, nearly three months old, is on the right.)
