Motherhood turned me into an Animal

And many at that.   

One moment I'm a mama bird, firm on life lessons and consequences, pushing my baby bird out of the nest.   

Mess with my kids? I turn into a mama bear.

 

Then there’s the moment, “Mom, I don’t feel like you are listening…are you on Facebook?” and I want to put my head in the ground like an ostrich (after I comment on my friends post).
 

Not sure they are behaving?
I have the supersonic hearing of a bat.


When teaching my children,
I want to be a leader of the the pack.

During play, I want the freedom of
 a dolphin jumping in the sea beside them.  

 Those quiet moments when my children are hurt, scared or
 they have self doubt,
I am a  kangaroo with my baby back in my pouch.

When my children amaze me by just being..... themselves, I feel like a lion holding my mane up high a top a beautiful mountain. 
 

 And when my patience is tested,

I climb into a Eucalyptus tree quietly like a koala bear. 

Thankfully, the Eucalyptus tree sometimes has wine in it.

 

Like swans, I have found a mate for life who can help
navigate this parenting jungle.

And like the ants who team up to carry one piece of
food for the whole crew,
I have many family, friends and God to lighten the load.

But no matter where life takes us,
my children will always be as miraculous
 and fragile as a nest of baby eggs in the wild.   

 

 

 

The Spirit of The League

We have all been there as parents.
Whether at a sporting event, school or recreational activity,
watching your child succeed at something and you find yourself tearing up
 - brimming over with pride and emotion -
and you may or may not refrain from yelling,
 "That's MY kid!"
 

 
It was a County Championship Swim Meet,
comprised of more 40 teams split among four sessions.
All the parents were seated comfortably in the stands

on the plastic flip down chairs made for really tiny people.

  (Reminiscent of an airplane,

but at least on the airplane there are only rows of three.)

 

"Excuse me, pardon me.. excuse me, pardon me, excuse me..,

excuse me... pardon me, excuse me, excuse me...."

 

In the third session, the stands were packed.

We all became very close.

 

Obviously, we are all cheering for our team's swimmers.

That's a given.

 But I noticed half way through the session,

once the parents around us realized who our kids were,

 they started cheering for our kids too.

It was no longer competitors with team spirit,

but parents-sharing in each other's joy.

Whether our "new friends" heard our child's name called,

saw they were heat winner, or just that they swam hard,

there was a nod of approval and parents were congratulating the
 parents from competing teams.

 

And when another teams swimmer broke their own sibling's county record,
we were all congratulating them.

(I won't mention their names because I got in trouble with my kids for talking about it,

 but I will so be looking for them at the Olympics!)

And then the moment came. 

 The parents right in front of us were watching their child
(from a competing team)
 in the final heat-in the fastest lane.
They went crazy, hollering, cheering, jumping up and down,
and then when he won, hugging and crying.

 

And that's when I found myself crying too,
because after all the competition is over,
we are all parents at the end of the day.   

 

 

 

 

 

Sandy Hook ~ A month later

Every Christmas Eve, in Tarpon Springs, Florida on the Bayou,
they light thousands of white luminary bags with a candle for someone special.
It is a beautiful sight. 

 Normally, these bags have the names of those living and deceased..... 

but this year, they mostly were in memory of someone.   

There was a large section dedicated to the 

Sandy Hook Elementary School children. 

 My oldest was overwhelmed by all the children's names and began crying, saying, 

"I just feel like if I can remember one persons name and pray for them, 

I have helped in some way." 

I was moved.... proud.... and sad. 

I think it is safe to say, the holidays had a somber underlying tone for everyone. 

I had also read about a little girl in Griffin, GA who was found dead Dec. 22. 

She was only nine. 

Her neighbor was arrested almost immediately, maybe that is why it didn't make the national news.  

Her name is Skylar Dials. 

Thankfully, my children knew nothing of it. 

I couldn't stop thinking about her though... I figured that was the least I could do. 

Last night my youngest was up till 11:00 p.m., calling out every so often,
"Mom, dad, are you there?"
"Just making sure you are okay."

This isn't part of our "normal" bedtime routine. 

I think the sporadic new bedtime has something to do with the poem my oldest had just written, so here it is,

The Sandy Hook Massacre through a child's eyes. 

As everyday passes by,

I wonder why things happen the way they do.

And I try and try not to dwell on it. 

But I get to thinking…

They didn’t deserve to die,

Why was it so many lives?

Those innocent, 

Don’t deserve to die. 

At least they lived happy lives.

We’ll grieve and grieve,

But try to accept it.

‘Cause they didn’t deserve this.

What did they do to you.

Did they ever hurt him in any way?

Why, why did he take their lives and his own?

What a cowardly act,

doing that.

Every time I think about it I am chilled to the bone.

So why, why…

Did he kill them all?

They were so small. 

They didn’t have to die,

but they did.

And he did.

Once again, I am moved.... proud.... and sad.

 

The World has Winners and Losers

I am sure you fellow parents can agree, you get tired of hearing your kids whine about what they can't do or don't have.... "Why don't I know how to do _____ like so in so", "How come so in so gets to do ____ ", "How come they are better then me at _____"

After what seemed like hours of that one afternoon (okay, it was 12 minutes) I said, "Ya know what? (good parenting with the proper grammar already) There are winners and losers in this world."

The reply, "Are you calling me a loser?"

"No, but you have a decision to make about how you feel, sit here and feel sorry for yourself or start practicing what it is you wish you knew how to do and make a change for the better."

Oh, I felt real good (more awesome grammar) like maybe I had hit a home run. Let that sink in your little head. We are not gonna feel sorry for ourselves in this house!

The next day I was trying on clothes... hmmm, maybe if I lean this way the back fat won't be there, ooo, if I can just suck my stomach in, hmm, where did that come from? Maybe I can just find some  full body SPANX? 

I stared right in the mirror.... it rang in my head, "there are winners and losers in this world." I thought, how many times have I said to myself, "Why don't I look like so in so...." "How come I don't have ab's like so in so..." "How come my _____ doesn't look like that?" Well, because I am not really working at it. 

Well, I have decided in this instance, I am going to be become a LOSER and then I will be a WINNER.

What has been weighing on you that you need to change?