May 2012

Lucky winner of 1,826 M&Ms

Nathan as Leonardo da Vinci

Walking into the kinder graduation

Michael and his sweet teacher

New office waiting room furniture

New office waiting room furniture

Michael and his teacher

Erika, Nina, Autumn, and Me

shower decorations

Shower cupcakes from SugarFix in Waco

It has been a great month!  The boys finished up school with the usual whirlwind, hustle-bustle of May, except this time I did not have my own pressing issues of finishing up MY school year, too! 
Saturday, my cousins and I hosted a graduation shower for our other cousin Autumn.  We each had graduation tea parties when we were graduating from high school, and I am so glad that we rendezvoused to do it again.  During the whole shower, I couldn't help but remember the day she was born, the times I picked her up from her day school as a baby, and going with her mom to take her to her first day of kindergarten, and realizing that those days just didn't feel like they were that long ago.  The icing on the cake is that she will now be a fellow Red Raider!  How cool is that!?  She will even live in my old dorm building!  I'm just so proud of her and hope she enjoys Tech as much as I did.

Love Me More than Pudding

Today was my last seasonal day of volunteering as the boys will be finished with school next week and I will get to have them all to myself for two months.  I had the most delightful conversation with a patient today.  She was engaging and inspiring.  Late in the conversation, she just stopped, looked me in the eyes and said that my husband must love me.  She was serious.  She squinted afterwards and nodded her head, validating that she felt her comment was important.  She said he ought to love me more than pudding.  Something that is sweet, creamy, consistent, and an indulgence—pudding is all of those things.  It’s really a prophetic metaphor, loving someone more than pudding.  I could’ve visited hours with her.  She was funny, witty, and wise.  While her assisted living friends have decorative wreaths on their doors, she has a pink flamingo!  She said the secret to a successful marriage is to always let the husband speak the last words: yes ma’am.  Those words are the last two words.  She was married 64 years to her husband when he died, so I guess she has some credibility!  She even sang to me: “You've got to give a little, take a little, and let your poor heart break a little.  That's the story of, that's the glory of love.”  What a neat lady.  I felt like I had known her for years by the time I left. 

Half Way There

I had a little pondering moment that worked its way all the way through my system and nestled like a little burn in my heart.  I was thinking about Nathan turning 9 in a couple of weeks.  Then I was thinking about Nathan and Michael finishing up school.  Then I was thinking about how time goes by so quickly (a frequent ponder of mine).  Then I drifted to the idea that Nathan would be just about to turn 18 when he would graduate from high school.  Then I did the simple math, and realized HE IS HALF WAY THERE!  Oh dear butter on a biscuit!  I want to hold him and keep him from growing those wings and flying.  I bet it will be just as painful to think about in 9 years as it is right now.  In the meantime, I will just continue loving him, guiding him, listening to him, talking to him, and enjoying every minute.

Mother's Day Thoughts

11 Mother's Days ago...
I had a sad, mourning, empty place in my heart and wondered if I would ever celebrate my own real Mother's Day. 

10 Mother's Days ago...
I had a sadder, more mournful, more empty place in my heart.  I think we were also moving.

9 Mother's Days ago...
I held my very large belly and celebrated that I would be a real mother in a matter of days.

7 Mother's Days ago...
Nick and I decided over a dinner date that we would move from Lubbock to Houston and he would go to dental school.  How that would all play out remained a big giant question mark.

6 Mother's Days ago...
I held my belly again and felt totally grateful that I was being blessed again with another son.  Oh, and I think we were moving again, too.

5 Mother's Days ago...
Was the first Mother's Day where our family was complete.  

1 Mother's Day ago...
We moved again, and we began a totally new chapter in our family's life. 

Today, I am excited to say that we are NOT moving. 
I spent the morning with my boys.  We drove by the old house to check on it.  We went up and then down the street where Michael learned how to walk before all of the new houses went up.  Now it's a full street.  I had crepes with my boys for breakfast at Coco's before heading back to Waco.  As we munched on our breakfast I couldn't help but picture Nathan helping Michael toddle around the fountain...a regular occurrence on Sunday mornings some years back.  My heart is full.  I have two healthy, mischievous, smart, curious, loving sons.  There are so many ladies out there who are praying, hoping, dreaming to be blessed with a child.  I know that pain far too well.  I am so humbled and thankful that I am able to hold my children, to love them, and to watch them grow and learn and play.