Birthdays

This is the month of birthdays in our family. Both boys have birthdays in November. I think it is no coincidence that their birthdays fall in the month where we give thanks. I'm so grateful for them. Both of their births have been miraculous and I wonder quite often what I would do without them. They are my life. Listening to their happy laughter brings me the greatest happiness I could ever imagine. Seeing them learn something new is better than learning everything there is to know myself. Watching them show kindness is the best payment I could every receive. Here is a poem I wrote that I hope captures the essence of what I am trying to say.

Give a kind word to my own dear one,
and my heart swells with thanks to you.
Better than any gift you could have given,
You made my child smile and be glad.
A smile in them is a smile in me,
eternally ingrained in my heart.
Yes, I will be forever indebted to you,
for each kindness you show to my child.

I think that's what being a mother is about. Your heart is never all your own again. In it, there are sections for each of your children. When they are happy, your joy is full. When they are going through trials and troubles, you go through them too. Their pain is your pain and their joy yours. It's hard to watch them go through tough things, it hurts to see them hurt. It's painful to see the effects of their wrong choices. Motherhood is a rocky path. I'm grateful for all of those angels out there who make my job easier. I've met angels in the grocery store who give my children a smile or say a kind word. I know some angel teachers who lift and build up my children's confidence and self-esteem. My children have angel grandma's and grandpa's who send them letters and e-mails, encouraging them and inspiring them. I'm grateful for every smile, every kind word, every act of service, every lesson, and every gift of time you've ever given or will give to my children. My heart is full of gratitude for all of the many blessings that I have - especially for you my dear friends and family.

Thankful for My Life

I feel the need to ramble again. This month is thanksgiving and I'm so thankful for all of my many blessings. It's easy to get caught up in the things that are "undone" and "imperfect" and "less than complete". I have a lot of those things. I have an everlasting laundry pile that seems like it appears the moment I make it disappear. I have imperfect children with an imperfect mother to mother them. I have a to do list that has things on it that have been there for over a year now. I have picture frames that have out-of-date pictures and some with no pictures at all. I have dust bunnies and smudged windows, toy chaos and escape-artist chickens. I'm sadly in need of a haircut and wear pants that are a size too large. Yeah I have all of that and more. But you know what I have? I have a child who writes me notes like this one:

"I love you Mom Love C We thenk that you ar the best."

and even better writes his brother notes like this one:

"I love you J and I thenk that you ra the best. Love C"

I have a husband who does the dishes for me and makes me dinner every Sunday night. I have a warm home and food on my table every meal. I have a healthy body that allows me to go about my day without pain. I have a child to play cars with every morning while his brother goes to school. I have kind neighbors who bring me cupcakes, neighborhood kids who call me "Mom", and good friends near and far. I am so blessed! And I'm thankful for my life. I really do have it all.