Pretty if Pink

So a few months ago, Julia was hanging out with me as I was getting ready for the day. As usual, she was Miss Chitty Chatty and as usual I took it in stride.

(((next paragraph borders on TMI)))

So as I am putting my shirt on, Julia spots the "love lines" (aka stretch marks) Joshua's whooping 8 lb5 oz babiness had left on the sides of my stomach. There aren't many, but I cannot lie and say they don't exist...

"Whoa, mommy! What are those?" pointing to the light pink proof of my motherhood.

"Well, because Joshua was soooo big in mommie's tummy, my skin stretched to make sure he had enough room."

Pat answer - intentionally pat. Thank you for the reminder, Julia....

I looked down at her and she was smiling... at the sides of my stomach. Huh?

"Wow, mommy. They are soooo pretty!" she whispered in almost jealous wonderment of how lucky I was.

So I took the opportunity to let her know that one day when she gets to be a mommy she'll have "pretty" pink lines on her body, too. I'm sure she can hardly wait.

The Silver Bride and Me

"Things have certainly changed since 1957, haven't they?" Ms. Faye asked me with her eyes sparkling like the diamond on her finger.

I answered "yes" on assumption that traditions, protocols, etc. have, indeed, been altered or even thrown out the window since her last trip down the aisle 52 years ago, but, I assured her "proper" these days is truly whatever you want it to be...as long as it makes your day special.

Her first husband had passed away several years ago and Ms. Faye was lucky enough to find a new love at almost 70 yrs. old. Her wedding day was here and she was as radiant of a bride as I have ever seen. She was wearing a silver flowing floor length gown that matched her silver hair. Her hands were shaking with nerves as she applied her mascara and her daughter looked on with tears. It was quite a change from the nervous daughter and crying mother I am used to seeing.

Her fiance, Ralph, stood outside the sanctuary chatting with his ushers, seventy-something year old Paul and eighty-something year old Roy. Most of the time, ushers have barely graduated high school. These men served in WW2 and Korea. When the time came, they were readily assisting guests to their seats and lit the candelabras with ease. I like to think watching their friends unite in marriage brought back feelings of youth and memories of yester-year as they are entering the winter of their lives.

Right before she walked down the aisle, her son-in-law, who stood beside her, took her arm with one arm and placed his other hand on her hand and said, "I love you." Such is the circle of life, I thought, so privileged to be a witness to this moment.

So Faye met Ralph at the alter and I know they will live happily ever after...

Life is so precious, as are the people in it - and I was so grateful for this reminder. It keeps going and wants us to take it for all that it is and I really hope that I am.....

The Weekend of All Weekends!

I am making a mental note that the 2nd weekend of October is my favorite weekend of the entire year! It is a perfect mix of jacket weather and fall colors. Then, when you add an afternoon Mommy-Julia date plus a night time bon fire with all my sisters and co., it's just a win-win-win-winner of a time!

Saturday afternoon, Julia and I went exploring downtown Lebanon. We ate lunch at the Golden Lamb (one of my favorite places to eat). It's a nice restaurant and the aura must have hit Julia as she, for the first time in her life, placed a cloth napkin on her lap by herself w/out even being asked. We sat for 30 minutes or so chatting and laughing...I told her stories of the old building and how I used to work there when I was in school. She listened so intently and could hardly wait for the check so we could go explore the hotel rooms up-stairs.

After wandering the hotel and museum, we went to the library and got some books and then hit the Broadway antique stores. She was in love with it all. Each booth brought more questions and imaginations of how people "used to use these things." It was if we were the only people in the world...Truly, moments I hope to never forget.

The date ended with a Signature Hazelnut Hot Chocolate from Starbucks....perfect...

That night my parents hosted a bon fire :) All of my sisters were in town and that definitely called for a party! My dad hooked up a "wagon" to his John Deere and Jason took the kids on a hay ride. Joshua wasn't so sure about the wagon, but had fun sitting on Daddy's lap driving.

While I am never quite ready for Monday, this weekend was extra-specially hard to say good-bye to.

What Will They Say?

Tomorrow I go back to work full time until March - and I'm warning all my work friends now, I might be a little bit of a mess for a little bit of a while...

I do love my job. It's fun even when it's not fun. I love negotiating, wheelin' and dealin', and the whole analytics of what I do - and most of all, I love helping our business owners make more $$$ year after year...and of course, making some $$$ myself isn't too bad either...

So, while I am happy about where I am going, leaving my babies all week makes me unbearably sad. I know they will be fine. Julia will go to Pre-K and after care at a school she loves (and heck, it might do her some good ;). Joshua will spend M-W at my dear friend Heather's home (which if ever there was a place I'd want my baby to be outside of family, it's there) - and then Th/F with Nanna (who is THE GREATEST in the world).

The whole "it's harder on you, than it is on them" is totally true. They are in great hands and I am so thankful for that - - but will be counting down the days until they are back in mine.

So I enter this week just sad. I'll miss them so much...but know come March, everything will be alright, right?

Halloween - What to Be?

I LOVE trick-or-treat! I can't help it!

Being raised in a pretty conservative family who saw Halloween as a gray area (at best) to be avoided, left my childhood full of Christian school skate party memories and empty dreams of candy-filled pumpkin baskets...In all seriousness, I am not bitter and commend my sweet parents for doing what they saw best, though I can't help but say, now having moved on to the parent position myself, they might have missed out on a lot, too, seeing the happiness it could have brought us :)

So, because of my love for them (and myself), I get to let them see how incredibly freaking fun trick-or-treat can be by way of their grandkids. I am so nice, I know.

Joshua is at the magical age where he doesn't care who he is - which is definitely my favorite Halloween stage. We're thinking about making him a doctor...hoping to push his career choices so that I have a nice sized mother-in-law suite when the time comes.

Julia is in another stage...Hannah Montana mania has hit way too prematurely and I am trying to manipulate every ounce of pressure she may put on me to give in and buy the ridiculous wig. Right now, I have her convinced she should be a nurse, since Josh is the dr. I might even be persuaded to allow her to be a nurse w. Hannah Montana hair if that's what it takes....we'll see.

That leaves me...I am so lost this year. I try to keep it simple and cheap/free. I've beena cat and butterfly...either way, yes, I do dress up. I have many years to make for!

Woo-hoo!