Daughters and Sisters.

Aunts and Cousins.

Step moms and Foster moms.

Women, we are a tough and hardy lot. Yes, we are. There is nothing in this world like a mother’s fierce and protective love along side a gentle and nurturing nature. These women live through joy and pain. Proud moments and heartaches. So many things make up a mother.

Mother’s know and understand what it is to scream in pain and joy at the exact same time. When that wet bundle of love is laid on the chest, nothing is ever the same. It can’t be. The heart has changed. That new baby has made it so…

Nursing and staying up late. Strained peas, diapers, and potty training. The first day of kindergarten. Bedtimes and homework. Sports moms and recitals. Holding hands and holding hearts. Advice and wisdom. Yelling and forgiveness. The stink eye and the “you’d better move it!”. Kisses and hugs and I love you’s. Blessings and behaviors. Tears and smiles. Wiggly toes and wiggly bottoms. Hand prints and car keys. First loves and heartbreak. Listening and loving no matter what. The years go by so very quickly.

These women, oh my…..they are something else.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Daddy’s are important, most vital. They are both needed and wanted, and loved, but their roles are different. A mother can try, but she can’t fill a father’s role, not really. Nor can Daddy take the place of Mommy. It just isn’t the same.

This day I celebrate the mom’s. Mom’s you do make a real difference. Don’t forget that.

You gave life, and in turn changed your own life in the process.

Related articles

• Let Me Tell Ya Bout My Moms…. (thenew1037.cbslocal.com)
• Let’s Celebrate Mother’s Day (thehealthyhousewives.wordpress.com)
• Mother (pghpsychotherapy.com)
• Unseen Mothers (esseness444.wordpress.com)

Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo at Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

Today’s your turn. What did your mama do that makes her your mama? Let’s unpack those memories today.

Where is your memory buried?

In just five minutes. Tell me all about what your mama did that made her yours…

*****************************************************************************

Elementary school pictures with crooked bangs, cut by a mother who with “just one more snip” thought she could straighten them out. I look back at my pictures and have to smile. My mom was good at fixing things and making me feel better. ( I was high fashion style before it was even in style:)

My mom, worried that my neck was swollen…taking me to the doctor to find out why. Holding my teenage hand, when I was scared. Telling me that thyroid disease was going to be taken care of with some medicine.

She took care of me during my bout with mono my senior year, helped get me to and from my job at the Dry Cleaners, was a huge help when filling out applications for college, sat through Lyric theater performances, encouraged me in my goal to graduate with a degree in Special Education. She went with me through the winding mountains of east Tennessee to help me move to the little town that held the first school I ever taught at.

Laughter, tears, joy, pain. Uphill battles and marathon races. Arguments and big, fat, honkin’ mistakes. Lots and lots of memories. My mom is strong and brave and smart and I know this about her. She stepped out and changed her life when it wasn’t easy. She figured things out as she went. She taught my younger sister and I that we could do anything. We were smart and strong and beautiful. She endowed me with a healthy self confidence that as I look back over the years– has served me well. She always made me feel special and loved, and is there anything better than that?

There are always times though, no matter how confident, that I need encouragement. My mom has been and still is my biggest encourager. Her cards, letters, and emails always seem to come just when I need them the most. Her words make me feel better.

Encouragement, it is her gift really.

She is a gift.

And I love her, this mom of mine.

Related articles

• Five Minute Friday: What Mama Did (writingcanvas.wordpress.com)
• I Will Always Love You, Mom (burningfireshutinmybones.wordpress.com)
• HypothyroidMom.com Launches Thyroid Advocacy Site for Moms with… (prweb.com)
• Hashimoto’s Disease: if you are hypothyroid you probably have it (firefliesofhope.typepad.com)
• Five Minute Friday: What Mama Did (sheensteve.wordpress.com)

The Gypsy Mama

1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in my blog’s footer}.

3. Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes for the prompt:

Beloved…

Dearly loved

The one that changed me,

forever.

You taught me lessons on love

that I would never have known,

otherwise.

I’m so grateful that God gave me

You.

My dear, treasured one.

You are almost grown,

more man than boy.

I’m so proud of you and pray,

that you will continue to grow

in your walk with the One

who knows your soul.

Cherished.

Always.

My beloved, son.

Related articles

• Dearly Beloved (exortabreedoll.wordpress.com)
• You Are Beloved #FiveMinuteFriday – February 15, 2013 (juliejordanscott.typepad.com)
• I Am Loved (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)

Kids growing up. Teens and young adult. Cutting strings. Breaking away.

To fly….. Or fall. To hope or heave. To wonder and to wander.

The days can seem so long sometimes…but the weeks slide through my fingers, my grip attempting to hold tightly to the sand of time.

Time is a blessing, but it can also ache a mother’s heart.

I am thankful for motherhood. This job. This responsibility. Duty. Privilege. All these things.

It’s made me see the world in a different way. A way I could not have known before.

Laughing. Crying. Proud. Infuriated. Sobbing and serious. Giggles and groans.

And memories….aahhhh…..the memories. There is nothing quite like a mother’s memory…..not when it comes to her children.

************************************************

Today I am thankful for:

* a son that is at his first “real” job, I’m so proud of him

* another son that graduated, I’m thrilled for him!

* a daughter, who is my thinker

* stops at Dairy Queen

* women warrior princesses

* boys who don’t always comb their hair

* bottomless pit stomachs

* popsicles

* never getting to drive my own vehicle anymore

* long legs and being able to reach the top shelf for mom

* sports

* reading

* computer whiz kids

* playing with the dogs

* singing

* camps

* and HUGS

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3  NLT

Related articles

• Dairy Queen Leads to Reflecting – Teaching (cynthiaschultz1.wordpress.com)
• The Quickest 30 Days (kblmsengel.blogspot.com)
• Notes from our families (davidsuzanneadopt.com)
• Motherhood Wanderings… (4tunate.net)
• Inspired (ulmancancerfund.wordpress.com)

The Gypsy Mama

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Facebook chimed in last night and overwhelmingly voted for a prompt either about mothers or Mother’s Day. This was one of the suggestions and I love that it can apply to any and all, mother or not. So please give me your best five minutes on:  identity

********************************************

Who am I anyway? And how did I end up here?

Sometimes I ask myself that question. Life is really weird and I often wonder about the road that chose.Thinking through all the things that brought me to this place.

I am drawn to those ladies that consider themselves to be “out of the mold”…….a little different. Whimsical. Thinkers.Dreamers.  Funny how things turn out. I’m still not exactly sure how I fit.

I do know this……being a mom has been the best thing ever. From the moment I found out I was pregnant. Keeping a journal from before my son was even born, to one day give him. He has changed my life for the better. Forever. He has made my heart soar and brought me to my knees. He is the closest thing I know to unconditional love.

God gave me motherhood and I am thankful for it.

I love being a mom, it is a big part of who I am.

Related articles

• Newborn Communication: Hearing and Language (enfamil.com)
• A First Look at Your Newborn After Delivery (enfamil.com)
• Jessica Simpson Opens Up About Baby Maxwell (huffingtonpost.com)
• Thoughts on Motherhood: How It Really Is (marcyda.wordpress.com)

thegypsymama

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:  Together

********************************************

Together is a good place to be….

My husband and I were both widowed in our 30′s.  We lived in different states during our first marriages. Our kids didn’t go to school together. We didn’t even know the others existed. Each living our own lives, oblivious to what was going to happen. How life would change for us all.

Death entered. The door on the future seemed to slam shut. The room was quiet. So quiet.

Weeks to months, months to years.

The realization of new life, after death, slowly emerges.

Two people meet. Two families come together.

God is in the union.

Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:12  NIV

Related articles

• Be happy (ifitmakesyouhappyitcantbesobad.wordpress.com)
• wanna hold your hand (doctortisms.wordpress.com)

Today, at A Holy Experience,  Ann has her readers posting about the practice of love.

I just knew I would write this wonderful blog post about love! I thought maybe Hallmark might even want it for their Valentine card collection. Maybe I’d write something using the verses from the “love” chapter 13 in 1 Corinthians. The more I thought about my wonderful ideas on love, the more I felt drawn to write the real stuff. You all know what I mean. Not the Hollywood “chick flick” romance. Not the bouquet of roses and candy. Not the slick pictures in the magazines for jewelry companies. So, here goes. The real stuff. Not the fluff stuff.

Here is my take on love in 60 seconds. Ready. Set. Go.

The daily practice of love is usually not romantic, or cinematic…

nor is it cavalier or conceited.

Love can be gritty and hard…

Some days the walk is all up hill.

The battle is hard fought.

Love can be exhausting.

Miscommunication and boredom

march to the front lines ready to do battle.

Love must be tough…

if it is to survive.

Commitment, sacrifice, and sometimes…

hanging on with white knuckles and wobbly legs.

It’s not giving up, not giving in–

even when throwing in the towel might seem easier.

Love is messy, and crazy and frustrating

and serious, and funny, and happy and

sad.

Love is both time consuming, and energy renewing.

Some days it requires standing down and looking up,

on others, it is asking for a hand to hold.

It is fierce and all consuming,

soft and safe and starting again.

Love doesn’t give up.

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13  NIV

Related articles

• 1 Corinthians 13 for Homeschoolers (agapehomeschoolers.wordpress.com)
• Full Measure of Love (and more) (juliesunne.com)
• Do you know Ann? (sunshinelittleone.wordpress.com)
• Love Never Fails (loveiscourtship.wordpress.com)
• Let Biblical Love Be the True Mark of Maturity- By: Mafe Quijano (livesharp.org)

Image via Wikipedia

Saturday morning a little after 8 o’clock in the morning, my son, daughter and I jumped in the van. We were yard sale bound….

First stop, an estate sale way out in the country. It was a beautiful drive, dotted with picturesque white farm houses with multiple red barns, pure Norman Rockwell. We pulled up to the house and jumped out. Hmmm….some stuff was way overpriced if you ask me. There were some nice furniture pieces, but I wasn’t really there for furniture. I didn’t really have any idea what I WAS looking for, but I knew that I’d know it when I saw it. That is my motto. There was also a barn with all sorts of stuff in it. I found 4 school cafeteria trays for a couple of bucks. The melamine kind with the square places for each type of food. So, old school (literally!). My kids looked at me as if I were I was nuts. Like that has ever stopped me. I was thinking they would make wonderful TV trays and the kids were having flashbacks of women wearing hairnets, spooning mystery meat on a plate. Whatever. To each his own.

At this home I also found a cute wooden school chair……child size. I cleaned it up and put it in my library with one of my Boyds bears sitting on it. Perfect.

Next stop, a garage sale. WAY overpriced. If I want to spend that much money I’ll just go to a store and buy it new. The few exceptions to this were some nice vintage embroidered table cloths, pillow shams, and dressy scarves. The lady said she has so many, she was just wanting to thin out her collection. I snagged  some vintage, for a dollar a piece and got a silk scarf for my daughter. Oh, I also found a beautiful framed picture of a young Victorian girl. I wonder whose daughter she was? I always find antique pictures intriguing.

After a couple more stops to pick up a hand held electronic chess game for my daughter, a huge hot chocolate mug, and a Michael Buble’ Christmas CD…..the morning was over.

Even though my son didn’t find anything he wanted today, he enjoyed the hunt. (and getting to drive)

Time to head back home.

Until next time…

Related articles

• Garage Sale Gal: (Don’t) Show me the Money! (aarp.org)

Image via Wikipedia

Certain moments in time just make me grin. It could be something as small as a shared smile or laughing out loud. I am becoming more and more aware that happiness is not in the destination. I will never, in this lifetime, come to a place where all is well, everything is perfect, and there are no worries. I am concerning myself less and less with the “if onlys” of life. If only, I could lose weight…then I’d be happy. If only, I didn’t have to worry about money, or had more money…then I’d be happy. If only, I had an exciting job…then I’d be happy. If onlys can be deadly to a life, draining it of the happiness that can be found in the small every day moments of the here and now. Moments that are weaved into each day. Moments that make this  life worth living.

It is a continual learning process for me…and to be honest, I am not always good at it…this learning to be happy and thankful in the midst of the day. In the middle of the moments. The shimmer of light that, on some days, I search for in the darkness. I have much to be thankful for, much to rejoice in, and much to be happy about. So, I keep at it.

Not always easy, this realization.

Not always truly grasped, this epiphany.

But always there…when I look for it. With my eyes wide open.

*******************************************************

*peanut butter M&M’s

*ooey, gooey smores

*laughing, really laughing, with my husband last night

*new email

*racing Hot Wheels cars

*a new pitcher of iced tea

*cat sitting on the windowsill

*family bonds

*people that care about me

*freshly washed bed linens

*early morning sunshine puddled on the living room floor

*driving back country roads to church

*new corn growing

*freshly tilled flower bed

*air conditioner that works

*flag flapping in the breeze

*a trip to the John Deere store, listening to the radio

Joy is a choice. It’s always a choice. Choose to live…right where you are.

Related articles

• Why Filipinos are Always Laughing? (innermagicclub.wordpress.com)
• Inspiration: What If… (eof737.wordpress.com)
• A letter to God (pastormikesays.wordpress.com)
• Being Thankful (viktormusili.wordpress.com)
• Thankful Thursday (werejumpin.wordpress.com)
• Full House, Full Heart (improvisedlife.wordpress.com)
• Thankful. (zescapist.wordpress.com)
• Grateful (melissafeddersen.com)
• Walking the Mile (cridcoeur.wordpress.com)
• Being Thankful and Aware (thoughtsinmyheart.wordpress.com)
• Time for a dash of gratitude! (renplus.wordpress.com)
• Keeping It Real With Jesus (pastorpaulvbsblog.blogspot.com)
• A Golden Summer (goldenlover.wordpress.com)

A storm is brewing. I really, really enjoy the clouds around here.

My oldest son, sporting a gas mask. He got this from a friend, who got it from I’m not sure where. It is nothing for me to be sitting at the kitchen counter and see him walking around in this get up. I love my son, even if he does have an “interesting” taste in wardrobe selection.

This is what Brad looks like without the gas mask. There is a handsome face under there! This is his cat, Shamus.

My sweet son, Kendrick, with his “man’s best friend”, Lonnie. Lonnie loves spending time with his master just hanging out. Have you ever seen the movie, My Dog Skip?

My daughter’s “a girl’s best friend”, Ace. Ace is very photogenic…if I can get him still enough to take a picture!

Ace thinks he is a sled dog. Breanna harnessed him to the wagon and off they went! I don’t know if he is Iditarod material…but, he’s perfect for Ohio weather.

Yes, I claim them. They might be a little weird, or a lot…. Their father and I realize that the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Related articles

• Izu Islands – Gas Masks Obligatory (morfis.wordpress.com)
• Missing Musher Melanie Gould Found Alive (abcnews.go.com)
• ‘Just doesn’t look right’: Iditarod musher missing (msnbc.msn.com)
• Mystery of the Alaska musher – where was she? (msnbc.msn.com)
• Horses Need Gas Masks Too [Animals] (fakeiitian.com)