Tag Archive | family life

Happy things

Let’s focus on the bright side today, shall we? I’ll start with the best happy thing: the girl came home last night! She’d been saying all along that she couldn’t come home until Wednesday because of Tuesday classes. Well, apparently those were cancelled and she’s been planning this surprise for weeks! The dogs went nuts, Grace especially, and the boy was excited and thrilled to have her home, and it just feels good to have everyone under one roof again. So I’m thankful to have my girl back, at least for a few days!

Here’s another happy thing, a little story: when I started working at this company, there was one person who was always so helpful and kind and fun, and I appreciated her endless patience while I figured everything out. So that first Christmas, two years ago, I made her a gray cowl, and she seemed happy with it and it was fun. Then yesterday I saw a group photo with her in it, and she was wearing the cowl!! I asked her about it and she said she loves it so much and wears it all the time and thinks of me whenever she wears it. Yarn friends, I don’t have to tell you about the warm heart and tear in my eye her words gave me. I’m thankful for the support I’ve gotten at work, thankful for kind people in the world, thankful for people who recognize the love in my knitting gifts.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for us, and I’ll be going to the brother’s house for a big family dinner. I’m thankful I don’t have to do all the cooking and cleaning this year, and I’m thankful that we can all be together and that we enjoy each other’s company.

I got lovely supportive comments on my post yesterday and each one really was like a balm, as cheesy as that sounds. I’m thankful for this blog, for those of you who listen to me and offer support. I hope you all have a happy and peaceful weekend, whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or not!

I See a Red Moon Rising

Sep28

Busy busy weekend! Does everyone else have weekends like this, where it’s pretty much GO GO GO from Saturday morning until Sunday night? I’m ready for a boring weekend. Someday. Instead, we started off with a parade, and I do love parades. Especially ones with my daughter’s band playing! They were fantastic, of course. After that she had time for a quick lunch, then she was off for a day-long band competition…where her band got FIRST PLACE in their division! See, I told you they were fantastic! I wasn’t able to go to this one, though I would have liked to, because we’re still trying to make progress on the fence.

We’re at the heavy labor part of the process: digging by hand the post holes with roots/rocks. Then the husband went and bought fence posts, gravel and concrete, but we just didn’t have time to get as much done as I’d hoped. That’s okay, it’s still forward progress. Just no fun photos yet. The fun photos come later. We went to the local Fall Festival that night, a fun craft show/carnival/fair kind of thing, and had a blast. I found treats for the puppies… and treats for me!I was also on the lookout for a new collar for Grace, since the buckle snapped on hers. We use martingale collars because they’re both pretty squirrely and like to wriggle out of regular ones. The first booth I tried had really cute ones, but the martingales had no buckle, and when I asked, the lady treated me like I was an idiot. “They don’t come like that. This is how the martingale works,” she told me, demonstrating how the loop tightens. Well yes, I understand that part, but the dogs go outside on chains and if it’s loose enough to put on and take off, it’s loose enough for her to slip out of, and that’s not okay. This lady clearly thought I had no idea what I was talking about so I moved on, and glad I did, because I found a booth selling Slik Hound collars. We’d bought collars from them before and they really are high-quality. I just wish we’d bought martingales at the time. Fortunately, the kind woman at this booth knew about martingales with buckles and didn’t think I was crazy and helped me order one for Grace. I can’t wait until I get it!

I ended the weekend on a good note: I sat outside last night and watched the eclipse and did some knitting in the dark. With two craft fairs looming, I’ve decided to focus on making more basic slouch hats, since they always sell well and I’ve got great yarn in my stash. That’s what I was making while I sat in my backyard with the puppies frolicking around me. It was lovely to see the moon and sit outside where it was so quiet and peaceful…for the most part. The dogs heard an owl next door and went a little nuts since that was a new sound to them. We made it to about ten, the moon was fully eclipsed and gorgeous, and though part of me wanted to stay up and watch the whole thing, the rest of me was tired. So here’s my Lunar Eclipse hat: It’s a simple broken rib pattern and I did really well for a long time. Then came a row where my k1,p1 pattern was wrong at the end, and I had to tink (in the dark!). I’m pretty sure the error is right here; I’m just not sure how to fix it. So I might tink back another row or two. Even doing that, I should be able to finish this hat today.

I don’t miss my babies

May1

Earlier this week, I was at the doctor’s office with my mom. There was a woman around my age with a toddler and a new baby. There was also another older woman who kept telling the young mother how much she should appreciate them when they’re this young and they grow so fast, you know, all that stuff. The baby started crying while my mom was back with the doctor, and when she came out, she said, “Someone out here has a baby! I’m jealous!” The other woman chimed in, “Me too!”. I hesitated, then said, “I’m not!” And it’s true. Mothers of young kids, it’s okay to want them to grow up a little bit. It’s okay to look forward to the days when they’re not so young.

I loved my babies. Seriously. They were adorable and sweet and lovable…except when they weren’t. I haven’t forgotten how hard it is to have young kids, how much work it is, how much of yourself you have to give up in order to serve these tiny humans. They’re delightful, and demanding. They’re cute, and crazy. It’s rewarding, and repetitive. There’s a lot of joy, and a lot of tears. I mean, come on, colic? teething? Middle of the night projectile vomiting? Potty training? Temper tantrums? Playing the same game over and over? “MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM!!” It’s a hard job.

I’m so very glad I had kids. There was a lot I loved when they were young, and I do miss the sweet hugs, the excitement whenever they saw me, the cuddling, the innocence, the delight in each new development.

But guess what? Now I have actual people! I have an 11 year old and a 15 year old, and the last three years have been so much fun. I have these two great individuals who can take care of their own basic needs, who can verbalize their aches and pains. There are still tantrums but they’re few and far between, and I can actually reason with them now (to some extent). They’re smart, and I can hold interesting, intelligent conversations with them. They’re discovering what their passions are, and I love seeing what I can share with them, and what new things they can introduce me to. I marvel at the skills and talents they have now.

I watch who they’re growing up to be, and I know that I had a part in it. That’s more rewarding than anything else I’ve experienced up to now. Yes, of course, what I did when they were babies was part of it. It’s a whole long process, and I’m finally seeing the payoff. I have wonderful, wonderful kids. They’re kind, thoughtful, generous, still loving at times, sympathetic toward others.

Oh, they’re not perfect. They’re normal kids. They can be selfish, thoughtless, disrespectful, lazy, sloppy, and clueless. They get snappish and cranky with me, they forget to feed and water the dogs, they leave their shoes EVERYWHERE, and quite often they don’t smell so fresh. I still wake up earlier than I’d like, but only on school days, not every day. It’s still hard.

But then they thank me for driving them around, or they spend their own money to buy me a birthday gift, or they decide on their own to make me a card for Valentine’s Day, or they clean the kitchen without me asking. Any of those feel just as good as, if not better than, a hug from a toddler.

So moms, yes, appreciate the time you have with the little ones. But don’t fret about it going too quickly. It gets even better.