Before I Was a Mom

Before I was a Mom I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted.
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.
Before I was a Mom I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts, my body and all my feelings.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was OK.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much......
......before I was a Mom.

...Author Unknown

Anyway

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

"People Don't Change"

When we say things like "people don't change" it drives scientist crazy because change is literally the only constant in all of science. Energy. Matter. It's always changing, morphing, merging, growing, dying. It's the way people try not to change that's unnatural. The way we cling to what things were instead of letting things be what they are. The way we cling to old memories instead of forming new ones. The way we insist on believing despite every scientific indication that anything in this lifetime is permanent. Change is constant. How we experience change that's up to us. It can feel like death or it can feel like a second chance at life. If we open our fingers, loosen our grips, go with it, it can feel like pure adrenaline. Like at any moment we can have another chance at life. Like at any moment, we can be born all over again. ~GA

9/11/01 We Remember

We shall never forget
We shall keep this day,
We shall keep the events and the tears
In our minds, our memory and our hearts
and take them with us as we carry on.

A Woman...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                                   ...one old love
                                   she can imagine
                                 going back to...
                                 and one who reminds
                             her how far she has come...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                             ...enough money within her
                               control to move out and rent a place of her own
                              even if she never wants
                                   to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                          .. something perfect to wear if
                         the employer or date of her dreams
                           wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                                .. a youth she's content
                                 to leave behind...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                              ...a past juicy enough that
                           she's looking forward to
                                  retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                              ...a set of screwdrivers, a
                             cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                              ...one friend who always makes
                            her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                                   ....a good piece of furniture
                           not previously owned by anyone
                               else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                            ....eight matching plates, wine
                                  glasses with stems, and a recipe
                                for a meal that will make her guests feel honored..

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

                            ...a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

                                      ...how to fall in  love without

                                      losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                                 ...how to quit a job,
                                  break up with a lover,
                                  and confront a friend
                                  without ruining the friendship...

                                  and how to change a tire!!!!!!!

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                            ....when to try harder ... and
                            when to walk away...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                             ...that she can't change the
                           length of her calves, the width
                          of her hips, or the nature of her
                          parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                           ......that her childhood may not
                         have been perfect...but its
                           Over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                            ...what she would and wouldn't
                                do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                        ..how to live alone... even if
                        she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                              ...whom she can trust,
                                  whom she can't,
                                and why she shouldn't
                                take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                                 ...where to go...
                                  be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
                                  or a charming inn in the woods...
                                            when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

                                             .. what she can and can't
                                            accomplish in a day...
                                  a month...and a year...

Dog Lessons

 

"A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty."
— John Grogan (Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog)

Tomorrow is a new day

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. "
- Ralph Waldo Emerson