Tag Archives: Time to Cry Tuesday

May 2, 2011 · 10:24 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – This Whole Mom Business

No not a business run by moms, or trying to be a mom and run a business. I am talking about

This

Whole

Mom

Business

I have been doing it for 22 years. And I have to tell you just when you think you have it down and you really know what the heck you are doing…

you find out you don’t.

As I told the director of the nursery school 18 years ago when my daughter graduated the 4’s class, “I don’t transition well”. I was both touched and mortified when she quoted me (not by name, thank goodness) during the moving up ceremony.

So here we find ourselves again, only the moving up is not exactly from the 4’s class. College? Really? And with the transition comes all the growing pains. For the graduate. And her mom.

Sometimes what seems to be the clear path to parenting is actually the train wreck. All I can say is the kind of parent you are and the kind of kid you raised makes all the difference in how you drag each other out of the wreckage. We do pretty good at that in this house.

It also doesn’t hurt to have the right people as friends.

Hold on to your hats everyone, we have crossed over to graduation month. If you have been following along the first and second High School graduation posts were killers.

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October 26, 2010 · 1:13 am

Time to Cry Tuesday – Words of Wisdom

Hug your kids.

Make good choices.

If it is not broken, don’t break it.

No place is ever as far away as it feels.

Quality. Speed. Price. Pick two.

Don’t eat yellow snow. (this one was for levity)

If you feel it, tell them.

If it’s not so nice, keep it to yourself.

When doing your best isn’t enough… tough, it is your best.

Age is irrelevant.

The best way out is always through.

Sometimes you just need to cook and clean. (unless you are Wendy)

Cry when you need to (and because it’s Tuesday).

Laugh because otherwise what is the point?

 

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October 12, 2009 · 9:49 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Get What You Need

IMG_3945

Three days at the beach and I no longer have that knot in my neck I have been carrying around for weeks. I read a book in a beach chair, slept through the night, napped(ish) in the afternoon, hardly touched the keyboard saw dolphins(!) and watched birds for a solid 20 minutes at a time.

Fire ants and 95 degree scorching heat aside, this long weekend was perfect. Nothing a little cortisone cream and a float in the gulf could not fix.

A beach house. That is my little slice of heaven. I am not the Ritz Carlton/Canyon Ranch kinda girl. Not that I don’t enjoy a little luxury now and then, but give me a barefoot community with the sand and surf out the back door and I am Home.

Yes, Home with a capital H.

Each one of us has something in our core that gives us peace. Sadly many don’t ever break down the walls surrounding it to find out what it is. Or find the ability to Be Here Now and drink it in when they have the chance. For me it is the beach. Even off season. The sight of a majestic sky over the water, the sound of the surf, a morning walk to discover a cove that almost brought me to tears for the sense of peace I found there; these are all my core and bring me back to who I am.

Over the past few years, for circumstantial reasons, we have not been able to take the week to 10-day vacations that we really could use. Instead we have honed the fine art of the few day getaway. I am not saying I don’t want the long vacation, but this is not about want.

It’s about need.

A huge Thank-you with a capital T to Gary, who knew exactly what I needed and made turning 50 the best birthday ever.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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April 20, 2009 · 8:05 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Twenty!

jana_at_20

Indulge me – if you will – this little walk down the long and winding road of parenthood, for this week I will celebrate not only the birthday of my oldest child, but the anniversary of my 20th year of parenting.

What the hell!

Sometimes I wake up and forget how old I am.  I have had some weird dreams about not studying for a test, or being at camp or some other adolescent place and I totally forget that I am the mom of these young adults. I am embarrassed to say there are times when they are way more grown up than I am.

When I stop to think about it the whole thing is rather staggering.

Twenty years of “I’m the mommy, that’s why”. Two decades of being responsible for the well-being of other human beings. Two hundred and forty months of always being cognitive of other people’s whereabouts and safety. Seven thousand three hundred nights of being only as happy as my most miserable child.

You get the picture.

I have done many things in my life. Built a career, nurtured (or is that tortured) a marriage, made a house a home, navigated the nastiness of the healthcare system with my parents, built friendships and contributed to a community. But there is no other single thing I have done in my life that has had a greater impact on me than being a mom. Seriously. Not because I am expected to feel that way. Or because that is what I want my kids to think. But because it is simply…

True.

I am a better person for what they have taught me to be. From the moment they could reach out and hold my hand as we crossed the street, to the day when they had to push that hand away and ‘do it themselves’. They have taught me when to hold tight, and more importantly, when to let go.

Here’s to you, baby girl. Kiss your teens goodbye and grab your twenties by the balls. You are truly someone to proud of.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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March 9, 2009 · 10:02 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Three Mugs

success_peace_loveWe have these three wonderful mugs in our house. I am not sure why we bought a set of only 3, but they strike such a beautiful balance that it seemed ok. 

Gary loves the shape of these mugs. He loves their size and how the handle is perfectly formed. Mostly he loves that he can drink his *earl gray with honey* in a mug big enough that he does not need a refill (anyone who has ever eaten with my husband is surely smiling at this comment). This drink is like a religious experience for him. 

I was quite sure he never looks at which mug he grabs. He only cares that it is one of these perfect sage green ones. As a little test I asked him tonight what the three green mugs said. “um, joy?” No sorry, hon. “peace and love?” good call. “happiness” forget it babe. Do you care which one you drink out of? “yeah,right!”

I bought them for both their form and their decoration. These three words seemed so perfect.

Success. Peace. Love.

I love words. I guess those of you who read me regularly know that. I have words pinned up to bulletin boards, etched in rocks, inlaid in mosaics, stuck to the fridge, you name it. There is something comforting in being surrounded by them. 

So it would seem fitting to drink out of a specific one of these word mugs as my mood changes. This makes sense if you are insane in the same way that I am.

Success. In these crazy economic times, especially after waking to the unsettling morning news, I drink my coffee out of  Success, figuring I need all the help that I can get.

Peace. During times of turmoil, both global and personal, I will reach for his mug and hope that it will calm me to drink from it. I usually drink tea from Peace. 

Love. When I miss my little girl or right after I watch my boy walk out the door as the man he is becoming, I drink from the Love mug. It reminds me how lucky I am to have built this beautiful family. 

In a world gone crazy, at a time when nothing seems within our control, it is nice to keep small rituals that feed your soul.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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September 2, 2008 · 9:16 pm

Was this just about putting any skirt in the seat?

I will be shamelessly self-promoting my new photo blog, leaving the zip code, here from now on. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Let’s see if some of you will take the ‘submit’ challenge. And today you can read me at Mid-Century Modern Moms as well.

Perhaps this is an appropriate Time to Cry Tuesday post (late and confused from the holiday weekend).

Not one to get into the political fray all that often, I could not help but do a short post about the Sarah Palin choice. I am saddened by what I think is an insult not only to the women of this country, but the people of this country. I started this post hours after the announcement was made but was hesitant to continue. Now that the theatre of the absurd has unfolded it just can’t go unmentioned here. (with my sarcastic twist, of course). This does not contain any new, groundbreaking commentary, but it may make you laugh (a little) while you cry.

I am not claiming to know much about her (scary detail #1) but I certainly do not feel all warm and fuzzy about her being one heartbeat away from the presidency (scary detail #2). What really freaks me out is that McCain would think he could capture 18 million Hillary supporters with a pro-lifer (scary detail # 3,4 and 5).

Another great quality I want in my VP: card carrying member of the NRA.

Oh, and now the pregnant teenage daughter. His people KNEW about this and were still ok?!! Wow, talk about securing those family values votes. This is like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch! What next…Yeh, well we knew she killed a man, but she is still under investigation so we thought it was cool.

Of course you knew this was coming:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

So, my brother and I were talking the other day and I told him I had a very strange feeling that perhaps Sarah Palin was, in fact, Dick Cheney with a sex change. His answer? Can’t be, she has not shot anyone in the face yet.

To sum it all, this quote says it all for me:

A woman voting for John McCain is a like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.

– Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood

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