You say it’s your birthday

Once upon a time 40 years ago a beautiful young girl gave birth to her own beautiful baby girl. That baby girl wouldn’t be raised by the young girl, but she would be raised with love and laughter nonetheless. Flash forward to 2 years ago when I got to meet that beautiful baby girl for the first time. She had a big wide smile like mine - the kind that squinches up your eyes and takes up your whole face. She had an easy laugh and a calm yet electric way about her. She had great tattoos and was taller than I expected. I looked at her and knew she was family. She’s my cousin and we all, the whole family, including that  beautiful young girl who was by then a Grandmother, had waited a long time to meet her. It was a moment both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Sure we’d talked on the phone, facebooked and emailed before the big day but nothing beats the flesh and bone. The hug that lasts for several minutes and closes the gap on all the years from her birth to that magic day. Today is that beautiful baby girls birthday  and also the birthday of one of her brothers. How amazing is that? Amazing happens all the time in my family and for that I am grateful. For the family who gave my cousin all those years of love and laughter I am grateful. For all the people who helped my Aunt, the beautiful young girl reunite with her one and only baby girl I am grateful. For my God who watched over it all and all the forces of the universe who helped it happen, I am grateful. Happy birthday Cousin. I love you.

The Evil Stepsisters

Day two - Dementia and Alzheimer’s have been on my mind. Also, those names remind me of the evil stepsisters in Cinderella. I have been afraid of developing one or both of these diseases ever since I knew what they were. My memory is my best friend, my own personal time machine. My grandpa told me as child that I had a photographic memory and while I’ve never been tested I can tell you for certain where my family sat at Vinces spaghetti house back when it was still in Ontario. I can close my eyes and see my Mimi’s living room exactly as it was in 1991. I can remember what I wore my first day of high school and where I bought the outfit. I can walk into a friends house and tell them what has been moved on a shelf. Point is I have an uncanny knack for remembering with great and specific detail moments, people and places as far back as toddlerhood. My short term memory has always suffered thanks to my thyroid disease but my long term memory is an Olympic gold medalist.  Thanks to those evil stepsisters there could come a day where I don’t remember my own damn name, the faces of my family or how to write. Those damn sisters could toss out  all the song lyrics, my encyclopedic knowledge of all things 80’s, the States and Capitals like they tossed clothes onto the floor for Cinderella to wash. Worry gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere so I won’t worry about the evil stepsisters. Instead I will exercise my brain in all the ways I know. I will take suggestions about other ways to fight. I will eat brain food and drink plenty of water. PS... the stepsisters names are actually Druzella and Anastasia. I remember because my Mimi & Grandpa took me to see Cinderella at the Foothill Center movie theater in Azusa and I had frozen junior mints for the first time that day.

New in 19 - Day One.

Day One. The cursor blinks at me as I decide what to share for the first blog of 2019. My day one began with tears driving out of LAX after dropping my son and his girlfriend at their gates. Drove home on a freeway so empty it made me wonder if I’d missed the Apocalypse. Crawls back into my deliciously comfy Christmas gift jammies and went to sleep for a few hours. First productive activity  

was to successfully unsubscribe from over 30 emails because as part of my New in 19 plan I have decided to accept less clutter into my life and the Inbox was an easy win. Less emotional clutter, less physical clutter. Less STUFF period. If it is not beautiful, useful, or necessary to my health and well being it is not allowed to stay. Be that human or otherwise. My next goal for the rest of this 24 hours that I get to live in is to finish a book started before Christmas, then I will eat some leftovers from my NYE lunch, visit with my parents in person and then I’m not sure. As a precursor to my New in 19 plan I ditched cable and I have until the middle of next week to decide what to replace it with. I am enjoying the freedom from the Box but let’s not be crazy....I can’t miss my Chicago shows. I’m happy to report that of the roughly 20 things on my 2018 Vison Board only 3 remain to be accomplished. Thank you 2018 for the lessons and the blessings. Thank you in advance 2019 for what I believe will be more of the same.  I realize as I wrap this up that I have mentally committed to one blog per day for this year. To quote Anne Lamott “I don’t think you have time to waste not writing”. I love you Day One. 

Morning Coffee

Morning coffee is a bit different these days ... nothing but the sounds of my off balance ceiling fan, and neighborhood dogs barking at the folks rifling through the green cans that are curbside because its trash  day. It wasn’t that long ago that I had to pour my coffee into a travel mug if  I wanted any hope of drinking it still warm. I drove from school to school dropping kiddos off and then rushed back home to handle the mountain of laundry (or not) which if you know me you know I’d rather alphabetize my craft supplies than do laundry. Point is the coffee was always cold and I felt hurried from activity to errand to activity. Now I sit calmly, no rush with a dainty handled mug and savor my favorite coffee. . I know people who wake up early to have their coffee like this every day, kids or not. My hats off to you. My logic was always sleep a little longer.. then drink more coffee. The point is this... from the day my kids were born it’s been a catapult thrusting me through time to the dainty handled coffee mug days I find myself in now. I used to spend a lot of time wishing REALLY badly that I had those days back. Lately I just sit for a while drinking my coffee and feeling REALLY grateful that I had them to begin with.  Then I carry on with my new day. Appreciation of each moment and the idea that I too have graduated right along with the kids keeps me from “drowning in nostalgia” to quote John Hughes. Enjoy your coffee ladies and gentleman... metaphorically or otherwise.

Laugh track

For a long time, part of my normal routine involved driving down half of the freeway every other Friday a couple months out of the year with my kids in order to sit and wait in a department store parking lot so that they could get out of my car and get in to their dads truck at which time he would drive down the other half of the freeway to his house for the remainder of the weekend just to do it all in reverse on Sunday. Not an unusual circumstance for lots of families these days sadly and when this particular adventure began I had a difficult time filling the miles between point A and point B with something other than music that my kids didn't really want to listen to or awkward conversation about what they thought the weekend might go like. Pandora was a relatively new thing -  at least to me and when my oldest suggested listening to comedy radio instead of my tired '80's playlist I said sure. Thats when I heard John Mulaney for the first time. I've always enjoyed stand up comedy but since most of my favorites were wildly vulgar I hadn't shared them with kids yet. So there we are.. spinning down our half of the freeway all of us laughing so hard we're almost in tears  as John Mulaney tells a story about a party he once threw in High School and  the awkward miles passed with ease. It was so fun that we did it again on the way home Sunday and then again the  next time we made the drive. We  had created a tradition.  We still quote that first comedy routine we heard of John's and lots of others too. Tonight I sat with 2 of my kids on the couch and laughed to the point of tears watching his newest comedy special and I was grateful for those trips halfway down the freeway when our little unit took an otherwise crap situation and made something good of it. It's amazing what laughter can do.

COLOSSAL

It’s almost Mother’s day so naturally I’m reflecting on the colossal nature of my kids’ lives. They do nothing small. Not the good stuff. Not the bad stuff. It’s all colossal and I usually have the just about the same feeling in my guts that you get when you reach the pinnacle of a roller coaster climb…just before the drop. This year more than any other in their lives has been HUGE for change.

As moms we expect the normal leaps and bounds of going from infant to toddler, little kid to teen. All those colossal milestones are mapped out for us and we just wait to see when each kid will hit the mark. My kids have run the gamut from colossally immature to colossally mature even in just the past week. ”What to Expect When You’re Expecting “did nothing to prepare me for the level of parenting I would take on this year. Neither did any other book I’ve read and I’ve read A LOT.

This has been a COLOSSALY challenging year. Just since last Mother’s Day there has been a high school graduation, boot camp graduation, the beginning of a military career, a newly licensed driver, a four shade hair color change  (over 3 weeks) a prom, the first armpit hair, the start of middle school, an imprisoned father and a HUGE, public disciplinary issue. This weaved in with the usual mix of checkups, sports, grades, acne, boyfriends and girlfriends, where’s my phone, can I have 5 dollars and why do we have to have THAT for dinner.

No wonder I feel like my guts are going to come out my nose. I am sure your year hasn’t been much different than mine except maybe the details. Here’s the thing - being a mom IS colossal. Right from the moment we pee on the stick and it never slows down. It’s rewarding and scary and sometimes boring (think endless laundry). It is hilariously fun and the hardest job you’ll ever love. You cry for opposite reasons sometimes in the same day. You worry and wonder and pray and yell and cuss and give kisses out like candy all in a few hours.  And then you see them sleeping, looking all angelic and it hits you. THIS is the most colossal love you have ever felt in your life. That’s it.

So push down the safety bar, raise your arms and enjoy the ride Moms. I know I will 

Fair Winds and Following Seas

In a little more than 24 hours I will be leaving my son on the curb at the airport for the flight to his first duty station with the United States Navy.


He's been home for 10 magic days. As I write I'm dusting off a memory of him squatting in the flower bed, red plastic shovel in hand slinging mud all over the sidewalk wearing a beloved pair of yellow rain boots - in the SUMMER time. Now he towers in my front doorway wearing a meticulous uniform complete with boots so shiny you can see your reflection. The days from yellow rain boots to spit shined military ones are a time warp of birthday parties, clean your rooms and do your homework's. Of taxi driving, piles of laundry peppered with sleepovers and who's that girl?? Where are you going? Get up, brush your teeth. WHERE'S your homework??? All the while trying my hardest to weed out the bad things he may have inherited from his parents and magnifying the good ones.


I've kissed his forehead and pulled the blanket up over his shoulders every night he's been home - whether he realizes it or not. I've wished selfishly that he had fewer friends to visit while being proud that he understands how to be a true friend. Wishing wit every alarm clock screech that I didn't have to work so many hours. I just want to sit next to him and hear him breathe. He's pulled off an epic surprise on his family, a visit to his brothers baseball game - twice. Celebrated his birthday early, ran a few errands for his momma like the old days and now its nearly time for him to go again.


Raising him has been like trying to stuff a 5 pound burlap sack full of 50 pounds worth of information and love. I stare at him in wonder today just like I did the day the nurse laid him on my chest fresh out of the oven. I made that!! I'm way cooler than any Pinterest board. These days he's writing a story that doesn't have me as the center. And that's as it should be.


This man who stands where my little boy once crouched gleefully discovering worms buried in the mud is intelligent, and a leader. Organized. Purposeful. He has impeccable taste in music and can quote movies with the best of them. He keeps his faith close to his heart and really gets it when is Great Uncle Joe talks about "Duty, honor and respect for family".  He honored his Great Uncle Tim with his very first tattoo. I raised him to be his own person but never forget where he came from and as a result he is loyal to everyone who loves him even if I don't think they deserve it. Take that mom!! 


He still manages to get a middle finger up in almost every picture and his grin is just as wide and bright as the sun. He hassles his siblings and cracks my back and opens any jar with his big ole meat hooks but for every one thing I am certain I know about him there are probably three I am totally unaware of and I think that is the plan.


In a little more than 24 hour I will give my precious number one son a hug and send him back to the United Sates Navy and I couldn't be more proud. Fair winds and following seas Sailor - your mom loves you.