Open Your Eyes

Did anyone else see the sunset last night? It's hard not to notice this time of year. I was driving into Uptown, looking for a parking spot before seeing my friend's hysterical Comedy Sportz show. Turning away from the task for a moment, I caught a glimpse of a huge, almost-pulsing globe of firey red, orange, and yellow.

When I opened Lucy's window shades this morning, I saw the same sun. It's almost like that thing it putting on a performance this time of year.

Spring is just what I need to change my focus in life...to move away from the worries I can't control and to move toward the beauty all around us. The flowers, the green earth, the scent of nature's return in the air. A sun that makes you realize this world is much smaller than it sometimes seems.

Protect and Defend

John and I watched a documentary on FDR a few nights back, and it struck me, as it often has in motherhood, how the idea of war changes when you are a parent.
On a daily basis, I'm forced to think about these hundreds of little things to protect my kids from---bee stings on the front porch, choking on peanuts, crossing the street without looking. Obviously, these are minutiae compared to what one confronts in wartime.
What would it be like to be the parents ripped from one another and their children as they segregated into genders in the Holocaust concentration camps? What would it be like to pray genuinely and pleadingly for the life of your child to be safe?
Really, these thoughts are almost too grounding for a mom to contemplate. So, I'm content to worry about what will happen if Tommy drinks too much apple juice, or if Lucy doesn't get enough exposure to baby word books.
And then, every so often, I realize just how blessed we really are.

This is Why I Do It

I never knew my house would be filled with:
-ridiculous quantities of Spiderman underwear,
-denim miniskirts that measure less than 5 inches in length,
-books, books, books everywhere,
-children sighing themselves off to sleep,
-so much love my heart is ready to burst.

Things I'm Thankful For: The Ring

Some rings are less expensive and more useful than others. My husband recently brought a ring into our lives that has saved my sanity over the past month.

Tommy had stumbled onto the habit of obsessively slamming our baby stair gates against the walls and railings of the staircase. Loud and damaging, this activity had me ready to become violent.

John took a simple teething ring and latched the gate to our stairs. No sound can be made, and through some miracle, Tommy hasn't thought to pry it off.