Celebrating all that is fabulous about being a mom and a woman!

We are amazing aren't we? Mothers have a certain kind of resilience that allows us to cope with the small inconveniences of life as well as the major catastrophes. I love being a mom and although there have been times during my 21 years of motherhood that I believed I wasn't so good at it....I know now that I rock as a mother to my girls! That's right, I am tooting my own horn! Why shouldn't I? My girls are healthy, happy and loved! I didn't say I am a perfect mother but to my girls I am and that is all that counts! Have I made mistakes at this job along the way...sure! Was it always easy....nope! Was it all worth it...as I watch them grow into strong, confident and beautiful young women I say....ABSOLUTELY!

It took me a while, but I learned to find a healthy balance between being a mother and being a woman. I learned to make time for my girls but to also make time just for me. Sometimes we put so much time into making sure that our children are taken care of that we forget to take care of ourselves. I learned that being a mother means that at times I have to temporarily put aside my needs in order to provide for my girls but my needs MUST be meet eventually. From the first day that I became a mother I loved my girls unconditionally! But when I learned to love myself unconditionally I became a better mother!

So ladies if you know that you are doing your best at this beautiful thing called motherhood while still finding time to take care of you then lift your glass and celebrate all that is fabulous about being a mom and a woman!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today she's 21!

21 years ago today at exactly 10:11PM I became a mother for the very first time. At 20 years young I brought my oldest daughter into the world with no meds and a whole lot of awkward and uncontrolled pushing. She came into this world kicking and screaming! Now that I think about it since birth she has wanted to be the center of attention!

As a young mother she and I had to grow up together. Although she learned from me, having her taught me so much. For example, as I was potty training her she was teaching me how to be patient and when I had to pass on those after work parties she taught me about responsibility. When I had to make difficult decisions on her behalf she taught me to be an advocate. Oh yeah and the time she took a whole jar of Vaseline and covered herself in it from head to toe then rolled around on the brand new light blue sofa and then proceeded to watch TV like nothing...yeah that time she taught me about tolerance!

It is so true that motherhood does not come with a manual and I am a perfect example because honestly, at some points through those teenage years I felt like a complete failure as a mother. But I am thankful for each and every one of those 21 years, the happy times and the not so happy times that have made us both grow into the women we are today. You see she and I have a special connection, we have a type of unconditional love that only a mother and daughter can share!

So today my little girl is 21! I know for her this probably means that now she could have her first drink (yeah, who I am kidding) and go to a 21 and over club. But to me it’s bittersweet…it means that my baby is no longer a baby but I know that we will continue to learn from each other for many years to come!

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Stay tuned next week for......The Celebration!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Sometimes I am just like my mother. Although I never thought I would ever hear myself say that. When I was a teenager I promised myself I would never be like my mother! I thought she was overprotective, unreasonable and just didn’t understand me! So in order to show her that I was grown I moved out at 19 to “live my own life”. And boy did I show her I was back home in 5 months!

Looking back now I often ask myself was my mother that unreasonable? I mean she let me come back home although I had hurt her so much by leaving. Was she too protective or was she just trying to protect me from the very thing that ended up happening? Did she really not understand me or did she understand me all too well, which is why she often knew my next move before I did?

Now that I have 2 daughters I find myself struggling with the same questions that my mother must have. How do I protect my daughters without being overprotective? How do I make difficult decisions that are in their best interest without seeming too unreasonable? How do I get them to realize that I do understand what they are feeling because I went through the same things not that long along? (I mean I am only 41 for goodness sake!)

This past November my mother turned the beautiful age of 70 and we surprised her with a tribute to her life presented by all 5 grandchildren. As she sat there with tears of happiness in her eyes I began to realize that I am just like my mother. I am doing the best that I can for my children and if that means that sometimes they think that I am overprotective, unreasonable and not understanding that’s okay because it is done out of love. I only hope that one day they too can say sometimes I am just like my mother.