Bring On Lemons

I was trying to come up with a catchy title for what's bopping around in my brain today. The words I'm hearing were spoken by my daddy when I was a little girl: "don't take yourself so seriously". Of course, I could have used that, but I wanted something catchier so I goggled synonyms of the word serious (this took a while as I spell synonym all sorts of ways: synonim, sinonim...anyway, you'd think I'd learn). Here's what I found: austere, bound, cold sober, contemplative, determined, earnest, funereal, genuine, grave, grim, honest, etc... The word 'grave' sort of caught my eye. I guess because I know that if we take ourselves too seriously, it leads to stress which in an unhealthy amount can lead to health problems which eventually lead us to our death or our grave as you will. That's the moral of today's story... take yourself too seriously or spend too much time being GRAVE and you'll wind up in the grave . Now, if you...

Who Would Have Thought.... that I would so thoroughly enjoy being a mother? Yup - you heard me...my life did NOT lose all meaning and direction when I no longer had a paycheck or fancy title. I now have the most rewarding title of all: MOM I learn something new every day. I am reminded to love more deeply. I am learning to appreciate our differences, embrace our quirks, and I'm finding more joy than I ever thought possible. Thank you to those who made this possible.  May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, sunshine, and little people (who are usually sticky)! ~Crystal

Birth, An Unexplained Loss I loved you from the moment I knew of you Protected you with my being Longed to touch you, to hear the sound of your voice Dreamed about who you would become Pictured the two of us together laughing Imagined being called ‘Mommy’ Promised both of us a lifetime of great joy Dedicated myself to you Doubted my abilities but never yours Listened to your little beating heart Realized my dreams meant a bittersweet end Your birth meant we would be apart The moment you were born I felt a great loss Tears filled my eyes and I cried So much for us to gain and experience Joy through an unexplained loss My womb now empty we are no longer joined Love keeps us together entwined A promise I make to you my little one To protect you with my being Before you my life had no meaning at all

Mother's Day began as a way for families affected by the Civil War to gather and share ideas about promoting peace - the idea was began around 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts and eighteen cities in American participated in the day for peace in 1873. Over time, people lost interest. In 1907 the idea came up again by Anna Jarvis of West Virginia to celebrate her mother's life (and death in 1905). The larger event Jarvis organized took place in 1908 at Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia which is why there is now an International Mother's Day Shrine located there today. The idea began catching on and in 1914 was declared a national holiday by then President Woodrow Wilson. Some of us think of mother's day as a 'Hallmark Holiday', but it's origins began as a way to share, and as a movement toward Peace. What will you do this mother's day? Please share your thoughts and ideas below, or use the comments of this post as a way t...