We're all in this together.

Yesterday was unseasonably warm and luckily we already had a play date scheduled with a good friend of mine from Jr. High and her twins. It was very windy, but great for November! Of course all of the kids pass up the "little" play equipment and head straight for the good stuff. You know the stuff that makes your stomach feel all "squeezy" when your babies venture up to the tippy top. Of course the purple slide is the best. It goes all the way up to the sky and swirls all the way down. (It really is VERY tall and totally freaks me out because I am afraid that the kids will get to the top and then stand up..ugh.) As three kids filed up the stairs....the first little guy lost his nerve. Traffic jam. I stood at the bottom ready to catch Rhonda's little guy if he fell while the mother of the other boy ran up the stairs. She got him down, Braden didn't fall and the other little girl slid down without incident. However, while the first little guy was being rescued, her other baby who looked to be a bit younger had managed to get himself in a pickle too! She looked around and handed her older child off to me and asked me to hold him while she rescued the other one. I was more than happy to cuddle him while his momma played playground super hero. When both boys were safe, she thanked me for my help. She later returned the favor when she alerted me that Claire had gotten the water faucet on and had it going FULL BLAST! I was so glad she got my attention before Claire and others were soaked head to toe!

The point of my story is this. Unfortunately, it isn't often that I have positive encounters with moms like that. I have had so many encounters with mothers that left such a bad taste in my mouth, that I am very hesitant to make new mommy friends. For example, the lady at Chuck E. Cheese who ripped into me when my daughter pulled her daughters hair. Of course I made her apologize (Claire, not the rude lady) but it really upset me that she didn't even give me the chance to make it right before being so hateful. I did love the look on her face when I told her that Claire was only 2 years old. (Her daughter looked to be six or seven!) In my 4 short years as a mommy I have been subjected to mothers who do everything right and love to point out when my kids mess up. NEWSFLASH! They are 2 and 4...they will make mistakes. Another treat is the dirty looks I get when my 2 year old acts his age. They think he is a really badly behaved 4 year old, when he is really a well behaved 2 year old! Maybe I'm too sensitive.

In a perfect world, moms would build each other up. They would compliment each other and each others children....and mean it. They would do their best with their OWN children and realize that every other mom at the playground is doing the same. When they saw another mother struggling with a toddler who is throwing a tantrum, they would remember how they felt the last time their child threw a fit in a public place. They would say things like, "Oh what a beautiful girl" instead of "Wow she's huge!" They might mention, to a mother of four or five, that she is so blessed and is doing a great job, rather than ask "Uh, don't you know what causes that?" or "You're done now right?"

I have discovered that there ARE many moms out there who are kind. I just happen to be related to quite a few which is awesome. I know I can't change the world, but I can be the nice mommy at the playground. To the lady at the park with the two boys, be proud of yourself for being kind to a complete stranger and not judging her when she let her kids out of her sight long enough to blast cold water all over!

The world is tough enough for our little ones, why not do the best we can to encourage ALL children? Being a mom is serious stuff, why not support one another instead of tearing each other down? After all, we are all in this together...right?

P.S...the aforementioned friend with the twins is one of my super nice mommy friends! Just wanted to make sure that was clear!

Vote for Claire!

In a previous post I mentioned that Claire and I would be having a "girls day" after a trip to the dentist. WRONG. Apparently the bright blue sharpie marker that said "Dentist" moved on my calendar. It's not until Thursday. However, we did make a special trip to the Jr. High to cast our vote in the 2008 presidential election. Claire was not as excited as I was, but someday I'm sure she will thank me for dragging her away from Drew and Cohen who were frolicking in the front yard when we left. My favorite part of the voting experience was when she said, in her OUTSIDE voice, "Don't forget to vote for John McCain MOM!" "Yes dear, I remember." Then she said, "Did you color in the dot for Sarah Ravencroft?" She and Drew have decided that they would rather refer to Sarah Palin as Sarah Ravencroft. I can't explain it. They probably got the name from the same far away place they got the word "cadoots." We don't know.

ANYWAY, I know two 4 year olds that will be very disappointed that we did not elect John McCain into office. (They have NO idea about anything except the names, and they decided on their own that they liked the name John McCain better. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that their decision process was just as complex as many adults.)But what a wonderful lesson about our civic duty. I hope that she remembers the day we voted in an election that will go down in history. I plan to tell Claire that he did not win but we did our part. Now our job is to pray for all of the people who are leading our country and be thankful that we are not in the upper tax bracket ;-)

I am currently watching Barack Obama give his victory speech. May God be with you President Obama. May he guide you in ALL of your decisions during your term in office.

What. A. Day.

If you are reading this...

please go to this blog and pray for Stephanie Vest and her family. She is a friend of Miss Leah's (the director of our preschool) and she needs our prayers. She has three beautiful children and just 8 short weeks after giving birth to her youngest, she was diagnosed with a rare form of Lymphoma. The most recent post on her blog is inspiring to say the least. Her story serves as another important reminder to live each day to the fullest. It sounds like such a cliche, but it is so important.

On Friday, after a day full of Halloween fun, it was time to take the kids trick-or-treating. They were so excited....I was not. The thought of tromping around the neighborhood (even with the beautiful weather we had) was not as appealing as staying behind and having a coke, a brownie and some peace and quiet with my mom, dad, mother-in-law and her parents. But I stopped and took a deep breath and looked at my children. They were bouncing around full of life while images of candy bars gleamed in their eyes. How could I miss this? What could be more important than watching my little ones hand in hand strolling down the street dressed as batgirl and Cowboy Woody? Nothing. I loved watching Claire run so her cape would flap in the wind. Cohen strutting his stuff in his "Woody boots" was about the cutest thing you ever did see. How could I be so selfish? I am BLESSED to be here and have the ability to walk with my children. I am BLESSED that they are running and laughing. BLESSED that my husband is walking right next to me taking it all in. I could go on for days...but you get the point. I am eliminating the "poor me grumble" from my daily repertoire. I will no longer feel grumpy about cleaning up yet another mess. I will REJOICE in the Lord that I have the strength to bend down and pick up those dirty socks. I will THANK him for the children who left them there. I will PRAY that I get one more day with my husband to show him how much I truly adore him, but will never leave it unsaid.

I have never felt more strongly about anything in my life. TODAY MATTERS. I will make it count.

Sunday Funny

What Fell from the Bible?

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it closely. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages."Momma, look what I found," the boy called out."What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered: "I think it's Adam's underwear!"