Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee...

Hello good friends!  Grab your cup!  Wait...curious me: which cup do you choose?  do you have a favourite? Is it short and petite?  Or big? Pretty? Classic looking? Perhaps plain?  I change it up a lot, today happens to be my red cup!  You know what?  My coffee tastes amazing!  It has nothing to do with my cup by the way, hehe, but more to do with what I put in it.  I get creative some days and add cinnamon and nutmeg to the grounds.  Some days there may be vanilla added to my water before brewing.  I love variety, it's the spice of life after all, and makes life interesting.  The coffee is drank not for nourishment, but for pleasure. I don't need the caffeine jolt --although it is quite welcomed some days--but I seem to actually relax into my cup.  Maybe it's from past memories of drinking it while having fantastic convos with friends, or maybe it's a reminder of my time as a child, waking up to that smell in my grandma's house and getting a little cup of it all to myself... For whatever reasons, I am a fan for life, and like life, my coffee is sweet, sometimes strong tasting, to which I sweeten in my own way with the tools I'm given.  So enjoy your cup, whichever you choose, and be content with what you put in it! Cheers! ;)

Becoming a Mother: The Prep Class

Dear Friends, I marvel at the beautiful creation of a smaller version of ourselves combined with another.    

"The beauty of my body is not measured by the size of the clothes it can fit into, but by the stories that it tells. I have a belly and hips that say, "We grew a child in here," and breasts that say, "We nourished life." My hands, with bitten nails and a writer's callus, say, "We create amazing things.""

-Sarah, from I Am Beautiful: A Celebration of Women in Their Own Words

 I also believe whole-heartedly that birthing does not make you a mother.  Genetically being tied to your little one does not make you closer or more in-tune with your child.  Parents are born too.  I have had the pleasure of knowing some very loving individuals that have opened their hearts to raise a family. I see no difference in how we become parents, as separating how we are connected to our children.  

So what about the preparations for the arrival of a baby?  Baby showers are events we organize to help new parents in the material aspect of planning.  We think of fun games for a gathering of women to play, award prizes for not saying the word "baby", and somehow try to help new moms prepare for the struggles that lie ahead.  Of all the times women need other women, it's when we are in need of outside strength, wisdom, and reassurance in the 'before' moments of motherhood.  Gift registries are helpful but are never going to have on them what we actually need at this time. 

I have recently felt a wave of clarity on this subject...  I love party planning as much as the next gal, making sure every gathering I host has a theme, is decorated and organized with some thought behind it.  Having said this, I think when planning for the arrival of your child it can be scary, exciting, and lonely.  No one else can tell you what the proper tools are-- what car seat, or the necessary Bumbo chair, or tummy-time activity mat.  These are the wants, you will learn the needs later...  So it gives us comfort, to hear the stories from other mothers, to share in your connection with them and hear them give a prep-talk for the journey ahead.  

So mamas, give that special gift to the new mommy-to-be, but give it with a thoughtful piece of advice too.  Words are what we can offer from the heart, and stand for so much more.

Shift Changes and the Reasons Why Mom Friends Exist

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. -Ferris Bueller

Sorry for the gap in my posts, my life has been moving pretty fast lately, so I'm going to press pause and look around here with you.

 Ever notice we go through cycles through our relationships with people?  Sometimes with our spouses, with our parents, or with our kids--you get where I'm going...Our friends.  The people we turn to outside of our inner network, for unbiased opinions, support, and good laughs. We don't ever mean to lose touch with all the friends we meet on our journey through life, and thanks to the existence of Facebook, we can reconnect or keep in touch with all those "friends".  We will have a few very close friends, and depending on where we are in our life, we find a "shift change" and sub-in different friends.  Call me an optimist, but I truly believe that your closest friends you will have can let this cycle happen and still maintain an arm's length friendship, falling back in step like you always were.

You've got a Friend in ME!

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~Albert Schweitzer

       Mom Friends--we all need them.  We surround ourselves with different friend personalities without knowing it.  We nurture ourselves by reaching out to a particular friend depending on what we are going through.  Generations of instinctive mothering has been bred into us, and yet we still need a network of pals to keep us grounded and show support when we feel lost.