Kid friendly moms and growing up the hard way...

I don't mean you grew up in the Projects or with extreme difficulty in your life each day. What I am talking about is After you had kids. Kids make you grow up fast and it isn't always easy, ya know?

Many of us try to 'un' do what was done while we were growing up and at the same time try to 'do' what was not done that we feel should have been done.

All this agenda managing while taking each day as it comes in the midst of the craziness we call LIFE.

However, in all our planning, hoping, protecting, teaching and letting them fall off the bicycle to help them understand balance, we really screw/ed up sometimes.

So, we ask friends, we ask our moms, we ask our grandmothers.

Then, we are told by teachers, coaches, tutors, physicians, counselors and still... STILL we get it wrong in the midst of all the 'right' we are doing.

I Twittered onto a site today while sipping morning coffee. And I realized: we are all on our OWN journey with this Mom Thing.

And it ain't easy, nope, it is all out action.

And, it's as critical as a soldier standing ground in Afghanistan. There are demands on him/us we never see coming, demands that must be handled perfectly, in a heart beat, in a split second of time.

There are no DVRs to rewind or place on hold while we think things over and nuke a bag of popcorn.

We are in this Motherhood thing for a Life-time. Bottom line is this:

You can't get it right all the time. You can't.

And your friends don't, and your mom didn't.

Well, I read that site till I cried. I had to let it sink in.

And I realized something to add to my LONG list of things to be a great mom...Comfort.

Comfort your kids. It's a small thing. A gentle hug. A smile. A few words that say 'it will be different tomorrow', 'this difficulty won't last forever', 'you are ready for the task at hand and I believe in you and love you'.

Comfort.

Whether your kids are 5 or 45.

We know they need it when they are young but I think as they age we want them to be strong and we tend to withhold Comfort...not meaning to but thinking they aren't babies anymore. We older moms may be more encouraging when Comfort might be a better option. My kids are 20 somethings and I realize they need comfort just like I do at twice their age.

I think we all find little gems along the way, things no one tells us like I did by reading this site.

Might want a box of kleenex handy...OR you might want to skip it entirely and get a mug of hot chocolate and watch Fried Green Tomatoes or the Family Stone (fill in here with your chick flick, crying catharsis movie).

I challenge you this weekend to:

Comfort someone's child...old, young (you) or in between.
Take in the scent of a real rose.
And have TWO mugs of hot chocolate, the calories really don't matter.

((Hugs))
Melissa

A Bit of Small Town Eye-Candy....

A bit North East of Dallas lies a small town that has AMAZING Older homes...the kind of old homes with History and Character that get you thinking about commuting long distance just so you have the pleasure of weekends in the country at a Bed n Breakfast called 'Yours'.

I stumbled on such a house today and thought about punching numbers on the calculator.

Notice the front porch is screened in for enjoying those cool summer evenings sans mosquitoes.


This is the balcony off the Master bedroom upstairs


Here is the original wood stair case. There is another stair case, most probably in the back of the home. The front door looks original too.


The 4th bedroom, one of 5, is located on the third floor. Look at the old wood and the old windows. I would have that painted white in a heart beat and a window seat would be where those treadmills are. That blue carpet would be gone and wood floors would be polished. An old iron bed, lots of pillows, sheers hung at the windows. And spring nights would be spent reading then dreaming as cool breezes wafted through.


It sets on over an acre, backed by lush trees.


Looks quaint in the height of summer as it does when snow whispers into North Texas.


Photos from over a century ago...





A piece of the past. This humble Lady certainly merits a bit of time with the calculator and cup of hot tea, don't you think?