I'm 41 Today

Newborn Ree

"Where does the time go?" is such an overused platitude, but oh so true!  How am I suddenly 41 when I should just be turning 30???

Eating like a bird for a few weeks no longer results in dramatic weight loss like it did in my 20's.  41 year-old fat is stubborn, yo!  However, when I look around at the health battles that others are fighting, I thank God for my miraculous body, no matter if the scale numbers are up or down.  At least I'm healthy.  And gorgeous.  

My dad always told me that drinking coffee would make me grow hair on my chest.  I am here to tell you, it doesn't, but it kept me from bugging him for it all those years ago.   I now enjoy the occasional latte....it still invokes in me the feeling that I am getting away with doing something that is very "grown-up"!

I drink far too much Coke Zero and red wine and not enough water.  I'm okay with that.

Youth is wasted on the young.

Worrying is bad for your psyche.  And your skin.  I am human, I can't totally eradicate it, but I do FAR less of it nowadays!  You have to just roll with it, life.

The power of forgiveness is perhaps the most amazing of all human superpowers.  Especially when it comes to forgiving YOURSELF.

Good friends are worth the trouble...and I am not yet the friend I hope to be.

You can't judge me on my past, I don't live there anymore.  (Borrowed from Pinterest.)

I still love Little House On The Prairie, 80's music and bad chick lit.  I admit it loud & proud.  

I used to swear up and down that I would never go around without makeup on.  I can't tell you the last time I wore makeup to work.

I also swore that I would never drive a minivan.  It's parked out front.  They just make good sense!

I avoided the news when I was younger, the whole ignorance is bliss thing.  Ignorance is NOT bliss, but knowledge can be a very sad thing.  The news has become horrifyingly predictable, yet my eyes still well up with tears.  May I never get so hardened that I am no longer affected.

I have run marathons and jumped from a plane, but the most incredible and perfect thing that my body has ever done, is create my beautiful daughter and breastfeed her for 13 months.

I believe in God.  I was raised as a Church Girl.  I later rebelled and questioned everything I had been taught, but for me, He is the real deal.  He and I, we have a good relationship.  If I die and it was all wrong, no harm done.  I am still a searcher when it comes to religion.  This is okay.

I love the LGBT community.  Live and let live.  Live and let marry.

Hashing out politics with someone really IS a bad idea, folks.  Don't do it!

I no longer need to get wasted and stay out until dawn.  I've done that and I have nothing to prove at this point.  My happiest nights are spent moon-gazing with my daughter and tucking her in after a bedtime story, or five! 

I know that becoming a wife and a mother in your 20's works for a lot of people, but THANK GOD I didn't!  I would never have handled it or appreciated it like I do now.

Menstruation sucks, but may menopause leave me alone for a good long while!

Sure, I believe in aging gracefully.  Unless it starts to turn tragic, then I also believe in cosmetic procedures to make yourself feel better.  God, grant me the wherewithal to know when to say when...BEFORE turning into the Cat Lady, Jocelyn Wildenstein!

Like Baz Luhrmann advises in his song Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen), you REALLY should trust me on this...WEAR SUNSCREEN!  I will always be a sun worshipper, but the baby oil and iodine mixture of my nothing-can-touch-me youth, has been replaced with 30spf sunscreen.  I regret the sun spots that now decorate my face, and we all know that skin cancer is no joke! 

My career is far from what I once imagined for myself, but it's good, for now.  I hope that my life is long and that I have the chance to pursue more of my dreams.

When your mom warns you to always have clean underwear on in case you end up in the E.R.?  Listen to her!  I am a nurse, I have seen some unfortunate things in the undergarment department.

I am not going to lie and say that I don't care what others think of me.  Of course I do, but only to a certain degree.  I no longer feel the need to impress people.  It was wasted energy and I eventually got exhausted.

I still have to drink milk when I eat spaghetti.

I recall my childhood imaginary friend, Tommy Dultson, with fondness.  He was good stuff and I miss him still.

While I very much enjoy our modern luxuries and technology, my heart sometimes aches for the simpler times.  My mind always drifts to summer days in the 70's growing up in northern Michigan.  I spent every day outside, swinging and dreaming on my tire swing, climbing trees, riding my bike and reading.  I spent long days soaking up the sun at Sturgeon Bay. We had a party line telephone.  I waited for letters in the mailbox.  I recorded songs from the radio by holding up the recorder to the speakers, commanding complete silence from anyone nearby.

Adoption rules!  I should know, I am adopted.  Adopt a kid, adopt a pet, adopt a charity...it's all good! 

My dogs...Skipper...Scout....Buddy...and now Jasper, understand me in a way that no human ever will. <3

If I wake up tomorrow and everything is gone, but I still have Margaux, Patrick and Jasper?  I would still count myself as the most blessed woman in the world.

Happy Birthday to me!

This Says It All

A Mother's Prayer For Her Child

by Tina Fey

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
  
May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
  
Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.”

Farewell Adenoids

 Her Certificate of Bravery!

Today was GoGo's adenoidectomy!  She has not had a clear nasal passage in months...lots of mouth breathing, snoring, apnea and poor appetite.  Her adenoids were enlarged on x-ray and so we scheduled the procedure.  We felt bad about it, but knew she would be a happier little girl afterward.  The staff at Advocate Lutheran General were amazing and the volunteers were so nice and helpful.  She was wheeled into the O.R. and back into the recovery room within 20 minutes!  She was quite weepy coming out of the anesthesia, and the I.V. was  her biggest concern.  She has already been eating and enjoying her favorite foods, sniffing it and saying "Mmmm!".  She keeps proclaiming "No more boogers!"  We are giving her Tylenol but she denies feeling any pain.  So happy that this is behind us.  I do believe that it was more difficult for us than it was for her!  :)

Blessed Are We...Mothers

Margaux Violet...my everything.

I will be working this Mother's Day weekend, the first time in many years. While I would rather be doing something special with my girl, at least I will be helping other women begin their journey into motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mom, Maxine, whom I love very much!  I will also be thinking of Marsha, my biological mother, who gave me the gift of life and the ultimate gift of a loving family.  Happy Mother's Day also to my mother-in-law, Joanne, and to my sisters, sister-in-law, aunts, cousins and friends!  Thank you to Miss MVP, who is the constant sunshine in my life, my greatest love.  There is nothing in the world that could ever compare to the joy of being her momma! 

Smartypants Turns 40

 Vera Bradley goodies for the graduate!

 Raw emerald necklace/earring set for the Birthday Girl!

Cheers!

My friend Bex graduated this past weekend from Dominican University with a Master's in Library & Information Science.  A friend on Facebook hit the nail on the head when she said that she is now a walking Google!  Congrats!  I would also like to welcome her to The Club!  (She also turned 40 on May 1st!)  Our friend Heather made the trip down from Michigan for the weekend festivities.  We enjoyed a scrumptious dinner on Friday night at Bistro Campagne in Lincoln Square, and then trekked it next door for drinks at a cozy Irish pub.  We attended the graduation on Saturday where the address was given by Newton Minnow, a truly accomplished and fascinating man!  He and his wife AND three daughters were granted honorary degrees...talk about achievers!  Saturday evening we hit up a Mexican restaurant to do our part in celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  We shopped on Sunday.  Good times!