Being present...

The past week has been a crazy busy week, and I have felt every emotion possible.  It started on Mother's Day with a phone call that we lost a close family friend. This was graduation week for my baby girl, and as you can imagine - we had a million things going on.  Then, I had a "mommy moment" (I refuse to say meltdown) - when it hit me that our soldier would be missing his little sister's graduation.  I was an emotional mess! As the week progressed, we got through one event at a time. After stressing over the weather all week (which I know I can't control), Saturday was here and it was time for the princess' graduation party. And...I wanted everything to be perfect!

After a small army of family and friends (who I cannot thank enough) helped me finish decorating and getting everything ready - I had time to breathe (just for a minute) before more friends and family started arriving to celebrate my girl! Now, anyone who knows me KNOWS that I tend to take way too many photos and document way too much! In my defense...I want to remember every moment and capture everything so we can look back one day. But, sometimes in the midst of doing that - I tend to forget to enjoy the moment and truly be present because I end up stressing about capturing the moment. It can be complete craziness!  On Saturday however, I did not take one picture during her graduation party.  I talked and laughed with family and friends, I watched my sweet girl soak up every minute and love on the people that mean the most to her. I watched our loved ones love on her and I watched her LAUGH and act silly with her friends!  I was actually PRESENT...enjoying every minute of it!  And y'all... when we got finished we realized out of all the pictures that other people took - we did not have one photo of us together and of our family.  No, we don't have a picture to document that we were together celebrating, but we do have memories of that perfect afternoon!

Road trip!!

Since my kids were little, we have always been about a good road trip.  Some of my favorite memories were unplanned, spontaneous trips where I would put three kids in the car.  We didn't necessarily have a destination, and we all know I didn't have a plan.  We would just hop in the car and head towards somewhere. It might be that we headed to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and would stop to visit friends along the way or it may have been that we just went somewhere close by. But regardless...we laughed a lot, had fun, and made a lot of memories along the way! 

My kids have taken many road trips as they have gotten older.  J has road tripped across the northwestern U.S., C has taken trips in Alaska, and the princess and I - well... let's just say we have had many since she has been the only child at home.  You want to go to IKEA?  Okay... are we going to Atlanta or Memphis?  You want to go to the beach for 48 hours?  Sure... throw some stuff in a backpack and let's go! Oh and are any friends going with us? You know... the more the merrier!  Needless to say, these types of things drive my mom crazy!  Why on earth would I spontaneously throw kids in a car and drive?? Well...why not??

About a month ago, I had to have surgery on my foot (kind of unexpectedly) and had to be in Columbus, OH 2 weeks later for work.  No... the doctor didn't want me to fly and he really didn't want me to drive.  If I were to drive, I would have to stop every 45 minutes and walk for 15!!  Now... that turns a 6 hour drive into a lot longer!  As I was telling my mom what the doctor said, she just sat and listened.  After about 2 hours I received a text, it simply said, "I have cleared all of my activities.  I'm ready for a road trip!"  Y'all... my mouth hit the floor, this was on Sunday before I was leaving on Tuesday and my mom is a planner with a capital P!! But... she made it happen - just for me! 

We got in the car on Tuesday morning, and the first things she said was, "I have a snack bag." Now...I officially felt like I was 10 again - but I was completely okay with it.  We started the drive to Columbus, my foot propped up on the dashboard, cranked the music up, and laughed the whole way!  Now...I can tell you if it had not been for the surgery this may have never happened.  But honestly... I'm so glad it did - I love my mom dearly, and I'm sure I don't tell her enough!  The other thing that really stood out to me was when we arrive at the hotel, mom started unpacking her stuff and the first thing she unpacked was her Bible. Now...I think that's pretty amazing.  I really think part of God's plan was to tell me to slow down, spend time with the ones you love, and make some memories.

I say all of this to encourage everyone to stop and spend time with your loved ones.  You don't ever know when God will decide to call them home.  Take silly pictures and make memories! And most of all, as Mother's Day is approaching... if you are lucky enough to still have your mom with you - then let her know how much she is loved!