Mama meltdown...

I've noticed that when my baby is happy, she says `dada' all over the place. When she's having a meltdown, it's `maaaaaaaaaamaaaaaaaa!'

Mama to the rescue!

A mom's grief

I caught today's Good Morning America and was especially touched by an interview with the family of gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman.

On May 21, his five-year-old adopted daughter Maria was accidentally stuck by the SUV her 17-year-old brother was driving. She ran into the truck's path on the way to greet her brother who was coming up the family driveway. The little girl died later that day.

As a mother of two young girls, I know that's every family's worst nightmare. How in the world do you bounce back from that kind of tragedy? It was obvious that they're still struggling with many unanswered questions themselves.

I think the thing that really got me was wife Mary Beth's reaction. Here's an excerpt of her reaction from the GMA website:

"I've said, you know, somewhat coldly, 'I don't care whose lives are touched by this story and whose lives are changed or what good comes of it.' As the heart of a mom, I want Maria back."

Crying, she continued, "And that's -- you know, that's what I want people to know is I want Maria back. But because I know that she is completely whole because of my faith, I know that she's completely whole and completely OK and I'm going to see her again. As a mom, I have to shift that grief to go."

I've got to say that raw emotion really got to me because it was real and honest. I hope and pray to God that my kids make it through each day happy, healthy and safe, but none of us can predict with any certainty that will happen. These moments that we have with our children and few and precious, and who knows who are what can happen that will take those moments away from us. I think any mom who watched that interview this morning can totally relate to how this woman feels. I know that we hope that we will never have to endure that kind of pain. I guess at the heart of all this grief is faith. Faith that we will see our loved ones again. Faith that we will get through. So while it wasn't her intention for the viewers to really take anything from her words, I did. I'll learn to appreciate those little moments that I have with my children. Not to get upset over the little things. Enjoy each happy smile. Each moment of silliness. Thanks for making me realize how truly fortunate I am.

To see the video for Chapman's beautiful song Cinderella, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcNPGWgbIbo

Working me...

Last night my daughter asked me if I would cuddle with her when she went to bed. She complained that she was cold. How she can be cold when the temps have been in the high 90s at night around here, I'll never know. Anyway, I snuggled with her for a little while then decided it was time to get up. I gave her a little peck and told her she was an awesome kid.

She replied by saying: You're an awesome mom. You're a tough mom too, but inside you have the heart of an angel.

Oh, she's gooooood!

Thanks McDonald's lady

After my daughter's swim lessons, we drove through the drive-through at McDonald's for a litte reward. My little one was tired and very cranky. I guess the clerk heard her because when I drove up to the window, she gave me a little yellow frisbee for the baby. I handed it to her sister to give to her and those cries turned to squeals of delight.

Thanks McDonald's lady for making my drive home a little sweeter.

A way to go moment...

My oldest daughter has never had an adventurous spirit. I blame myself for that in part. We had her a little later than most couples and I guess I was scared of her getting hurt. So rather than letting her try things on her own and risk getting the bumps and bruises associated with growing up, I coddled her.



Last year, she decided she wanted to try swimming lessons. That first week was probably the roughest week of her young life. She cried everytime she hit the water. She wouldn't dare get her face wet. Well, by the second week, she was diving for rings and sticks and the bottom of the pool. We had finally found that thing she loved.



This summer we started back up at swim lessons. At the beginning of the summer, I started her at a Level I American Red Cross swim class. She had finished last summer at a Level II, but I recognized that she still needed help with the basics. I figured rebuilding that foundation couldn't hurt her. And it did.



Where last year she was fearful of floating on her back, this time she embraced the challenge. I would sit at the side of the pool with her baby sister, and I'd hear my big girl tell the instructors that she wanted to try to the backstroke by herself. When the instructors took the kids over to the deep end of the pool, I saw hesitation before she jumped. I waited for her to start crying about not wanting to do it, but she surprised me. She sucked it up, jumped in and then swam to the side of the pool. Pretty soon, it got easier and easier.



Well, today was the last day of swim lessons for the summer. And it was nice to see that my daughter was genuinely unhappy to see it end. When the teachers handed out the final certificates, she pulled my daughter and two other little girls aside and congratulated them for not only completing the class but getting promoted to the ARC Level III class. The look of shock and amazement on my daughter's face said it all! She was thrilled. She didn't imagine that she'd get that far this summer, but she did. And she can't wait to start lessons again because she wants to learn how to do more advanced strokes.



It was definitely a `way to go' moment and one that I'll never forget as a parent. It's a great feeling when your kids not only surprise you with the things they can accomplish, but they surprise themselves too. I'm so proud of my big girl!!!!

Blech!

Aren't there just days you feel like life's burp rag?

Missing the dog

About a month ago, our family dog passed away. It was a hard loss for all of us - she'd been with the family for almost 13 years. My oldest daughter and the dog had a love-hate relationship for the first few years of my daughter's life. You see, she saw the dog as a threat to her food supply. That dog would plant herself right by my daughter's chair and see what tasty morsels she would drop from the table at dinner. And even though my daughter is almost in second grade, she's still a pretty messy eater.



Well, when the dog passed the two of us cried - a lot. My daughter asked her dad and me to do her a favor after that first day. We agreed not to talk about the dog until she was ready to. It just made her too sad. So that's what we did.



The other night my daughter and I were coming back from a program at the local library on wild animals that had been rescued. Somehow we got on the subject of the dog and before long the tears started to flow. I reminded my daughter that our dog was in a better place and maybe it was best to think of happy memories or what she would be doing in Heaven right now. She was having a hard time, so I offered my thoughts.



`You know that she's up in Heaven right now chewing on the biggest chew bone ever because in Heaven they only have really big chew bones. And you know Jesus is probably yelling at her, and saying `Geez! Cookie tooted.' And I'll bet it's such a horrible toot that it's making Jesus' eyes water.'

Well, we both started laughing so hard, our eyes were watering. I'm just glad we were able to turn sad memories into happy ones.