A little red string

Last week the little people and I got to go spend some time with two of my very closest friends, Lila and Anya. Both of them moved this past summer *sob* so we're further apart now and visits are a treat! The bulk of our time was with Anya outside of DC, but halfway in between her house and mine, is Lila's Homestead. As you can see we all had a blast there. I wish I could just move in. It made me miss our animals. Her home is one of those special places that you just palpably feel enveloped by love and good vibes when you walk in. It's a special place. Not to mention, her sweet little one has a special place in my heart. I am hoping I can be his adopted auntie since I LOVE him so.

After our respite with Lila, we headed north to DC to stay with Anya. I don't quite think I can put into words just how special my friendship is with her. Soul sisters I think is a good way to describe it. Not to mention, our kids are all best friends and the same ages, ha! The way we met and the way our friendship has developed, and continues to grow, just sorta blows me away. It's kinda hard to argue that fate doesn't exists with friends like the ones I have. On my dark days, clinging to those undeniable links in my life have helped tremendously. But I digress!

DC was great. It was busy, crazy, and wild with 6 kids between us and 3 adults. At one point all 3 of my kids were sleeping on top of me. But oh how numbered my days of this are. I can take it. Being with Anya, who has literally walked me through all my dark hard times over the past 16 months, was a good reminder of how far I have come, how strong I am, what I truly want out of life, and that I got this.

I won't lie though. I am going on 2 months of this single parent gig and it's intense. Like non-stop overhead sets. Bam. Right now I am sorta glad I did have my kids young because I can still jump out of bed at 3am and run downstairs because Brynna ripped her diaper off again. Or play wrestle and subdue all 3 of them and then pop up to make dinner. Or take all of them on a roadtrip and keep my cool amid the "she's looking funny at me again, MOMMY"!

"Seriously guys? Deep breaths and look out the window!!" PHEW!

But being in this better place where I am right now is so good for my soul. I feel alive and connected to myself and my life again, versus mostly going through the motions and treading water. Things just seem brighter. More vivid. It's kinda crazy really.

Being on call with the kids 24/7 is intense, but for me it's better to actually be physically and emotionally alone in this than to be with someone and still be alone. And for me there is a peace in that. A deep sense of contentment and warmth right in the center on my being.

A lot of things that happened in my past have been coming to mind of late, things I did not quite understand at the time. All of which seem to have been growing and equipping me for this current stint in my journey. I love being able to connect the dots right now, as much as it also hurts.

So yeah, I got this.

I'll see you all on the other side :)

My sharky boy who is about to be 4! Ah!

A male Cooper's hawk right in downtown DC! 

Love & Light,

My Curious Georges

Today was a good day. All of my days with my children are good, even if that particular day is trying. With two kids (ages 3.6 and 1.5 years old) you need to be able to make a quit exit from any public place when things start to go south. Thus far that plan has worked well for us and did so again today. 


I personally feel that it is unfair to expect young children to act like adults when you go out in public. So I do not expect my children to act that way and therefore I do not take them places where that type of behavior is expected. Sit down restaurants are one of those places. The few times we have gone, we all had a great time and the kids were phenomenal. Today at MacArthur Mall went well too...for awhile. So I had to leave early from an extended family lunch with my kids. It was stressful but that's ok. I mean it was already past nap time and it was hour late than we usually eat lunch, so truly they did better than I thought they both would. 


But anyway I digress, I suppose my point is that even if a day is not idyllic like yesterday and my plans get changed, I do not deem the day "bad". Every day is a gift from God and soon enough a new one has arrived, so why sweat the small stuff? 

Today, in addition to the mall, we all went with Craig's family to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. Right now they have a children's exhibit open on Curious George and the art of Margaret and H.A. Rey. I loved it, the kids loved it, and so did Craig! We had a ball- minus Jonas not being able to drink his bottle inside. After we finished with the child part, we wandered the rest of the museum looking at the modern art and sculptures. I personally love art. I took two art history courses in college and one in high school. In every big city I visited in Europe, the art museum was one of the first places I went to. So to see my kids enjoying art was lovely. Deirdre and I also got to discuss art which was a real treat to see her so into it and interpreting it. 

So yes today was a good day. A blessed day. A day in which I choose to focus on the overwhelming positive points and ignore the few negative blips. Mere blips.