A Mother's Day

Our neighborhood is a neighborhood in transition.  Most of our immediate neighbors have lived here for 20 to 40 years.  Their kids are grown and most of their grandchildren are grown too.  Their houses are quiet, clean, and well kept, the lawns pristine. 

They don't have boy made stick forests enveloping their back yards

 or sticking wielding boys terrorizing the neighborhood.

I'm certain they don't have socks stuck to the side of their fireplace because their kids thought it would be a fun way to pass the time.

 And those well manicured lawns that are cut regularly on Mondays and Thursdays don't look like a tornado touched down overnight.  And I'm pretty sure we own the only mailbox in the entire subdivision wearing a pink dress because a certain 3 year thinks it looks pretty.

 No the neighbor's kids no longer get off the school bus wearing a marker mustache

 or run barefoot

 They are well past the princess stage

 and onion grass bouquets

 I've never seen one of our neighbors kids drag around their own "chair ladder"  so they could scale a castle wall

 or call for help when the castle wall is a little higher than they thought.

 They are past the swing phase

 The school art shows

 Preschool concerts.

 Sometimes I am too.  But then those same neighbors with the quiet, perfectly clean houses and manicured lawns and years of wisdom and experience behind them lament how fast the time went and how they miss those socks in unexpected places, those barefoot, stick wielding boys and little princesses and then I want nothing more than to savor these ordinary days when my kids think I am amazing and funny.

 I want to capture the love put into these homemade mother's day cards and sign.

 I want to remember waking up to breakfast in bed, everyone gathered on our bed and trying very hard to be kind to each other because after all it is Mother's Day.

 I want to remember the beautiful flowers and the kind words and the lovely gift of  white bowls and water pitcher that make me smile.

I want to remember the sweet song that our sweet 9 year old wrote and sang to me and that at least for today my kids think that I "make the stars look dull because I'm so bright, an amazing mother a beautiful light."

  Happy Mother's Day to all those Beautiful Mother's who make the stars look dull and here's to more ordinary days of barefoot kids, princesses, and stick wielding boys.

Cardi is 12

Cardin is 12.  Today was her first day in Young Womens.   I can't think of anything  to say except she's wonderful, funny, smart, sweet and so so beautiful, both on the inside and out and that I am truly blessed to be her mom.

 

The Perfect House Guests

I think the best house guests are the ones who don't mind that your floors haven't seen the light of day in weeks and insist on cleaning up after dinner even though they drove 12 hours in a snowstorm from New York just to see you. 

The perfect house guests are willing to flip through decorating magazines for you and talk for hours about fabrics, curtains, and all kinds of house projects.  They even slip their painting clothes into their luggage just in case you need help with any unfinished projects around the house. 

They drive all over town to every Walmart in the greater Knoxville area looking to find enough ticking fabric to make curtains for your livingroom and dining room and then stay up late into the night sewing them.

And when they are not sewing curtains, the perfect house guest has the most amazing voice and plays the guitar and sings songs to you.  She even takes requests and lets you sing even if it is off key.

 

 

 

 

The perfect house guests even babysits so you can have a moment to yourself even though he has lots of work to get done.

 

 

 

 

They make you laugh and grateful that you're not only family but friends.  They help celebrate your 12 year olds birthday and make each of your kids feel loved and special.

 And they have the most amazing kids.

And let you take mounds of pictures even when they are suppose to be leaving.

And makes the perfect lemonade sign for your pink lemonade party you decide to throw right in the middle of their vacation for 14 of your friends and 21 kids.

And when it's time to say goodbye, you get a little misty eyed,  because you're actually going to miss them and then they mention they might make a second trip in the summer just in case you have any house projects you need help with.  Perfect!