Thoughts

Andrew: Hey, Mom … Mom … MOM, can we have a bunny?   Me: (without even looking up) No. Andrew: Why not?  Me: We just can’t. Andrew: You’re so mean. I’m sick of it.   Whoa … halt. Immediately, I want to look up from my book and lecture him on respect. Instead, I breathe.…

There was an artist at my church—painting as the band played music. I was captivated by her movements, watching her brush strokes define the abstract. Suddenly, a little boy of two or three emerged from the audience and made a beeline for the stage. He was holding a paintbrush. The artist, though startled, leaned down,…

I can’t stand that book, “I’ll Love You Forever,” by Robert Munsch. Even though it’s a classic, and one that’s given to many new moms, it’s one I cannot read. I used to try to read it to Andrew because he loved the little boy on the cover. So, every night I’d try. I never…

I tried on one of my two piece bathing suits today. Not the one with the little skirt—the one with the bikini bottoms. I’ve been working out. Andrew and I are going to Hawaii—why not live dangerously and wear a true bikini? Andrew walks into my room unannounced and screams, “Mom, what the heck?!? No…

Andrew was standing in my lap, flying his “dinosaur bird” around my head in giant, erratic swoops. I was on the phone with a prospective client, trying my best not to sound like I was under attack by a prehistoric beast. Wearing the same black turtleneck I’d worn the day before (and slept in), I…

There were so many things I wanted to do as a mom: so many crafts, so many cute ways to serve food, so many scrapbooks to document Andrew’s life…so many things I’ve never done. Andrew never liked to color. He rarely wanted to make a craft. Many times, I tried coming to the kitchen armed…

Several months ago, a new meeting planner asked me to justify my fee. She couldn’t understand why my fee was so much. In fact, she let me know in no uncertain terms that someone else from the community had offered to speak to her students for free. I understood. For 10 years, I planned conferences,…

These past few months have been so busy and also so rewarding.  I’ve traveled to Texas, Nevada, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania, and worked with different groups with different issues. The one common goal is their love for students and student activities.  Funding has been cut so much that some programs have been eliminated.  However, what hasn’t…