Today's post-Parenting

It made me so sad that I was at work today when my son decided to take something from his little sister today. Let me clarify, he's almost 4 yrs. and she's 7 mos. My mom was there babysitting and she handled it just fine, but I wish I could be there for those moments and be the one to explain to him that his little sister is too little to understand sharing. It's such a little thing, but I really wish I was there to handle this situation. I want to be a stay at home mom.........;-(

Writing

Writing has been such an incredible journey for me. It's interesting how you'll choose favorite characters in your story. Just like people in real life, characters take on personalities, flaws and all. Despite the flaws, there is one character that I've come to value and want to see continue for a while. The tale is not completely told even in my own mind, though book two is well under way. What's surprising is that when this character first entered the story, I thought the storyline would be shortlived. It's turning out that this character has evolved into someone that will continue into book two and possibly susquent writings. Just an interesting fact I'm noticing on my little journey.

Journey

I have recently completed the journey of becoming an author. Eight years ago, on my honeymoon, my husband and I discussed the idea of what all these years later became my book. What took so long?
Life happened. In the intervening years, I completed my Master's degree, had two children, and worked a full time job. That does not leave a lot of time for writing, yet I'm finding the second time around to be a little easier. I have a start on my second novel and a good idea as to where I want to go with it.
Technically, I finished writing the story last year, but then I got pregnant with my second child and all thought for publication was put on hold.
I am now so excited and can't wait to hold my book in my hands. I know that will make it feel real.

Working Mamas

So I tend to get jealous of stay at home moms because I would love to be able to stay at home and spend every waking moment with my kids, but I think there are some real benefits to being a working mama too.

For example, each time I come home at the end of my workday, my three year old sings out, "Mama's home," and my 7mo. old smiles so big it lights up her whole face. Rather than letting that depress me, I think, they appreciate me more when I am home since I can't always be. There is a part of me that wishes I could take my kids to playdates and that my little guy would have more "friends" than just his cousins which would be true if we could attend more daytime stuff, but I realize that the socialization will come. He'll start preschool next year and be in kindergarten the year after and it all just goes so fast.

So don't fret other working mama's, the quality of the time you spend with your kids is way more important than the amount of time.

-ists

I think Ferris Bueller had it right when he said that any -ism is bad and I've applied this theory to -ists too. For example, I'm so tired of hearing about racists, sexists, feminists, and such. Does anybody ever remember hearing the term, "can't we all just get along?"

I get so tired of hearing 'why' things are the way they are. If there weren't differences, if we were all just the same organism lining up and doing everything the same as everyone else because we wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, how boring a society we would be. Yet, we're on our way to just that. People feel the need to complain or feel fear because someone does something differently than someone else, yet why can't they just see the other person's point of view?

I think we'd be a much happier society if we spent a little more time realizing that other people have valid points and opinions. For example, this is near and dear to my heart so I'm pretty opinionated about it, parenting choices. Should we vaccinate on the doctor's schedule? Should we use cloth or disposable diapers? Should everything our baby touches be organic? Should everything the baby ingests be organic? Or when they get a little older, should I send my child to a private school or a public school? Are they learning enough?

We've all gotten very opinionated and refuse to see the opinions of others. A mother may choose to formula feed her baby and shouldn't have to feel shamed for that. Likewise, a breastfeeding mother should be proud that she can and will feed her baby, but not to the detriment of those that cannot or choose not to. A mother that chooses to place her faith in science and doctors and vaccinate on the recommended schedule should be able to do so without being scolded by others that would rather wait. Conversely, a mother that chooses to wait for whatever her reason should not be shunned by society. A mother that chooses a Montessori concept for their ideas of meeting the individual child's educational levels should be able to do so; public school and 'fit into the mold' teaching/learning is not for everyone.

As Ferris Bueller and I have stated, -isms and -ists are bad in all of their forms. They lead to a society of know-it-alls which is good for no one. Instead, we really should try that old thing called trust. Yes, when you choose to trust the good will of people you run the risk of running into someone that's not being honest, but this should not lead to the distrust of all of society.........that is what leads to -isms and -ists.