Reflections – Page 2 – Life by the Sea

Holidays, Memories, Parenthood, Reflections

Five Years – A Birthday Letter to Luke

April 24, 2014 5 Comments

Dear Luke: It seems surreal that five years have passed since you entered this world. Since the moment I became a mother. You have grown before our eyes and looking back at your baby pictures it almost seems impossible that the little baby in them is you. I recognize you but at the same time I don’t. What I do see is the same bright, inquisitive eyes staring out at the world. The road to motherhood was not a direct one for me. In fact, I did everything in my power to avoid going down that road for over 20 years. I decided at an early age that being a mother was not for me. It wasn’t because I didn’t like children because I did. It wasn’t because I didn’t think I’d be a good mother, because I knew I could be. It was because I feared that becoming a […]

Holidays, Life With Boys, Parenthood, Reflections

Three Years – A Birthday Letter to Kyle

November 5, 2013 7 Comments

Dear Kyle: This morning before the sun rose or my alarm went off, I was awake. While I lay there in bed, the darkness was broken when the bedroom door opened and the light poured in from the hallway. Little barefoot steps across the hardwood floor to the edge of my bed followed and then a whispered “mama“. Grabbing on to the side of the mattress you hoisted your little body up beside mine. As you wrapped your arms around my neck and snuggled in closer, I covered you with blankets and kissed your forehead. “Happy Birthday“, I whispered in a hushed voice so as not to wake your father who was still sleeping beside us. We lay there in an embrace for about 20 minutes. I stroked your hair and rubbed your back. I pulled you closer, kissed your little mouth, your cheek and your forehead and then let […]

Marriage, Mental Health, Parenthood, Photography, Reflections

The Happiness Quotient – Finding Balance Amidst The Chaos

January 26, 2013 14 Comments

Identifying your true passion in life Passion is defined as “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept”. There are things we encounter in our lives that we are inexplicably drawn to. We seek them because they provide us with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment and joy. We tend to think of a passion as something we do in our “spare time”. Something we wish we could do on a constant basis and get paid to do it. Sadly, we spend many hours of each day doing something we’ve become complacent about and that pays bills but does not bring us that innate sense of pleasure. Eventually, something acts as the catalyst for you to pursue your passion further. After weighing the pros and cons of it all you decide to jump in, feet-first and take the plunge. You take a leap of faith, […]

Reflections

2012 – A Year In Review

December 31, 2012 2 Comments

My word for the year Looking back over 365 days of memories and trying to properly pay tribute to all of them is impossible. Thankfully our brains have a neat little organization system in place. Using dates as benchmarks it allows us to pick out the highlights reel of the wonderful and the challenging moments so we can reflect and then refile them in our big filing cabinet of life. Like most, I had my share of visits to each end of the virtual spectrum of emotions. I had moments of jubilation and moments of despair. I experienced joy and I experienced heartache. I laughed and I cried. I was hopeful and I was hopeless. My word for the year The contrast between two opposing forces shows, for the most part, a sense of balance and ironically that was the word I had chosen for myself in 2012 – BALANCE. […]

Holidays, Parenthood, Reflections

Lives Unfinished – When the Unthinkable Happens

December 15, 2012 2 Comments

It started like any other week day Yesterday my alarm went off. I got up, got dressed and rushed out the door to catch my bus. It was the last day of the work week and I knew that despite having to leave for work before the rest of my family gets out of bed that at the end of the day I would be picking my kids up from daycare with their dad and we’d get lots of “Mama…Daddy!” as well as big hugs and kisses. I knew that we’d have the weekend before us full of possibilities of activities together as a family. Maybe some baking of Christmas goodies. Perhaps a walk in the park. We’d no doubt cuddle up as a family and watch a holiday movie together. Share some popcorn. Have breakfast together. It was these thoughts that got me through my work day… …until lunch […]