Digital Mom

A Tale Of 2 Mothers

My sister-in-law is coming over today with her daughter, Rylee. Rylee is 2 and finally at an age where her and Maya are becoming friends, and can play together and communicate and have a good time.

My sister-in-law and I are very, very different people. She is an extreme right wing conservative, I am about as liberal as they come on most issues. She is a single mom who works full time, I am a married stay-at-home mom. She is pretty traditional when it comes to discipline, I am a huge advocate for positive discipline and no spanking.

Despite these differences, and yes they are HUGE, we have one very important thing in common: We are mothers and we love our children. We both worry about our kids, we both get frustrated at times, we both kiss boo-boos and comfort our kids when they are scared, we both want what we think is best for our children. Yes, sometimes our differences try to get in the way...

"Maybe if you disciplined her more, she wouldn't act like that..."

"Maybe if you didn't spank her, she wouldn't act that way...."

"Maybe you should get a job and help out more with the finances.."

"It's a shame you don't have much time to spend with your daughter..."

"I can't believe you don't agree with the war..."

"I can't believe you condone killing and violence..."

But in the end, what really matters is that we are family, our kids are cousins. What really matters are the phone calls...

"My kid is driving me nuts, lets get them together so they can play and occupy themselves..."

"How did you handle this when she was my child's age..."

"If you need a baby sitter, I'm there for you..."

"My child is sick and I am so worried..."

I think we all need to look past the differences with the people in our lives. All this feuding I see go on, moms against moms, it makes me crazy. If you can look past all that, imagine what you might find... a great friend, someone you have more in common in with than you think, if only you'd look a little closer and give it a chance!

Housewife's Prayer

By: Sheila Gosney

Thank you dear Lord
For things to do,
Tasks to complete
That are never quite through.
Thank you for the laundry
That piles up so fast,
For the tub I just cleaned
Though I know it won't last.
Thanks for the toys
That litter my floor,
For the mud-caked shoes
That sit by the door.
Thank you for the fingerprints
On once clean glass,
Thanks for my carpet
Now covered with grass.
Thanks for the kitchen
That never stays clean
For the skillets to scrub
That lay in my sink.
These things in my life
Just prove I am blessed,
God gave me a family,
I can live with the mess.

Inspiration

As part of my new outlook on life... don't ask, I will get into that later... I have decided to not only start noticing things that "inspire" me, but to start photographing and writing about them, too. This way I have a place to look for those monents I could really use a huge dose of "feel good." By inspire I mean many things. Thhings that make me feel good, things that make me think or wonder or dream, things I really love... you get the picture. I'm starting a new category on here for this, and here is my first post... complete with photos! You can click on all the thumbnails in this post to view the full photo, too.

I have to start with my daughter and my husband. My daughter is amazing, and all I have to do is look at her smiling, and everything is ok. Unless, of course it is one of those "oops I just painted the dog bright red with my finger paints and then he jumped up and got it all over the couch but I will smile this sheepish grin in hopes of not getting yelled at" smiles.. hehe. Seriously though, her smile lights up the room. The sparkle in her eyes... If that isn't inspiring, I don't know what is. Then there's my husband... the greatest dad I know, his relationship with Maya is amazing, as is the relationship we have together. Ok Ok I won't get all mushy on ya, you get the idea.

Maya's art work. I doubt there is much of anything on this planet that is more inspiring than a child's art work. To have the imagination and creativity of a child again! To be able to paint and color and create, to enjoy the process as much if not more than the outcome, it's amazing. I truly believe you can learn a lot about a child by examining their art... it's a peek inside their soul, and children are so uninhibited when it comes to creating.

Nature. Clouds, sunsets, storms, even simple things like green grass and autumn leaves. We have a butterfly bush and it really does attract butterflies, as you can see from the photo. Butterflies are so beautiful! Flowers... these orange ones in my front yard, I could look at them all day long. I know this all sounds so incredibly corny, but really, have you ever taken the time to look.. really look.. at things like this? We take things like this for granted all the time, and we really shouldn't. Not to be a complete cornball but life really is better when you stop and smell the roses!

These are just a few of the things I come across in my day to day life that keep me smiling. I also have a lot of really great quotes, poems, and short stories... stay tuned!