Wornoutwoman

When looking for a certain pen for T the other tonight, I pulled open a desk drawer as the whiff of waxy crayons met me - instantly taking me back to his younger years. It hit me that he's not used a crayon in forever and I'd forgotten how long it had been until just then. Each year I feel that time slips through my fingers like water. It really hits home when I see a photo of my child from when he still had his little baby face, or when I open up a drawer to find the familiar scent of a past-time he's grown out of... like coloring. Although I loved the stages he went through as a little boy, I am enjoying this stage in his life the most. This 'tween' of mine - although going through the normal growing pains - is full of life.  He is still tender-hearted - but doesn't put up with things that aren't right. He is a fighter while still being kind - and I for one love that he has struck that balance in life. So, I'm sad to see the crayons go ... b...

Sixth grade has been such a big year.  Middle school started out rough with deadlines for papers, more responsibilities, and no room for excuses for teachers.  My kid struggled for a while as he'd always had grace periods when things were late... until this year.  This year his teachers show tough love while pushing them to be better and expect better of themselves. Now mid-year, he gets all his homework done at school and remembers most of his projects.  Hey - he's not perfect.  He's still my silly forgetful kid, but he's grown leaps and bounds with his responsibilities at school. At home, I've also been trying to cut the cord so to speak.  It's been a big transition and my kid is such a softie.  He still wants me to walk him into school.  He still lovingly reaches to hold my hand.  And - he still will hug me in front of his friends without a care who sees.  And although I don't discourage his affection, as I never want him to feel...

Forever I'll love you...forever my baby you'll be.  This is something I used to read to my son from a book on his shelf. I've always told him that no matter how old he get, he'd always be my baby. And he is my baby ... however this summer many changes took place. He grew up overnight and grew about three inches.  All of a sudden my little guy isn't so little anymore. On the first day of school, he instructed me that I could walk him in on the first day but from there on afterward - I was to drop him off at the curb ... 'because he was a man now and he didn't need his mom to walk him in.' Sigh... So as he's now eight and a half years old, I'm seeing the young man he's growing into. He's matured in so many ways, and it's time for him to grow up. It's time for those apron strings to be cut in some ways. It's with such bittersweet emotion that I let go of his hand and let him walk free from the shadow of the little baby...

I've been stuck in this place lately wondering what I want to be when I grow up...professionally speaking. I've been in sales my whole life essentially since I was five years old, working it at garage sales. I'd assume the sale and direct people to what I thought they needed. This is why I think we've always done so well whenever we have one because we've got a professional garage saler in our midst...ME. Sales are what I'm good at, but it's not what in my heart. They say to do what you love, but I'm always drawn to sales because I can excel at it and provide for the family. Lately, though I've not been excelling at it. I've been stuck in some weird middle ground, where I don't care anymore. I've lost my drive and am left wondering what I should be doing. Doing what I love, writing and photography makes me happy. So here's what I've decided... I have a feeling that my book will be getting published soon, as a small p...

Little boys are always infatuated by what (to put it bluntly) hangs between their legs. They're constantly playing with it or learning new ways to pee with it. My son likes to pee in my mother's lawn, much to her horror. We're trying to break him of that. It's funny...I've spent years breaking dogs of peeing indoors, now I'm reminding him that it's not nice to pee outdoors in Nana's lawn. Needless to say, little boys at this age are trying to figure out what makes them unique and different from girls. They see the obvious differences...long hair vs short, attracted to dolls vs trucks, soft-spoken vs loud boy noises. But the most frequent question I get when it comes to body parts is: "Mommy, how come you don't stand up to go pee?" My answer: "Because boys have pee pee's and girls don't." Lately, he's on to bigger and better questions about things like strangers, or heaven, but yesterday he learned a hard l...