Motherhood, Take 2

You love your first baby so much, you worry that the 2nd will be short-changed ... ahh, the miracle of motherhood is that each child gets 100% of your love, defying the laws of mathematics!

Laurel arrived feminine, and nurturing, and empathetic, and remains so. She is a caretaker & organizer/planner, and being in the middle of 2 boys, is not afraid to get her fingernails dirty (tho she does love a nice manicure!).

It has been an absolute pleasure to see her evolve from playing with dolls at home to designing anything & everything at college, and I can't wait to see where this passion takes her. She's definitely a "mid-century modern" kind of gal!

Recently, she literally knocked my socks off with her depth of wisdom & woman's intuition -- she knows what I'm talking about -- any woman would be lucky to count her as their "girlfriend"!

Motherhood, Take 1

The absolute best thing that ever happened in my life was becoming a Mom. When Joe came along, I had been married for almost 10 years and had never even babysat, let alone changed a diaper!

Here's 4 day old Joe, all 5lbs. 13 oz. of him swimming in his onesie, & a very tired me, 2 weeks shy of my 30th birthday.

I remember the exact moment the center of the universe shifted -- it wasn't when he was born, it was a few days later in the hospital & I was watching a nurse give Joe a bath absent-mindedly while she talked on the telephone -- and from that moment on, the world didn't revolve around me anymore. I suddenly "got it". This moment must happen to every parent. All the things I had worried about before he was born vanished, because they had all been about me, and that wasn't what It was about anymore.

Now, how he transformed from from the little guy in the walker to the big guy with his girlfriend, Courtney, & my mom, has been a wonderful journey. He's handsome & smart, with a wry sense of humor. The great thing about an adult kid is there is still part of that little child there... I see it every time Joe shows up in a hat & cowboy boots. Or laughs a certain way. Or gives me a kiss. We think we know love before kids, but when that new person arrives, there's no comparison.

Now, Charlie & Laurel, don't feel slighted! An Erma Bombeck column I loved was a letter entitled, "Why You Are My Favorite Child," which she gave to all three of her children! Your turns in this blog are coming ...