My updated goal for the blog was to post twice each month and I am just getting in under the wire. So much has happened since Mother's Day! The flowering trees have come and gone, the lilacs are on their last leg. My niece was married in a beautiful ceremony and I saw my stunning daughter deliver a great speech as her main of honor (Mckenzie and Kelsey are pictured). All of these reminding me of how fast the time is moving along.
Memorial day is the kick off for summer and all the great things that go along with the season; BBQ's, graduation parties, weddings, trips to the cabin, gardening, farmers market AND estate sales. I have actually been to a few already and I am slowly moving away from the intrigue of priceless antique or a diamond ring forgotten in an old purse. The last few that I have been to I have begun to feel more like an intruder than a shopper and I wonder if this is a sign... of getting older.
All of the sales we went to a few weeks ago were in little old houses where it was clear the person had spent the majority of their life. When you walk in you realize there is so much left of a life that it seems nobody wants. So instead of going in to hunt for treasure I enter the home as I would enter a sacred place, very quiet and a bit somber. Every room I enter I think, this is where the kids were little, this is where she did the laundry, here is where he kept all his tools. I usually find one, simple item to buy, an item I believe this person used often and held wonderful memories to take home and make more memories.
I have decided to start thinking about my own "estate" sale as I look through the drawers in my kitchen and the overflowing closets. I believe it is a fact of our consumerism that we leave a lot of stuff behind, so I am not going to try to change that, I like all my stuff. But I did come up with a unique marketing idea for my sale.... I thought it would be interesting to have someone video me and have it playing at the sale saying helpful things like, "you should buy that, it will look good in the family room." Or, "you break it you buy it". How about, "why did you put that down? It was one of my favorites!" Would that be creepy?
All over the United States mother's are being delivered a feast of overcooked eggs or undercooked pancakes in bed, homemade bouquets and construction paper cards loving assembled by tiny, sweet hands who so love their mothers that in their heart they know that what they are creating is perfection. I love the memories of my early years of motherhood, the sweet smell of my babies when they were new; their toddler years with chubby, sticky hands and wonderful, miniature voices. I am lucky that my in-laws videotaped a lot of my kids growing up because now I have an amazing record.
I remember so many of the firsts in motherhood. The first time I brought each one home from the hospital, the first time they rolled over, sat up, blew a kiss and the first visit from the tooth fairy. The holidays were magic with a visit from Santa Claus, Easter egg hunts, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween and many the birthday parties.
All these wonderful firsts make me ask when did I do all the lasts.. I didn't know they were lasts when I did them, but I wish I had, I would have enjoyed them more. When was the last time I wrapped my freshly bathed child in a towel and held them on my lap? When was the last time we curled up in bed together and read a story or when was the very last time I scooped some food into their mouths from a rubber covered baby spoon? Looking back time has passed so fast but I remember looking ahead thinking they would never grow up.
Now that my kids are grown up this doesn't mean the firsts stop, they are just different kind of firsts. The first time they text each other saying that I am driving them crazy. The first time I see them exchange a knowing look that says, "oh here she goes again". The first time they borrow the car and bring it back with more gas than it had when they left. The first time they show up at your house just to help you clean, the first time they offer to take you on an all expense paid trip to Australia, they first time they want to buy you a new house... (oppps, shifted into fantasy there for a minute!)
For me there are still many big firsts to come... When they get married and have their own children. I am in no hurry for grandchildren but today I would really, really like to borrow a baby. Let me know if you have one and I will be right over! Happy Mother's Day!
My updated goal for the blog was to post twice each month and I am just getting in under the wire. So much has happened since Mother's Day! The flowering trees have come and gone, the lilacs are on their last leg. My niece was married in a beautiful ceremony and I saw my stunning daughter deliver a great speech as her main of honor (Mckenzie and Kelsey are pictured). All of these reminding me of how fast the time is moving along. 
