Nearly a decade ago, I bought us tickets to the Houston Symphony as a gift for Robert. We had a high school friend that had just earned a chair and it was Christmas. We went. We had a fantastic time.
Yesterday, in my email, I received an email from the Houston Symphony.
Dear Robert, yadda yadda yadda....
Seriously. It was a slap. I mean once I cracked his email password, I stopped checking it. Really it was too painful to look at all of the stuff that was being sent to him. At this point in time it is extremely rare to get email addressed to him in my email account. I unsubscribed from it all years ago...yet here we are.
Six and a half years later...approaching his birthday and looking at another email.
I simply hit delete because there is no value in looking at some reminders. It was a one time event in our marriage....there was millions of one time events. What is most important are the memories that define us and define me. I choose to focus on the ones that bring me a smile.
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Blissful Day...
This morning had the potential to be a really, really crappy day. However, Munchkin awoke in a great mood without a sign of the wheezing that has plagued him all week. I decided then and there that I was determined to have a great day. We enjoyed breakfast and then decided to get moving.
I had a bunch of things that I *thought* we should get done TODAY. Like going to the library and grocery shopping.
Well, while we were out gallivanting, we just had fun. Munchkin wanted to go to a park. He picked the one clear across town from where we live, so we filled up some water bottles I grabbed my camera and we headed over there. I got some FANTASTIC pictures of his beautiful toothless grin and he was having a grand old time. He made a new friend and I was chatting with the mom and petting the sweetest puppy.
After nearly two hours of him laughing, he decided that it was time to go. We went and got his hair cut at the barber. The barber has known our family for decades and is just a great person. Munchkin enjoys it and we were just chatting. I make Munchkin pay the barber and the barber teases him about shaving-it is their ritual!
It was time for us to go see Epic the movie. It was good, but be warned there are two teenagers who have lost parents and it is an under-story to the plot-of course we picked up on it right away. It was still a very good movie and the topics were handled well. Even though you don't know what happened or how long they have lost their parents, you can see the effect it has on them as they go through their lives.
Then we went to the mall and I got a few outfits for me and some makeup. We shared a pretzel and some silly "I spy" moments. We were generally just laughing and being silly on one of the benches. It was absolutely blissful.
It felt so good to just be present in the moment and enjoy spending the day together. As we were finishing shopping my best friend called and wanted to know if we wanted to meet for dinner. I of course said yes not knowing that leaving the mall at that moment meant we were heading into a monsoon! Well, it was raining so hard that we were soaked in two steps so instead of running to the car, we decided to see who could stomp the puddles the highest and took our sweet time getting to the car. I mean I wasn't wearing a white shirt so there really was not a reason to hurry :)
After dinner, I got to spend some much needed time with my best friend, who encouraged me to get rid of a bunch of clothes that are now way too big so I did, I am pretty sure that I put into the donate pile more things than I bought which is definitely a great thing!
At the end of the day, I didn't get done any of the things that I thought we just *HAD* to get done today, but I think that spending the day with Munchkin in unhurried bliss was just what we both needed.
I had a bunch of things that I *thought* we should get done TODAY. Like going to the library and grocery shopping.
Well, while we were out gallivanting, we just had fun. Munchkin wanted to go to a park. He picked the one clear across town from where we live, so we filled up some water bottles I grabbed my camera and we headed over there. I got some FANTASTIC pictures of his beautiful toothless grin and he was having a grand old time. He made a new friend and I was chatting with the mom and petting the sweetest puppy.
After nearly two hours of him laughing, he decided that it was time to go. We went and got his hair cut at the barber. The barber has known our family for decades and is just a great person. Munchkin enjoys it and we were just chatting. I make Munchkin pay the barber and the barber teases him about shaving-it is their ritual!
It was time for us to go see Epic the movie. It was good, but be warned there are two teenagers who have lost parents and it is an under-story to the plot-of course we picked up on it right away. It was still a very good movie and the topics were handled well. Even though you don't know what happened or how long they have lost their parents, you can see the effect it has on them as they go through their lives.
Then we went to the mall and I got a few outfits for me and some makeup. We shared a pretzel and some silly "I spy" moments. We were generally just laughing and being silly on one of the benches. It was absolutely blissful.
It felt so good to just be present in the moment and enjoy spending the day together. As we were finishing shopping my best friend called and wanted to know if we wanted to meet for dinner. I of course said yes not knowing that leaving the mall at that moment meant we were heading into a monsoon! Well, it was raining so hard that we were soaked in two steps so instead of running to the car, we decided to see who could stomp the puddles the highest and took our sweet time getting to the car. I mean I wasn't wearing a white shirt so there really was not a reason to hurry :)
After dinner, I got to spend some much needed time with my best friend, who encouraged me to get rid of a bunch of clothes that are now way too big so I did, I am pretty sure that I put into the donate pile more things than I bought which is definitely a great thing!
At the end of the day, I didn't get done any of the things that I thought we just *HAD* to get done today, but I think that spending the day with Munchkin in unhurried bliss was just what we both needed.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Changes...
I have written before how much Robert LOVED the Chicago Bears...I mean REALLY LOVED the CHICAGO BEARS.
This past week, #54 entered free agency and is no longer a Bear. WOW, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how Robert would have reacted to that.
While I know that the world has moved on the past few years, sometimes it feels as if it is moving at warp speed.
Let's just take a look at a few things that have really changed:
--Brian Urlacher is no longer a Bear
--Packers have a new quarterback
--We have had 2 presidential elections (although they were full of mudslinging so I guess that isn't all that new!)
--I have had 2 apartments and now a house that he was not a part of in anyway shape or form
--Munchkin is in elementary school!!! (can't really believe that myself)
--The place where we had our wedding reception is now a CVS
--The gazebo where he asked me to marry him, is now demolished
--ND went to the championship (and lost pitifully, but that is a whole other story!)
I guess my point is sometimes we have to admit that the rest of the world is moving on, even when we can't admit it to ourselves. Sometimes it takes noticing the changes around us to realize the changes that are slowly happening inside of us.
I no longer cry myself to sleep every day. I find joy where ever I can spot it and I hold on to it for dear life. Flashbacks of the accident have subsided for the most part. I can catch a glimpse here and there of my former self, however I see the new me daily. The me who stands up and does what needs to be done for my family. And I am proud of me, and I know Robert is too!
This past week, #54 entered free agency and is no longer a Bear. WOW, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how Robert would have reacted to that.
While I know that the world has moved on the past few years, sometimes it feels as if it is moving at warp speed.
Let's just take a look at a few things that have really changed:
--Brian Urlacher is no longer a Bear
--Packers have a new quarterback
--We have had 2 presidential elections (although they were full of mudslinging so I guess that isn't all that new!)
--I have had 2 apartments and now a house that he was not a part of in anyway shape or form
--Munchkin is in elementary school!!! (can't really believe that myself)
--The place where we had our wedding reception is now a CVS
--The gazebo where he asked me to marry him, is now demolished
--ND went to the championship (and lost pitifully, but that is a whole other story!)
I guess my point is sometimes we have to admit that the rest of the world is moving on, even when we can't admit it to ourselves. Sometimes it takes noticing the changes around us to realize the changes that are slowly happening inside of us.
I no longer cry myself to sleep every day. I find joy where ever I can spot it and I hold on to it for dear life. Flashbacks of the accident have subsided for the most part. I can catch a glimpse here and there of my former self, however I see the new me daily. The me who stands up and does what needs to be done for my family. And I am proud of me, and I know Robert is too!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Simple Pleasures
Tonight as I tucked munchkin into bed, he announced that he was reading to me. I laid down next to him and listened. He is getting so big and so confident in his reading. I am so proud of how hard he works at reading.
This is bittersweet...we have been reading together everyday since he was born. When Robert was here we read as a family. I knew from my childhood, the best way to give him the gift of reading enjoyment was to read to him. I have such fond memories of reading with my parents and grandparents. I really wanted to give him the same. So it began, on the first night home from the hospital, as we basked in the glow of new parenthood, we began our routine of reading to him.
Today however, I realize that an imperceptible yet earth moving shift is taking place. I am slowly but surely being sidelined. He no longer needs help bathing or getting dressed-barely needs help with games or legos and now chooses to read to me. I hugged him extra tight because I know that my baby boy is growing up-as he should. Life moves on. Often at breakneck speed. Unless we stop for a moment to glance around, we miss it.
I am sure that all parents feel this duality-pride in how far their kids have come and a slight twinge at the realization that there is no going back to the time when our kids fully depended on us.
I guess this is the point where families generally decide whether to start working on a sibling...unless of course that decision has been made for you.
This is bittersweet...we have been reading together everyday since he was born. When Robert was here we read as a family. I knew from my childhood, the best way to give him the gift of reading enjoyment was to read to him. I have such fond memories of reading with my parents and grandparents. I really wanted to give him the same. So it began, on the first night home from the hospital, as we basked in the glow of new parenthood, we began our routine of reading to him.
Today however, I realize that an imperceptible yet earth moving shift is taking place. I am slowly but surely being sidelined. He no longer needs help bathing or getting dressed-barely needs help with games or legos and now chooses to read to me. I hugged him extra tight because I know that my baby boy is growing up-as he should. Life moves on. Often at breakneck speed. Unless we stop for a moment to glance around, we miss it.
I am sure that all parents feel this duality-pride in how far their kids have come and a slight twinge at the realization that there is no going back to the time when our kids fully depended on us.
I guess this is the point where families generally decide whether to start working on a sibling...unless of course that decision has been made for you.
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