The Days and the Years

During our grocery trek today, I spotted an acquaintance I had not seen in over 14 years. She was gingerly pushing her one month old in a stroller, while simultaneously pulling a grocery cart along. We exchanged pleasantries, and I cooed over her baby (I had almost forgotten the cute little faces babies make when they're sleeping!)

She looked tired (to be expected), but happy. She admitted it was her first time trying to take him out and go shopping at the same time. I told her that I totally recognized the significance of that moment. I remember all to well the prayers I muttered, hoping the baby would sleep through the whole store and not wake up, screaming bloody murder. I remember feeling so unsure about my first baby because it didn't seem to take much to make her upset.

That was a rough couple of months.

She asked me how old my kids were and I told her. I looked down to see Buddy pulling Rosie's hair, and heard her subsequent screech. "It goes by fast," she stated as she gazed at my kids.

I looked at her, and looked at her baby, and thought about all the things I didn't want to say because there were just too many that people had said to me over the years that didn't really help. Because while it was a few years ago now, I still remember the delicacy of first time motherhood.

I didn't want to tell her "enjoy every moment", because I think that's just a rotten thing to say to someone who is sleep-deprived. I didn't want to say "you'll miss this stage someday", because that, too, does nothing for a mother in that current situation of newborn neediness.

Instead I said, "You know, the best way I've ever heard motherhood described is this: The days are long, but the years are short."

She nodded, she said she liked that. Probably for the same reasons I do. It's a wistful reminder that we'll miss certain things about our kids now, but it also recognizes the difficulties we feel at each age, at every stage, day in and day out.

We parted ways, her newborn still asleep, and my kids talking over each other, asking if they were going to get a slice of cheese at the deli. I'm hoping she was able to have the same sigh of relief I still have at the end of shopping trips with kids: "I did it."

Ikea Roses

When our fourth annual Bestie Beach Day was forecasted to be cloudy and rainy, we knew we had to come up with a back-up plan.

Me: "This is totally random, so feel free to shoot it down. A trip to Ikea? I've always wanted to go."

Kels: "I LOVE IKEA!!!!"

It was settled. And even more settled once she reminded me that there was a Cheesecake Factory conveniently on the way home.

Ikea was everything I hoped it would be- inspiring and fun. We walked through display after display, oohing and ahhing over all the fun kitchen, living room and bedroom items. We made our way down into the warehouse portion, and I quickly found a few items that grabbed my attention:

A blue and white patterned coffee mug to match my blue-themed kitchen (as I placed it in the cart, I realized it was the first mug I had ever bought myself!)

A simple, white tablet stand that I could use in the kitchen to see recipes better.

A trio of metallic cylinder-shaped containers, perfect for holding band-aids, q-tips, etc. They were white with a pretty pink rose design.

Always cautious with how I spend my money, I rarely pick up something I don't need and put it in my cart without thinking about it. These containers, however, were different. I couldn't really put my finger on the "what" and "why" that made them stand out to me so much. I made a spot for them on a shelf in my bedroom, and it looked like they've always belonged there.

I finally figured out the other day why I was, and still am, drawn to them.

Every day after school, the bus dropped me off at my Grandma E.'s house. She had many homemade baked goods to choose from for an after-school treat, and hot cocoa was the drink of choice in the cold winter months. I would go into her pantry, and pick out the mug I wanted to use that day.

There was a white one with a yellow rose design, one with a blue rose design, and one with a pink rose design. I'm sure you can guess which one was my favorite.

I can still feel the solidity of that mug in my hands, and the warmth of it once it came out of the microwave. I remember my grandma sitting across from me at the table, and telling me all that was new with her, and asking me questions about my day.

I remember feeling loved and special. Those simple, pretty containers from Ikea make me feel that way all over again every time I see them.

Hi, Friends.

Hi, friends. It's been a while, huh? A little over 3 months since my last post, and more than 6 months since I was posting regularly.

Life got a bit busy.

When I started Lines from Lithia in April 2013, my main occupation was stay at home mom. I was on one committee- school committee- and that met once a month. Fast forward 2 years, 4 months.

Currently I hold 3 part-time positions and am on 4 committees. I'm not really sure how that happened (well, I'm pretty sure it involved me saying "Yes", that I do know). Why that may sound a little crazy, here's the cool thing:

Each of the positions (Assistant town clerk, Council on Aging Newsletter Editor, Goshen Playgroup Co-Coordinator) directly impact my town, Goshen. The town I hold most dearly to my heart.

Same goes for the committees (School Committee, Goshen Historical Society, GHS Bylaws Committee, Cultural Council). Each of those are Goshen-related.

Anyone who has known me on a certain level also knows that this was one of my life goals. Simply put, I wanted to serve my town. Specifically, I wanted to serve Goshen. I take deep pride in this town where my descendents have always lived. I wanted to continue my family's tradition of giving and contributing.

I couldn't be more pleased with where my life is heading right now.

The best part for me is that I'm still a stay at home mom. I get to enjoy both worlds. My life became busier at the same moment that both of the kids were getting ready to head to big things- Kindergarten for Rosie, Preschool for Buddy.

I couldn't have said "Yes" to any of the above things if I didn't have the support of my husband. Steve has long known my goal of serving the town, and has been stellar at helping me achieve that goal. Several nights a month, he puts the kids to bed when I'm at meetings. The three of them have developed their own routine, and while it made me a little sad at first, I realized it was no different than the routines the kids and I have established all during the day while he's at school.

I've been good about making time for exercise and for being with friends and family. Now I want to make time for this space again, Lines from Lithia. I've missed it. I can't tell you how many blog posts I've started in my mind that I haven't been able to type yet. I want to tell you about the playground I helped build this spring, and about Rosie's deep conversations about Heaven. I want to tell you about a memory I have of my grandma's chipped coffee mugs and about Buddy's "girls".

I highly doubt I'll ever get back to 3 blog posts a week, but I am going to try to write again.

Cheers!