Aiden's Song

Autumn Leaves
It's the end of the Summer...and Autumn hurries itself to winter too fast each year it seems.  This morning I am making plans for when my children and I will go hiking to see the fall colors in the mountains.  This reminds me of a time last year, when my oldest son, Aiden, was in preschool.  I looked at the lesson plan one morning to see what he would be learning about.  He was going to learn about the autumn leaves.  I thought, "I don't think we'll go to school today."  I knew he could get a much better lesson on the subject if we went for a hike instead.  It was a decision I never will regret.  I was proud of Aiden for hiking so far, and happy to have Liam on my back.  We were taking Aiden's own simple advice he had given me one day as we sat out on a blanket on our lawn.  "Mom, sometimes you just have to be a little bit bad."  he said.  I had been telling him it was hard to make time to do some of the simple things we want to do.  I didn't get it the first time he said it.  "What?" I asked, "What do you mean?"  He proceeded to tell me out of the mouth of babes in his own words that we need to ignore the mundane tasks, the to do lists, and responsibilities sometimes in favor of a now or never opportunity.  My boys, (including the one I'm married to,) are more important to me than anything else.

Mom’s Nutmeg Snack Shake  

My mother used to make this simple shake for me, using cow’s milk.  I’ve made the switch to Almond milk, and it’s still a nostalgic afternoon snack.  I love to share simple moments like these with my kids, and pass on small things my Mom used to do for me.

2 Cups Almond Milk

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 Tbs. Raw Honey

3 Frozen Bananas

In Honor of Motherhood 

My Mother used to write a letter to the administration each year I was in Elementary school, just so I could go to a school of our choice, outside our designated boundaries.  The bus was not going to pick me up clear across town, so my stalwart mother faithfully drove me.  Twenty-something minutes, each way, several days a week.  Thank You Mom.

I now have the luxury of sending my son off to kindergarten each day with the bus-stop right outside my house.  I can't believe it sometimes when I hear myself complain that he missed the bus, and now I have to drive him five minutes to school.  Oh! How inconvenient, right?  That's what makes motherhood such a challenge I think.  There are constant interruptions and demands placed upon mothers that are often inconvenient.  Putting ourselves aside is what molds us into adults.  So I find myself trying to do what I want and involve the kids, or do what they want, and try to enjoy myself.

I am so grateful to be a mother.  There is nothing I love more than to take care of my family.  Call me old-fashioned, but I truly have a desire to be a homemaker above all else.  Sitting down to a home-cooked meal together is so rewarding.  Maintaining some order and cleanliness while my kids learn responsibility is also a constant reward.  Teaching them, bathing them, soothing them.  Tucking them in at night takes patience when they won't stay in bed, but I try to soak it in since I'm often gone at bedtime at our house.  Those last few moments before they fall to sleep I get to hear about their day.  I get to sing to them.  We talk about dreams.  We tell stories.  It is an honor to play the role of a wife and mother, and in serving them, I feel so much love for them.  I'm thankful that Connor allows me to take on this traditional role.  I believe that to embrace womanhood is a necessity to true happiness for all mothers, and all women. 

Aiden's Song
When I first got married I knew I'd have children...eventually.  I wanted to put my own desires first, and accomplish a few things on my life's to-do list before I ventured down that path of self-sacrifice that seemed so daunting by the description of others.  I thought I'd have to give up being me.  I thought I'd have to give up the things I love to do.  I thought wrong.

When Aiden was born, it opened up a whole new perspective for me.  I enjoyed the most simple of things, and life slowed down.  We often took early morning walks before the sun came up over the hills.  Aiden as a baby, was pressed up against my chest in a carrier, swaddled in a blanket.  One day in particular, his big blue eyes looked up into mine.  I saw my own reflection in his eyes.  I saw the clouds above me also as a reflection, moving slowly across the sky.  I knew then, that I was meant to be a mother, and that in so doing, my life would be so much more fulfilling than I had ever imagined.  I would take him, and all my future children to places I wanted them to see.  I would share music with them, and enliven their all their senses.  I would give them permission to become themselves, by staying true to who I am. 



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"Aiden's Song"