Finding Grace in Eighteen Months
It would be impossible to start this post without mentioning my last post. I have purposely not blogged the past couple of weeks as I wanted it to marinate and I wanted it to have some time to breathe. It got over 450 views as of this morning and I am so overwhelmed by that. As a writer (I feel so sophisticated saying that, but I do get paid to write, so it is true, right?!) your main hope is that your readers will find some connection with your words. You hope you can move someone, make someone laugh, or even just bring about thoughtfulness. I didn't realize when I published Closer to Love that it would touch so many people. It was cathartic for me to be that open, but you all helped me in more ways than you know. The amount of emails, phone calls, texts, and Facebook messages I got was beyond humbling. You shared your stories with me, you sent encouragement, and you were vulnerable with me. That's so much more than this girl could ever ask for when opening up, so to all 450 of you who read it my blog post, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of this healing heart.
Can you believe March is already here? That means we are now almost 5 months away from having a two year old and I am also embarking on the last year in my twenties. I turn 29 tomorrow and this feels a little....odd. I got a text from my best friend this morning that said "It's almost your birthday! You're old!" and I laughed. One because the first birthday I celebrated with her was my 19th, a decade ago! And second, am I really old enough to have a two year old?! Sometimes I still feel like Meredith College was yesterday or the summer I met James wasn't really seven years ago. To give you an update on the nugget, Mason is still the best part of my day, every single day. Watching him grow into this little person is the funniest, most amazing thing I've ever done. We had his eighteen month checkup a couple of weeks ago and I felt so nostalgic sitting in the doctor's office. I told James it was so weird sitting there watching him eat his grapes, talk to the doctor, show off his new skills (thank you James, pound it out was a hit) and just be the little boy (not baby!) that he is. He was in the 95th percentile in height and 75th in weight so I shudder to think what my grocery bill will be in a few short years. He's a total mini me, he's 100mph all day every day, he eats like a grown man, and he can make you laugh in 0.2 seconds flat. He made a collage at school last week of his favorite foods and those include: apples, hamburgers, and ribs. We aren't sure where he had ribs, but in any case they are one of his favorites. He loves animals, has kind of gotten used to his car seat, and is a little book worm.
John Lennon once said "There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we are open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot be fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
Those are strong words! But it is what I'm striving for, embracing this crazy life. I picked Mason up from daycare the other day and we were walking out to the car. Mason refused to hold my hand in the parking lot which he knows is a deal breaker (he's a quick one, that doesn't mix well with moving cars) so I picked him up. He got SO mad at me and was doing everything he could to let me know when all of a sudden he stopped, pointed to the sky, and said "MOMMA BIRDS!!!!!" I stopped at the car, looked up, and we stared at birds flying for 15 minutes. He kept pointing and going "Wooooooow" and then he would wave and go "Hi birds!" The smile never left his face. In my crazy, hectic life it is hard to imagine that a crazy eighteen month old is the one that keeps me sane, but he does. He teaches me and James what's important - he gives us grace. Every morning, no matter what the day was like before, he still likes to touch my face and say "Hiiiiiii!" with a big smile.
James has been home for the past month and we have loved having him home! We've made up for lost time with busy weekends and fun excursions with Mason. Below are some pictures from Valentine's Day, a weekend of gorgeous weather outside, and my celebrity encounter last weekend.
I can't not add this to this post. #Nerdalert. I met Brett Eldredge last weekend in Raleigh. It was pretty awesome, except that it was really loud in the bar and I couldn't hear anything he said. Refer back to reference earlier in the post about me being old.
Thanks for following our journey. I'm sure I'll have a post up soon about the big 2-9. James is being sneaky and deliveries have been hidden so I can't wait to see what he has in store for me. He has to work tomorrow night but he is off ALL weekend so I can't wait to celebrate, and hopefully watch some birds.
Lots of love,
Jules xoxo
Can you believe March is already here? That means we are now almost 5 months away from having a two year old and I am also embarking on the last year in my twenties. I turn 29 tomorrow and this feels a little....odd. I got a text from my best friend this morning that said "It's almost your birthday! You're old!" and I laughed. One because the first birthday I celebrated with her was my 19th, a decade ago! And second, am I really old enough to have a two year old?! Sometimes I still feel like Meredith College was yesterday or the summer I met James wasn't really seven years ago. To give you an update on the nugget, Mason is still the best part of my day, every single day. Watching him grow into this little person is the funniest, most amazing thing I've ever done. We had his eighteen month checkup a couple of weeks ago and I felt so nostalgic sitting in the doctor's office. I told James it was so weird sitting there watching him eat his grapes, talk to the doctor, show off his new skills (thank you James, pound it out was a hit) and just be the little boy (not baby!) that he is. He was in the 95th percentile in height and 75th in weight so I shudder to think what my grocery bill will be in a few short years. He's a total mini me, he's 100mph all day every day, he eats like a grown man, and he can make you laugh in 0.2 seconds flat. He made a collage at school last week of his favorite foods and those include: apples, hamburgers, and ribs. We aren't sure where he had ribs, but in any case they are one of his favorites. He loves animals, has kind of gotten used to his car seat, and is a little book worm. John Lennon once said "There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we are open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot be fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
Those are strong words! But it is what I'm striving for, embracing this crazy life. I picked Mason up from daycare the other day and we were walking out to the car. Mason refused to hold my hand in the parking lot which he knows is a deal breaker (he's a quick one, that doesn't mix well with moving cars) so I picked him up. He got SO mad at me and was doing everything he could to let me know when all of a sudden he stopped, pointed to the sky, and said "MOMMA BIRDS!!!!!" I stopped at the car, looked up, and we stared at birds flying for 15 minutes. He kept pointing and going "Wooooooow" and then he would wave and go "Hi birds!" The smile never left his face. In my crazy, hectic life it is hard to imagine that a crazy eighteen month old is the one that keeps me sane, but he does. He teaches me and James what's important - he gives us grace. Every morning, no matter what the day was like before, he still likes to touch my face and say "Hiiiiiii!" with a big smile.
James has been home for the past month and we have loved having him home! We've made up for lost time with busy weekends and fun excursions with Mason. Below are some pictures from Valentine's Day, a weekend of gorgeous weather outside, and my celebrity encounter last weekend.
I can't not add this to this post. #Nerdalert. I met Brett Eldredge last weekend in Raleigh. It was pretty awesome, except that it was really loud in the bar and I couldn't hear anything he said. Refer back to reference earlier in the post about me being old.
Thanks for following our journey. I'm sure I'll have a post up soon about the big 2-9. James is being sneaky and deliveries have been hidden so I can't wait to see what he has in store for me. He has to work tomorrow night but he is off ALL weekend so I can't wait to celebrate, and hopefully watch some birds.
Lots of love,
Jules xoxo
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