The Goods on Motherhood

It's all about mom this weekend with the celebration of Mother's Day on Sunday, and it's all good. This week, I gave a shout out to fellow moms and friends to share with me good things about motherhood. They came through with MANY heartfelt thoughts about being a mom, and having a mom too. Here's what they had to say . . .

Motherhood is filled with joy and wonder, hope and heart, learning and love, and special memories to last a lifetime.

Only ONE? OK- I've been absolutely amazed at the special bond I have with my teenage boys. I absolutely adore them in spite of their moronic teenage behavior. No one could have prepared me for how unique and powerful that relationship would be. My 3 boys are my pride and joy! I am an enthusiast of whatever they are interested in at the moment. Their joys are my joys, their sorrows my sorrows. Life is sweet in ways I never imagined because of the privilege of being their mom! - That's only one of at least thousands (good things!) ~ Kathy H.

Being a mom gives me a good opportunity to exercise my funny bone. Correctly done, humor brings perspective, warmth, conveys love, and unifies hearts. I love laughing with my boys because it keeps my countenance lifted. At my age, any help I can get is great! ~ Ruth K.

I truly never knew what love was until my son was born 29 yrs ago. Being a mother has taught me how to love unconditionally. ~ Elaine C.H.

The best thing about being a mum is their unconditional love and the way their eyes light up when I am with them. The best thing about my mum is that she loves me and supports me always even when I do stupid things. She drops everything to help me when I need her. ~ Sharon M.

Am I allowed to be a tad different??? I love being a mum (to one son) and grandmother to 3 small boys, but I delight in being a mother in law... my daughter in law is my joy. I never wanted a girl child before, but when she arrived on the scene I realised what a blessing a girl can be, so happy I have her. ~ Dawn B.

I loved every second of everyday being a mom. The best thing that ever happened to me, and now no more!! I'll never forget my memories. ~ Sus L. (Once a mother always a mother. Cherish your memories, Sus)

I love seeing the world new all over. There is so much joy in the simple things of life. My children are my world. ~ Daphne G.

A good mom communicates with her kiddos. Meow! Ruff Ruff!! ~ Ronda M., mom to an adorable bunch of fur babies

My mum passed away 12 years ago, and I still miss her today. She was my best friend. She was a great mum and dad to me, so you see she was very special, I love you mum up in Heaven . . . ~ Michele H.

I miss my mom very much. Even though she was sick, she still did things for me like watching my three children lots of times. As for being a mom I love my children very much. ~ Julianne P. A.

Hearing those four words - "I Love you Mommy!" ~ Kelly B.

Thank you for sharing ladies. I don't think I could have said it any better myself, but I do have a bit more to say about motherhood. Check out my post Let's Hear it for the Moms on my LeMOMade blog.

Wishing you all a blessed and peaceful Mother's Day!

OH Christmas Tree!

Because my December birthday has come and gone, the official start of decking the halls here at the Borowiak household kicked off this weekend with the selection, purchase, and set up of a lovely Frasier Fir from a local garden center.

It's been about three years since we've had a real tree in the house, so the kids and I were very excited about this endeavor - T not so much, but he played along with just a little bit of Scrooge-like grumbling!

There are lots of good things about trimming the tree, especially when it is real, like the nice, fresh Evergreen smell, or the pretty and green, but not-so-perfect branches.

But my favorite part of decorating the tree is unpacking all of the ornaments, and remembering the stories that they tell. "My ornaments have lots of wheels," exclaimed A excitedly, who does have a wide collection of planes, trains, and automobiles. A's collection of ornaments that "go" are among the hundreds and hundreds of ornaments in our vast array of Christmas decor.

We have so many ornaments that we barely cannot squeeze them all onto the tree, and that's a good thing, and here's why:

2. Memories: Like I said, each ornament has a story to tell. We have ornaments from our honeymoon trip to Maui including a colorfully painted starfish Santa (which btw the kids think is stinky, so they won't hang it up), and a small bride and groom that says "Just Maui'ed". I have many ornaments from my childhood including a little plastic sheep given to me at religious education classes, while T has a snowman shaped like a bell that he chose at Marshall Field's downtown when he was a boy. We have a variety of ornaments given to us by others as souvenirs from their travels, and we have a shiny Mickey ornament from our family trip to Disney World in 2007.

3. Milestones: Many of our ornaments mark important events in our lives such as Our First Christmas ornament from 1995. Both kids have their Baby's First Christmas ornaments from 2000 and 2002, respectively. We also have two very special handmade ornaments, one with Miss O's tiny baby footprint, and a small felt replica of A's hand. Every year, they match up their hands or feet to see how much they've grown over time. We have a New Home ornament from 2003 - the first year in our humble Yorkville abode. I also cherish many ornaments from my past life as an elementary school teacher. One of my favorite's is a small felt mouse with a mini-chalkboard given to me by my former colleague and good friend Kate.

1. Merriment: Many of our ornaments reflect the many interests and activities that bring us joy, happiness, and inspiration such T's collection of bicycle ornaments, A's soccer ball ornaments, Miss A's ornaments that feature polar bears and penguins, or my huge collection of snowmen/women ornaments - most of which could not fit onto the tree so they were designated to the garland on the stair railings, well, except for one of my favorite's from T ~ a Christopher Radko glass snowman that is holding a string of hearts.

Make your own picture collage

~ All photos by Miss O
Hint: If you click on each photo, you can see a close-up!

Ornaments - good memories, milestones, and merriment.
What stories can be told from the ornaments on your tree?

Way to go O!

When a tiny pink-faced baby girl is placed in your arms after many, many hours of labor, you are overwhelmed with love, joy, and happiness. A decade later, when that same baby girl sets out to accomplish an amazing goal, and "sticks it" as they say in gymnastics, you once again are overwhelmed with that same sense of love, joy, happiness, and a whole lot of pride, too.

So for today's post, I step up on my soapbox and boast about my one and only daughter, Miss O!

1. Top vault score! In gymnastics, female athletes compete in four events: vault, beam, bars, and floor. During this year's regular competition season, the vault proved to be Miss O's nemesis, causing her a bit of apprehension and anxiety at each meet. With determination, she nailed it at Nationals, scoring 9.300!



2. All-around third place - Level 5/Junior. For her first showing on the National level, this was an awesome accomplishment. All in all, she ranked third in her group of 24 gymnasts, and 11th among 114 gymnasts at her level and age group. All those hours and hours of practice surely paid off!

3. Daddy's girl. Besides me, T is probably Miss O's biggest fan. He is secretary of her team's parent booster club, drives her to and from practice, and cheers the loudest at meets. He coined the phrase, "Way to go O!"



A bouncing baby girl.
An award-winning gymnast.
Two proud parents.
All good things!