Love

Oscar Wilde said it best:

To love oneself

is the beginning

of a life-long romance.

Get out there

and treat yourself amazingly.

You deserve it.

Heavy

Not sure who said it, 

and of course I couldn't leave it be,

but ...

You will find

that it is necessary

to let things go;

simply for the reason

that they are heavy.

Friendships.

Loves.

Pursuits.

Ideas.

And then you realize,

that the strength you gained

from carrying them

has prepared you for something

so much better.

M.O.M.

So it's Mother's Day Weekend.
Hoping you're making the most of it.

Eventually, there comes a tiny bitter sting to it,

but you learn to see the beauty in what the departed

have instilled that lingers on.

When my beautiful Momma passed,

I wrote a poem.

It's what I do.

It is cathartic.

It is therapy.

It is comforting.

The first line of hers said,

M.O.M. means Master of Magic

and so, as this weekend pressed in on me,

I began to think about that and expand a little.

If you know these people ... you may even chuckle.

In reference to my grandmother, Poppa:

Magistrate of Marvelous

Regarding my own self ...

Mayor of Mayhem

Pertaining to my daughter who's about to welcome #2 ~

Maestro of Magnificence

To all you maestros, mayors, masters, magistrates and more ...

God bless you and know that you're doing an awesome job.

Friday Mom

As a mom,
we fear the world
we bring a new life into.
We protect.

We nurture.

We teach.

We coddle.

We reprimand.

We cheer.

We steer.

We speak.

We listen.

We forgive.

We forgo.

We retrieve.

We release.

We push.

We pull.

We laugh.

We cry.

We hope.

We pray.

We love.

There is no manual.

You come without directions.

We do the best we can.

We give you wings to soar,

optimistic that you might

occasionally return to the nest.

Mostly payless and thankless,

it is a job we wouldn't give up for anything.

It is a privilege and a pleasure.

Thursday Momspeak

Another wonderful tidbit

that my Momma shared

is something that I have shared

with my own kids

and a plethora of people:

Be nice ...

until it's time to not be nice.

That doesn't mean

that you are rude or ugly

or belittling or demeaning.

It simply means that you

will no longer allow yourself

to be used as a doormat,

to be lessened,

to be trivialized,

to be marginalized.

You speak your mind and/or

(a favorite from my Grandfather)

you point your shoes in another direction.

There is NEVER a circumstance

in which you should let another human

disrespect or diminish you.

Momma-ism

So, for absolutely ever,
one of my Momma's favorite quotes was,
"This too shall pass."

After far too many years of 

"wiping noses" (IYKYK),

and I'm pretty sure a decent loss of patience,

she altered her catchphrase to

"NEXT!"

It is incredibly applicable.

Bad day? Next!

Stupid job? Next!

Ridiculous person? Next!

Broken heart? Next!

Terrible service? Next!

You could always dwell

on the actions or folks that may 'interrupt' your day,

or you could search for the next fantastic thing.

NEXT!

You bet!

Mom Stuff #2

One of the greatest lessons
I ever learned,
and continue to learn,
and re-learn,
and teach,
and re-teach,

is ...

just because they don't love you

they way you'd like them to love you,

doesn't mean

that they don't love you

with everything they are.