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“This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Meyer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s OK honey, Mommy’s here.” when they keep crying and won’t stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who don’t.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football or soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, “Did you see me?” they could say, “Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn’t. For the mothers who read “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year. And then read it again. “Just one more time.”

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls ” Mom ?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed–when their 14 -year olds dye their hair green.

What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying? 

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, Mothers without.

This is for you all. Hang in there!”

Author Unknown

For the first couple of years that we were married, he used to bring me bunches of forget-me-nots in the springtime, picked from some secret spot on his way home from work.  I always looked forward to it – one of my favorite flowers.   Time passed; we moved and got so very busy… and I had forgotten about those sweet blue bunches until another aptly-named bouquet found it’s way to me again this year.  xo

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea”

Even better is a weekend at the sea with some of the most wonderful photographer friends! I’d say it was a pretty great cure for the overwhelmedness that’s been threatening to overtake me the last month! Peter is five months into an insane schedule trying to wrap up his paramedic internship, and we have been juggling so much… I didn’t realize how badly I could use a little time away until it happened – and the addition of awesome girlfriends and newly acquired film gear made it just that much sweeter!

I feel renewed.  Three nights on the Oregon coast with long walks on the beach, great conversations about balancing life/family/work, and loads of beach photos was pure heaven.

These pics are all from the last day on the beach which ended with the most incredible sunset. It was awe-inspiring, and we stayed out there shooting until the last bit of light faded.  We got to visit an old lighthouse earlier in the day, built in the early 1800′s and fully furnished from the historical society. It was lovely, and made me wistful. I wonder how I would have done with 7 children living in those circumstances.  It was a simpler time in so many ways, but gosh they must have worked hard!  Thinking about it makes me grateful for the benefits of modernity, although part of me definitely longs for a simpler time (and here’s where it comes back to balance again, dang it!)  There must be a way to balance the busyness inherent in the world we live in with the simplicity of just living life uncluttered. I want this for me, and especially for my kids. I don’t want them to grow up glued to a screen, in a virtual world, always wanting more… I want them to fully experience real life – with the wind in their hair, the feeling the earth under their bare feet, and reading copious amounts of actual BOOKS!

Bethany, Jamie & Steph, thank you for sharing so freely of yourselves. It was a perfect weekend. Love you gals!