In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s a timeless little piece I call “E-Ticket, Please.” 
[An E-Ticket at Disneyland/ Disney World was the most coveted. It was for any ride that aspired to theme park greatness – the ultimate of thrills].

Of all the blessings the good Lord has showered upon me, I would have to say motherhood tops the list, hands down. What a ride!  The fears and anxieties, the illnesses, the surgeries, the pain, the worrying and sleepless nights, the anger, the attitudes, the expectations, the failures, disappointments, and frustrations…all intertwined with the joy, the excitement, the achievements, the celebrations, the humor and the fun, the hugging, the sharing, the loving and the caring…I could go on and on….Sometimes making me want to speed up time, sometimes making me want to slow it down. Phew!!  Yes, it is exhausting. Through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of motherhood, I have experienced things and felt emotions on a level I cannot possibly explain to you. Except I can tell you that I would not trade any of it. I cannot envision, nor do I want to, life without Lauren and Danny. Come what may. And I know this is a life-time thing. I know this because my mother was still at it with me until the day she died. I cannot thank God enough for that. For that and for this blessing He has bestowed upon me. May He always catch me with my seatbelt on tight while on this, my E-ticket ride. 

I wrote that years ago. But, like I said, it is timeless.

I want to wish all the moms, grandmas, aunts, and godmothers a very happy Mother’s Day today and always. To my dearest friends, some moms, some not, thank you for always looking at my many pictures, listening to my stories, concerns and worries, and walking along with me through this motherhood journey.

A shout out today to a great mom, a special friend and my forever editor, Betty Bottomley, who is now cancer free. Praise the Lord…and St. Jude!

”Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.”
-R. Browning

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;”
-Jeremiah 1:5

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
^{-Psalm 139:13}

Lent is over. Hopefully, the fruits of our efforts during the season will linger. But, most likely, we are already distracted and losing focus. I know someone who just washed a full load of laundry without soap…

Speaking of laundry and focus…

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, remaining silent. 

Every time her neighbor hung her wash to dry, the young woman made the same comments.

A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Honey, look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder who taught her?” 

The husband simply said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.” 

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.

In this less than perfect world, friends and family, I pray the Lord gives us clear vision to perceive correctly. For every time He does, and I am able to, I am thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.”

For sticky notes that warm your heart. In our home, these hidden sticky notes especially turn up after “picadillo night.”  😉

Leave a sticky note today, friends and family, and warm a heart. Sometimes it is the smallest gestures that make life bearable.

For my flock, and sticky notes, I am eternally grateful.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“Never suppress a generous thought.”
-C.E. Kimball

“This small act of thoughtfulness hit the heartstrings that quietly ask, Who’s taking care of you? Who’s thinking of you?”
-C. Tosi

“Nada de eso importa,” she said to me one day while I whined to her about some drama going on in my life. None of that matters, my sister told me. She knew. Her days were counted as she fought for her life, and she understood more than ever what mattered.

I know it’s nature to whine and complain and to get all worked up. Even about the small stuff. It stems mostly from our thirst for control. But should we be putting off realizing what is worth our aggravation and what isn’t? What is real and what is soap opera? What matters and what doesn’t? At what cost? Our young adult kids, by the way, seem to live inside a constant soap opera; more than we ever did at their age, what’s up with that? If we let the small stuff get the best of us, how will we make it through the tough times? I say, bend like a palm tree or break in the mildest of breezes.

We get it. We all do, we just forget it. I do, trust me. Except, I don’t know if it’s my age, or the aches and pains I wake up with every morning now, or the adversity and tragedies hitting close to home and those happening far away, or a combination of it all, but I’m remembering my sister’s words more and more lately, and I’m feeling an urgency to live life like never before.

Let’s all make a conscious effort to figure out what’s worth the aggravation and what isn’t. In real time, as it happens. Because our days are counted, period, and we don’t always get a heads-up to the countdown.

For every time I realize, in real time, “que nada de eso importa,” I am so very thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

[Note: In case you’re not Spanglish-speaking, “si Dios quiere” means God-willing. Mom finished most of her sentences with that phrase. I added it to my sendoff in her honor after her passing].

“The human capacity for burden is like bamboo- far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.”
-J. Picoult

“That which yields is not always weak.”
-J. Carey

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
-E. Kübler-Ross

I try not to complain much, especially now during the state of the world. Case in point, Tuesday night, when I got cutesy with Spam for dinner (don’t ask…and no, we’re not preppers). It turned out as good as a spam dinner can. Anyway, after consuming it, my thoughts went into complaining mode, but, like I said, given the state of the world, I couldn’t bring myself to completely mutter my discontentment without kicking myself in the butt first. At least it was a warm meal.

Yes, we’re feeling the squeeze with gas, groceries and other prices so high right now, and yes, we’re coming off a two-year pandemic nightmare, but at least we’re not dodging missiles.

I see the images of the Ukrainians fleeing their homeland and I feel so sad for them. The displacement they are experiencing can only be understood by those who have gone through it. We did. Maybe your family did too. For us, the displacement was real and limbolic. But we weren’t dodging bullets and missiles in the process. These poor souls are.

May God protect and help them. May this war end soon. And may we instantly catch ourselves in the act of complaining and realize — it could always be worse.

For all our blessing, Lord, today and always, I am thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

[Note: In case you’re not Spanglish-speaking, “si Dios quiere” means God-willing. Mom finished most of her sentences with that phrase. I added it to my sendoff in her honor after her passing].

“I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.”
-Jane Wagner

“See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”
-Eckhart Tolle