Thankful Thursdays

Our hearts are especially full this Thankful Thursday.

On June 2, Lauren and Kevin welcomed their beautiful baby boy into the world. What an incredible blessing for our family! As we celebrate this precious new life, I find myself reflecting on something I wrote years ago about motherhood:

“E-Ticket, Please”

Before I share it, a little context. An E-Ticket at Disneyland or Disney World was the most coveted ticket. It was reserved for the rides that aspired to theme park greatness, the ultimate of thrills. Looking back, I cannot think of a better way to describe the adventure of parenthood.

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 touching, 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 my children. Come what may. And I know this is a life-time thing. I know this because my mother is still at it with me. 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.

[first posted 5/8/09; published 2013 in Scenes Everlasting and Other Essays]

Reading those words today feels like coming full circle. Watching Lauren begin this journey has reminded me just how quickly the years fly by. One minute you are rocking your baby to sleep, and before you know it, that baby is holding her own child.

We are so thankful to God for this sweet little boy, for the joy he has already brought into our lives, and for the loving parents who will guide him through their own E-ticket ride.

Our prayer is that he always knows how deeply he is loved by his family and by the One who created him.

Welcome to the world, Elias Daniel Maestre! We are so grateful you are here. 💙

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

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

“(24/7) once you sign on to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer.”
-Jodi Picoult

“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
-A. Geddes

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