Mental Snapshots - Feel Good Friday

My first Feel Good Friday in a lonnng time!  Check out The Girl Who Lives Next Door Grows Up!

As you know, I went to this little thing called BlogHer (at least that’s what some of my friends like to call it, although I don’t know if a gathering of 2,500 people is considered little). For a long time I was on the fence about even going, but since it was going to be in New York, I decided to go. I have family that lives both in New York and in New Jersey (about twenty minutes from the George Washington Bridge) so I justified going to BlogHer because I could bring The Babes and visit family that I hadn’t seen in awhile.

While visiting family, I was always ready to take pictures so I can remember all of The Special Moments. Ironically, most of those moments were not digitally captured. Mostly because The Special Moments looked so ordinary that I am sure that the photo would have looked so insignificant. Moments like

- Going to my Aunt Sherri, Uncle Micah, and Adam’s home after The Mouthy Housewife Happy Hour only to find a beautiful spread of cheese, olives, and fruit with an exquisite elderberry and champagne cocktail waiting for me. It was so nice to sit around and just chat in their home. They always make me feel so special when I stay with them.

- Stealing some girl time with Aunt Sherri as she drove me back to New Jersey after BlogHer. It reminded me of the times I used to visit her when I was a girl.

- Sitting around with family on my Mother’s side that I rarely see, looking at old photos of our thirty plus years of visits. I looked at all those photos and felt so thankful for all those memories. Uncle Dickie, who passed away almost 10 years ago, and Aunt Birdie are like the grandparents that I never knew on my Mother’s side. I felt so thankful that The Babes were able to meet Aunt Birdie and my cousins.

- Learning that these memories almost never happened since Uncle Dickie was supposed to be on an airplane that would have crashed 40 years earlier. Uncle Dickie was one of the most generous and funny men I knew. And everyone who was in that room? Their lives were significantly better having known him.

- Feeling a connection to members of my family that I hadn’t had in a long time. I hadn’t seen my cousin Jay in years, and I was able to meet his wife, Tee, who I thought was just an incredibly warm person. Uncle Dickie and Aunt Birdie taught me that family isn’t limited to the ties of blood and genetics. Family is made up of those who love each other. Jay and Tee taught me that family relationships aren’t weakened by the passage of time. We may be all on our different paths that take us far away from each other’s lives, but we’re never fully removed. The bond of family history isn’t so easily broken.

- Putting The Babes down together for bed. We were on a different nighttime schedule (read: they were going to bed very late). So I adopted an alternative bedtime routine where I put them down at the same time. There was a night when they were both so sleepy. We were snuggled together in a double bed reading stories. No one was fighting. No one was fidgeting. It was just . . . peaceful. After the story, we turned off the lights, and the three of us cuddled. Together. I sang each of them their special nighttime song and took a deep breath to inhale their sweet scent.

I’ve said before, that life is made up of moments.

And this moment was perfect.

We were this lovely bundle, our own little team huddling together after playing another away game. This tender moment of togetherness? This moment I wish I could print and keep it on my wall. Forever. Because it’s in tiny, unexpected moments like these that make motherhood magnificent.



So would you agree? A regular snapshot would have a difficult time capturing the intricate essence of these special moments, layered with emotion?

I can say that writing about them seems to make their imprint a bit deeper on my soul.

Here are a few shots that I did manage to catch:

They may look sleepy, but it's really the glazed-over look from watching Mickey Mouse come to life on the beautiful flat screen HD TV

I love yogurt. . . for today only.

I *HEART* ice cream on a stick!

Well, Friends, have you had any mental snapshots you’d like to share?

Have a great weekend!