Wisdom Wednesdays: The Road Traveled

“...there ain't no journey that don't change you some.” – David Mitchell

This week I turned 30 (separate entry about that to follow), and decided to road-trip it with my husband and 6-week old to Las Vegas for a long-overdue visit to see family and friends. This journey back to Nevada got me thinking about life's “journey” in general. Over the past five years my journey has taken me to four different cities in five years: Dallas, New York City, Las Vegas and now of course, Denver. Three of the four cities I would have never dreamed I’d call home, but I have learned lessons about life and had important experiences in each one. Life would be so different if one of those cities hadn't been a part of my life! What if I hadn’t taken that job in New York, or decided not to give that guy in Las Vegas a chance? What if during that time and that fork in the road I took a left instead of a right? So much would be different…I would be different.

Over the past several years I’ve learned that the best journeys in life will pick you if you just let them, often times they may not be what you had in mind, but most of the time are exactly what you need. I myself sure have loved the ride and the destination I’ve arrived at today, and can’t wait to see what's in store tomorrow.

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

Here’s to the next leg!

 

 

Monday's Miracle

Our little man has reached his first milestone...he is one month! Life has changed so much since our sweet baby entered our world. First of all, we had to figure out this "how to raise a newborn” thing. Second, our sleep and social habits have changed; from dinner at 9 to gotta be home by 7. And ultimately, life just means so much more now that Cooper is in it. One thing that surprised me as a first time mama is how being Cooper’s mom came so naturally. It seems like we’ve known each other all along but only recently got to meet. God is good.

I thought I’d share some random things I've learned about first-time mama-hood:

1). All that stuff people tell you about laundry…is true. You do laundry, every day.

2). Your body is not your own for the first few weeks. That’s all I’ll say about that, but ladies, mentally prepare!!

3). Baby poop stains clothes, and babies often poop right after the bath. Soak immediately. It’s gross.

4). When putting on diapers it is very important to make sure that squiggly part that surrounds the legs are un-tucked from the diaper. Ladies, tell your husbands. Bad things happen. See the aforementioned.

5). Swaddling is amazing! People tell you this too, but wow, it’s so true. It’s the only way Cooper can sleep on his back.

6). You will use all the blankets you get. I was worried they would just go to waste but oh contraire! We have one upstairs in his nursery, one in our room, one in his swing, one by his Pac-in-Play and one by his bouncer. And yes, we use all these pieces of baby “apparatus.”

7). Worrying multiplies. Times like a hundred. When you feed your baby late at night and there are no distractions like TV, email, or people for that matter, you have a lot of time to think. These are the times I find myself worrying about his future, praying that he will have a happy life, hoping that Jeff and I can be good parents and teach him how to be a kind person, along with all he needs to know to succeed in life. No pressure, right? Yes, he is only 4-weeks old and I’m already worrying about these things. Welcome to mama-hood.

8). You think your baby is the cutest baby ever and you think everyone else thinks so too. When we were at the hospital and the nurses would bring Cooper in from the nursery, I would tell each new nurse that came on shift to just look for the really cute baby. No ID tag needed - just grab the cute one. Like none of the other babies in the nursery were cute. I still believe that and if you don't, I don't want to hear it. I mean, look at this face:

Cooper Patrick was born 6 days late (I could write a whole other post about that experience) on Monday, February 20th. Wide-eyed and arms swinging, he truly was our Monday Miracle, and quickly has become our entire world.

Wisdom Wednesday's: Patience

I am especially motivated to write a little diddy about patience today, because lately I have been extremely lacking in the patience department. I wouldn’t necessarily say I am characterized by being an impatient person. However I would say that okay YES- I am Type A, and SURE– I am a live-by-your-calendar kind of person (the style where the days are sorted by hour so each minute of your day is scheduled), naturally alluding to the fact that MAYBE a lack of plan could cause me to be a bit impatient. One of my favorite quotes about patience was by Margaret Thatcher:  “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.” Oh Marge, you are so right.  How often are we patient, but only when it’s convenient to us? Yesterday was my due date which means that I am one day late delivering my precious baby boy. You may not think that one extra day matters, but people you are wrong!  The calendar cannot be trusted!

Okay, okay, I am being a bit dramatic here, but so often having patience can be a challenge because that means that things are not going our way, or that things aren't going our way on our time-table. Who likes that? Impatience occurs when we forget that there is more than one variable (us!) in outcomes.  The key to being patient is being flexible, and realizing that the world’s decisions don’t necessarily revolve around how we want the chips to fall. Once we come to that realization it makes adapting a whole lot easier, and trusting that at the end of the day we can only do the best we can do. When we commit to that, though things may not go exactly our way, things will fall into place...the right place. Oh, and go easy on the calendars folks, life just isn't meant to always follow a schedule...take it from me.

"Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success." - Brian Adams

Patience is a learned practice, I'm learning, and truly is...a virtue.

Patiently yours, Lauren

Stranger revelation

Today I had a thought that totally terrified me (other than the fact that my oh-so-precious son is NEVER leaving the womb). To explain it to folks that have never been preggers – people talk to you all the time. Everywhere. In the bathroom, leaving church, checking out at the grocery store – people are always overly friendly and have some piece of vital advice that you must know as a new mom. Mamas, you know what I mean. To some people I know this friendly chatter is a bother, but to me, it’s an opportunity to talk to a happy stranger! Today when I was paying for my groceries, the sixteen year old bagger smiled big, looked down at my belly and said, “Let me guess, a boy, right?” and proceeded to tell me how he knew that it was in fact a boy, and about his mom and his little brother.  I stopped and thought to myself - will strangers care about me when I’m not as big as a barn? No, they most likely won’t. However, that led to my next thought - if I am so positively impacted by the friendliness of strangers than why not be a friendly stranger to others? It is such a simple act of kindness and it very well may be how you, the reader, live your life every day. But I know I don't. I’m often in a hurry, focused on the task at hand and not concerned with any other person’s day but mine. What a self-centered way to get through the day! So today, I am making a life change and deciding to be a better stranger. To pay it forward, if you will.  Because I have learned through this pregnancy that you just don’t know whose day will be better for it, and honestly, going out of your way to just be a kind person to everyone (even strangers) makes being much easier. Thanks guy at the grocery store for today's little lesson, and you are right – it is a boy!

[caption id="attachment_43" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="For the record, this isn't THE guy at the grocery store per say, but you get the point."][/caption]