March Madness
MARCH...
I do love the month of March. This March has taken on a life of its own...definitely coming in "like a lion", staying "like a lion" with only a FEW "lamb days" in between. Here we are nearing the end of March and it's apparently going to go out "like a lion" as well!! The weather forecast for NC is more snow beginning on Monday (3/24) and carrying over till Tuesday (3/25) and there could be 4 inches of the pretty white stuff!! WHAT??? Yeah, welcome to North Carolina where you can be sitting in shorts on your back deck sipping sweet tea in 70 degree weather on Saturday and on Monday, you're bundled up in your sweater and long johns trying not to get frostbite!! CRAZY! You know what? For some reason it really hasn't bothered me. I love snow and I did wish for snow this winter. Finally, I'm getting something I wished for! :) I have thoroughly enjoyed all the 9 snow days we've had so far. The "breaks" came at good times for me; I needed them. If we miss days this week, "oh, well". I will enjoy them and be thankful for the time at home; I will deal with the repercussions later. I mean, what can we do about it anyway? There is no need to complain and whine about the weather. It is what it is. Bring it!!
March... two of my babies were born in March. The oldest and youngest. John Robert (3/25) and Jacob (3/28). March and April are birthday marathon months for us. We celebrate not only 3 of our 4 children's birthdays, but other family members as well. (My brother's birthday kicks off the month of March and I was fortunate to be able to celebrate it with him before he moved back to Chicago for the next 8-9 months.) We go hard this time of year. :) I have always made a very big deal about birthdays at our house, even bigger than Christmas. I believe birthdays are incredibly special. The person being celebrated is a gift and in my case, my children are MY own personal gifts given to me to love, protect, teach, cherish, and celebrate. So we do and it will never change. Birthdays are the one day a year that is "all yours." *Your* day to shine and be made to feel like a princess or prince... *your* day to be doted upon and given the royal treatment. It's not "just another day" as some would say; it's the day *you* were born and the day the world became brighter b/c of *your* presence in it! A celebration indeed!!!
March... the month that marks the coming of Spring. Spring is my favorite season. I LOVE Spring. After the cold gray of winter, here comes COLOR! Splendid colors of yellow, pink, green, purple, red... tulips bursting through the ground, daffodils already in full bloom here, the forsythia bushes coming to life, the cherry trees blossoming, dogwoods showing off their blooms of pink and white, oh, and the azaleas-- gorgeous reds, whites, pinks!! The trees getting their clothes back on... all those beautiful blooms then the green leaves filling out the branches once more. Springtime in the South-nothing short of awesome! The display of color doesn't last long, so when it starts I'm always drinking it in like finding a water hole in the desert. Drink, drink, drink for it will be gone very soon. Ahhh, but what a show!
Spring also includes one of my very favorite holidays... EASTER!! I make a very big deal of it. (what don't I make a big deal of?) When the kids were little, they always got "new Easter clothes" to wear to church. It was so much fun dressing them up and taking pictures of them together. Since they were born, I've always made each of them an Easter basket--every.single.year. They are now 26 down to 18 years old, but all 4 of them look forward to finding their baskets each year. The contents may have changed (not the candy), but it's a surprise nonetheless. I have the best time filling up their baskets. It makes me happy so I do it and I will continue giving my "old" kids Easter baskets for years to come! It's just how I roll. :) Perhaps I will write a separate post about all of our Easter fun. It's a great time to be sure.
March... is typically SPRING BREAK month. It's always been spring break for my college kids. Sometimes my break and my younger kids' breaks would fall in April near Easter-before or after. This year my break and Jacob's starts as soon as school is out on March 28th!! Woohooo!!! Another something to look forward to after the cold gray dark days of winter. This year I'm flying to Miami to spend some relaxing days on the beach beside my favorite ocean. Catching some much needed sun rays, reading some good books (the kind that requires little thought, just enjoyment), walking along the shore looking for sea glass and beautiful seashells, going out to eat at really cool restaurants that we don't have here in NC, people watching (in Miami that could be a real adventure!). I want to do some writing/blogging. I want to just BE... be in the moment, be present and enjoy these vacation days; I want to be aware of my surroundings and soak up the atmosphere that is Miami. After all, when in Rome...
March... I made a really really big life decision in March. I found a great house for rent. (I know I told you a bit about this here, but now I'm for sure about it, and I've just got to talk about it again!) I looked at it. I loved it. It felt good; it felt like I could make it a home and be happy there. My kids could be happy there. I took lots of pictures of the house and even showed a few of my friends. Although I was in love with this house, I was scared out of my mind to commit to renting it b/c of not knowing what or how much or if any support I would get from J. Well, because I couldn't commit at the time, someone else looked at the house and took it! They put a deposit down and everything. I was devastated and I don't mean just a little. I spoke with the owner and she said, "Don't give up hope. It could fall through." Those words did not console me much and I began looking for another house to rent, but with little enthusiasm. About a week later, I did find a "second choice" and was preparing to go for it when I got a text message at school... "The other people fell through. Do you still want the house?" WHAT? REALLY? Is this a joke? My insides were dancing and singing, "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!" OMG!! Was this my sign? Was this my answer to a prayer I prayed? It took extreme control to keep the excitement at bay b/c again, I was scared to death. Should I go for it? What if I can't make the payments? What if I can't... ???? Sure, the smart thing would be to just wait and see what John is going to give me, but sometimes I just don't do the "smart thing." Sometimes it is the "not doing the smart thing" that turns out to be the best thing ever! I texted the woman back and asked if I could bring a friend over to see it and I would give her an answer then... that's what we did and I said, "YES! I want this house!" I did it. I stepped off the cliff. I took a risk. I threw caution to the wind. I did something for me. For me!! You know what? It feels GOOD! Am I still scared out of my freaking mind?? YES!! But I'm doing it and I'm determined to make it work. It came down to this... my sanity, my peace of mind, my inability to function OR a chance to climb out of the darkness. I went for the chance to climb out. Soooo, on April 11th, I'm moving. When I get back from Miami, I will have one week to pack and get everything organized to move the following weekend. I have never in my life been on my own. Never. I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm sad, I'm heartbroken, I'm a million and one emotions over this thing, but I'm going to leap; I'm going to take a "leap of faith" and pray and hope and believe. I have friends that are the best kind-they may not agree with my decision, but they will support me. I have 4 wonderful children. They will be there for me and cheer me on. And the great thing is, that if I falter and stumble and come to them crying, guess what? They will love me anyway! They will be there for me and I KNOW THIS! My support system is beyond fantastic and with them in my corner, I can survive this. I can and I will.
So here's to you, March. You will always be one of my Loves!
D~
I do love the month of March. This March has taken on a life of its own...definitely coming in "like a lion", staying "like a lion" with only a FEW "lamb days" in between. Here we are nearing the end of March and it's apparently going to go out "like a lion" as well!! The weather forecast for NC is more snow beginning on Monday (3/24) and carrying over till Tuesday (3/25) and there could be 4 inches of the pretty white stuff!! WHAT??? Yeah, welcome to North Carolina where you can be sitting in shorts on your back deck sipping sweet tea in 70 degree weather on Saturday and on Monday, you're bundled up in your sweater and long johns trying not to get frostbite!! CRAZY! You know what? For some reason it really hasn't bothered me. I love snow and I did wish for snow this winter. Finally, I'm getting something I wished for! :) I have thoroughly enjoyed all the 9 snow days we've had so far. The "breaks" came at good times for me; I needed them. If we miss days this week, "oh, well". I will enjoy them and be thankful for the time at home; I will deal with the repercussions later. I mean, what can we do about it anyway? There is no need to complain and whine about the weather. It is what it is. Bring it!!
March... two of my babies were born in March. The oldest and youngest. John Robert (3/25) and Jacob (3/28). March and April are birthday marathon months for us. We celebrate not only 3 of our 4 children's birthdays, but other family members as well. (My brother's birthday kicks off the month of March and I was fortunate to be able to celebrate it with him before he moved back to Chicago for the next 8-9 months.) We go hard this time of year. :) I have always made a very big deal about birthdays at our house, even bigger than Christmas. I believe birthdays are incredibly special. The person being celebrated is a gift and in my case, my children are MY own personal gifts given to me to love, protect, teach, cherish, and celebrate. So we do and it will never change. Birthdays are the one day a year that is "all yours." *Your* day to shine and be made to feel like a princess or prince... *your* day to be doted upon and given the royal treatment. It's not "just another day" as some would say; it's the day *you* were born and the day the world became brighter b/c of *your* presence in it! A celebration indeed!!!
March... the month that marks the coming of Spring. Spring is my favorite season. I LOVE Spring. After the cold gray of winter, here comes COLOR! Splendid colors of yellow, pink, green, purple, red... tulips bursting through the ground, daffodils already in full bloom here, the forsythia bushes coming to life, the cherry trees blossoming, dogwoods showing off their blooms of pink and white, oh, and the azaleas-- gorgeous reds, whites, pinks!! The trees getting their clothes back on... all those beautiful blooms then the green leaves filling out the branches once more. Springtime in the South-nothing short of awesome! The display of color doesn't last long, so when it starts I'm always drinking it in like finding a water hole in the desert. Drink, drink, drink for it will be gone very soon. Ahhh, but what a show!
Spring also includes one of my very favorite holidays... EASTER!! I make a very big deal of it. (what don't I make a big deal of?) When the kids were little, they always got "new Easter clothes" to wear to church. It was so much fun dressing them up and taking pictures of them together. Since they were born, I've always made each of them an Easter basket--every.single.year. They are now 26 down to 18 years old, but all 4 of them look forward to finding their baskets each year. The contents may have changed (not the candy), but it's a surprise nonetheless. I have the best time filling up their baskets. It makes me happy so I do it and I will continue giving my "old" kids Easter baskets for years to come! It's just how I roll. :) Perhaps I will write a separate post about all of our Easter fun. It's a great time to be sure.
March... is typically SPRING BREAK month. It's always been spring break for my college kids. Sometimes my break and my younger kids' breaks would fall in April near Easter-before or after. This year my break and Jacob's starts as soon as school is out on March 28th!! Woohooo!!! Another something to look forward to after the cold gray dark days of winter. This year I'm flying to Miami to spend some relaxing days on the beach beside my favorite ocean. Catching some much needed sun rays, reading some good books (the kind that requires little thought, just enjoyment), walking along the shore looking for sea glass and beautiful seashells, going out to eat at really cool restaurants that we don't have here in NC, people watching (in Miami that could be a real adventure!). I want to do some writing/blogging. I want to just BE... be in the moment, be present and enjoy these vacation days; I want to be aware of my surroundings and soak up the atmosphere that is Miami. After all, when in Rome...
March... I made a really really big life decision in March. I found a great house for rent. (I know I told you a bit about this here, but now I'm for sure about it, and I've just got to talk about it again!) I looked at it. I loved it. It felt good; it felt like I could make it a home and be happy there. My kids could be happy there. I took lots of pictures of the house and even showed a few of my friends. Although I was in love with this house, I was scared out of my mind to commit to renting it b/c of not knowing what or how much or if any support I would get from J. Well, because I couldn't commit at the time, someone else looked at the house and took it! They put a deposit down and everything. I was devastated and I don't mean just a little. I spoke with the owner and she said, "Don't give up hope. It could fall through." Those words did not console me much and I began looking for another house to rent, but with little enthusiasm. About a week later, I did find a "second choice" and was preparing to go for it when I got a text message at school... "The other people fell through. Do you still want the house?" WHAT? REALLY? Is this a joke? My insides were dancing and singing, "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!" OMG!! Was this my sign? Was this my answer to a prayer I prayed? It took extreme control to keep the excitement at bay b/c again, I was scared to death. Should I go for it? What if I can't make the payments? What if I can't... ???? Sure, the smart thing would be to just wait and see what John is going to give me, but sometimes I just don't do the "smart thing." Sometimes it is the "not doing the smart thing" that turns out to be the best thing ever! I texted the woman back and asked if I could bring a friend over to see it and I would give her an answer then... that's what we did and I said, "YES! I want this house!" I did it. I stepped off the cliff. I took a risk. I threw caution to the wind. I did something for me. For me!! You know what? It feels GOOD! Am I still scared out of my freaking mind?? YES!! But I'm doing it and I'm determined to make it work. It came down to this... my sanity, my peace of mind, my inability to function OR a chance to climb out of the darkness. I went for the chance to climb out. Soooo, on April 11th, I'm moving. When I get back from Miami, I will have one week to pack and get everything organized to move the following weekend. I have never in my life been on my own. Never. I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm sad, I'm heartbroken, I'm a million and one emotions over this thing, but I'm going to leap; I'm going to take a "leap of faith" and pray and hope and believe. I have friends that are the best kind-they may not agree with my decision, but they will support me. I have 4 wonderful children. They will be there for me and cheer me on. And the great thing is, that if I falter and stumble and come to them crying, guess what? They will love me anyway! They will be there for me and I KNOW THIS! My support system is beyond fantastic and with them in my corner, I can survive this. I can and I will.
So here's to you, March. You will always be one of my Loves!
D~
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