balancing act

Someone mentioned to me a while back that I don't blog about Sawyer very often. So naturally I went through my posts and tried to see how often I mentioned my 3-year-old in blog posts. It isn't a lot. It's not because he doesn't do a lot of crazy things or because I don't spend a lot of time thinking about him, because I assure you - homie keeps us on our toes. After perusing through my posts, I also thought, well I don't mention Josh every post either and nobody has commented on how I leave my husband out...

Then I realized the reason behind the person asking me about Sawyer... it's because people expect women to be all about their child once they have children. So I am here today to say that while Sawyer is a ginormous part of my life and a major priority, he is not my entire life. I balance a few different roles, and being a mother is a very important one, but so is being a wife, daughter, sister, director of marketing, and friend.

You've seen it. Those women that have children and then immediately shut themselves off from the world and make their whole existence only about their kids. But guess what? Those women are still wives (or girlfriends/significant others) and friends and cousins and sisters. You might become a mother when you have a baby, but that doesn't mean you have to drop every other title you have.

By all means, please love your kid. Let your life revolve around them every now and then and enjoy every moment you get to spend with him/her. But don't become so wrapped up in being "the perfect mother" because first of all, that doesn't exist and second of all, if you're so focused on that you might forget that other people matter too.

I adore my crazy ginger toddler and I love telling people about his latest shenanigans and how stinking smart he is, but I also have other things to say. I have a job that I love and I enjoy sharing stories about ECU-related things, I also have an amazing husband that I like to talk about too. Not to mention I have some pretty cool friends who I like to talk about getting together with as well. It's a balancing act. You learn how to do the best you can with every role you play and try to avoid falling over while doing so.

practically a tailgate

this weekend we celebrated my best friend Hope's 28th birthday with a cookout at her and her husband Eric's place in Raleigh. It was a nice small get together with our tailgate crew and it was awesome to be with all of our friends a second weekend in a row. You know you're getting old/busy when you get excited about seeing your friends twice in one month (#adultproblems).

We discussed our tailgate plan for this year including who is bringing what food (since we really need to do better about eating outside and not spending so much money in the stadium) and figuring out what games everyone can attend. Yes, we do plan our tailgate almost 6 months in advance. Hard core.

This past two weekends have made me so ready for football season and weekends (and a few Thursday nights) that are guarantee parties with our friends.

hearing Jesus in the bathroom

I can't believe I have never shared this story on my blog, even though most of my friends have probably heard it more than once.

In 2008, I was finishing up my fall semester (and last semester) of college at ECU. One morning bright and early, I headed to campus about 45 minutes before my 8am class so I could print off a 40 page paper for my Advanced Composition Writing class (one of my favorite papers actually about drugs, the Beatles and the symbolism in the movie "Across the Universe").

Well, my first stop was to the ladies room in the Bate building. I was the only one there and had to actually turn on the lights in the bathroom when I walked in so I knew without a doubt that I was alone in there.

I sat down to pee and all of a sudden heard a voice singing "Softly and Tenderly". If you don't know the hymn, it has a kind of haunting melody and says "Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,calling for you and for me; See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. Come home, come home, you who are weary, come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!"

I sat there for a minute, looked under the stalls to see who else was in there and saw no feet. I was still alone in the bathroom. But the voice was still singing.

I shut my eyes and out loud said, "Lord?", but got no response except the voice still singing. I thought, "Am I having a stroke? Is God trying to talk to me in the bathroom? Am I dead?".

Thoroughly freaked out, I quickly exited the stall and walked out of the ladies room (still hearing the singing) and ran smack into the lady janitor who had been cleaning the men's bathroom.  She was singing "Softly and Tenderly" very loudly. I had apparently heard her through the wall while she cleaned the bathroom.

I did get an A on that paper though....