I was called by a friend last night who I hadn't talked to in a long time. This is someone who I worked with, a fellow miscarriage survivor who went on to have twins. She has since moved a few hours away, so it was nice to catch up.
But then, she told me something that absolutely broke my heart into pieces. Pieces. Her friend (who I met once) who was also a mother of twins, just unexpectedly and tragically lost one of the boys at 18 mo. The cause is suspected meningitis. I can't get this out of my head and the story certainly has me hugging my babies a little tighter today. I can't get the image of what they found that morning out of my head. I keep picturing myself or Steve being in that situation and how I would handle it or even manage to go on after something like that.
When I complain of how hard it is to take care of my little ones, or how much they are getting on my nerves, I will think of this story and remember how truly blessed I am.
So it being the 4th of July, I'm sure everyone out there in Blog-land did the whole 4th thing - maybe a parade, maybe some fireworks, maybe a barbecue.
Our town has its own small town parade, of which the local mother's club particpated in. We decorated the kids' cars and bikes and marched down main street, waving to the people.
We were first in line for the parade, which enabled us to sit and watch the entire parade after our part was done. There was the usual rotary, local high school, boy scouts, karate school, etc. but I ask you this...
How many of you had flamenco dancing horses in your parade? Yeah, didn't think so.
We briefly considered going to watch fireworks, but our past experience with fireworks and Sofia having been less than positive, we decided against it. This would turn out to be a wise move. Predictably, within a few minutes of darkness, the cracks and booms commenced (we live within a stone's throw of the beach, so people go crazy here, even though it's technically illegal) and Sofia appeared in my bedroom door, hysterically crying. I did let her sleep on her fold out couch next to me because I admit it. I can be a hard ass, but am a sucker for fear-related crying.
Some photos of the day. It was a long one, but a memorable one.
Self portrait of William and I
Daddy, Sofia and William walk towards Main Street
Patriot Girl
Gettting ready to start, William getting antsy and trying to escape
Watching the rest of the parade
Note to self: Don't let the stylist cut David's bangs within a quarter inch of his hairline. Friar Tuck is not a good look on a 2 yr old.
Trying in vain to blow the twirly flag
Chillaxin in their (if I do say so myself) impressive, decorated cars
When we were in Austin, we went to a friend's dance recital. This dance recital featured lengthy dance acts performed by girls aged 4 years old to close to 18 and everything in between. We watched an estimated 12 routines before cutting out at intermission and they varied from graceful ballet performances to hip hop, modern dance and everything in between. The girls wore makeup and glittery costumes.
The minute the lights went down and the curtains opened, Sofia was mesmerized. This has been the scene in our family room every night since.
Blogger, shutterbug & working mommy to Irish Triplets. I was married in 2003 to the boy next door, then spent some time on the infertility/miscarriage express. For a while, motherhood seemed elusive, but by 2007, I was mommy to 3 children under 2, lost my sanity and have struggled to find it ever since. These days, when not working outside the home, I spend most of my time changing diapers, mediating toddler conflict & trying to keep my kids out of the local ER. Current challenge? Navigating the peaks & valleys of life after my husband's recent layoff. I love comments and
can be reached via email at momlissa05@yahoo.com
