I got this in my email inbox from a friend and felt like sharing it with the many amazing mothers out there…

Mothers:

Real Mothers don’t eat quiche;
They don’t have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn’t come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don’t want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask ‘Why me?’
And get their answer when a little voice says,
‘Because I love you best.’

Real Mothers know that a child’s growth
Is not measured by height or years or grade…
It is marked by the progression of Mummy to Mum to Mother…

The Images of Mother:

4 YEARS OF AGE – My Mummy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE – My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE – My Mother doesn’t know everything!

14 YEARS OF AGE – My Mother? She wouldn’t have a clue.

16 YEARS OF AGE – Mother? She’s so five minutes ago.

18 YEARS OF AGE – That old woman? She’s way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE – Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE – Before we decide, let’s get Mum’s opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE – Wonder what Mum would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE – Wish I could talk it over with Mum.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,
The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows
And the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

There is no job more powerful than that of a Parent!

This morning, I woke up to two little cuddle bugs resting their warm, little heads on my shoulders. They’d snuck into my bed in the early hours of the morning right after their dad had left for work. After embracing them and this beautiful moment for awhile, and giving them lots of hugs and kisses I told my daughter we had to hurry on out of bed so we’d get ready for school in time. “Just five more minutes mom…” she pleaded and pulled the covers up to our shoulders.  In my mind I quickly calculated the “opportunity cost” and realized that giving into her plead would very likely make us late for school as we were already running a bit behind… yet it was an easy sell.

Some of my favorite moments of being a mom is waking up exactly like this and getting to be this close to my children. It isn’t every day that I have both of them by me, feeling calm and relaxed at the exact same time, and still resting in the peaceful haziness of a good night’s sleep. There is something magical about being all snuggled up close under the same big cover. It feels safe and comforting, and so genuinely loving. It is almost as if nothing else exists; we are in our own little world.

Suddenly, our cat decided to jump on the bed to join the party and in that same instant, seemingly out of the blue, my little three-year-old gets up and roars as loud as he can imitating a dinosaur. Our cat, in absolute astonishment goes flying up into the air and does an astounding backwards flip before it lands on the floor. We all broke out laughing and then my little three year old joker reenacted the entire scene about three times to his sister’s pure joy and delight. Five minutes turned into fifteen and as hard as it was to step out of this magic, Ms. Logical Mom showed up and made sure we’d get going. And, so we went, off to seize a new day, a good 20 minutes late, yet feeling so happy and joyous, and still laughing about our cat’s acrobatic talents.

As I rest in the joyous memory of that beautiful morning I can’t help but realize how easy it would have been to miss out on that magical moment. Everything that brings love, joy and happiness into my life was right there in front of me. All I had to do was say YES to IT.

IT… is LIFE in a nutshell. The actual core of IT, the magic of your life that often comes at no cost at all yet brings you invaluable joy and happiness. We all want IT but we all too often tend to be too busy to get to IT.

If I had chosen to let my responsible EGO win this one, it would have been all too eager to get going and get out the door. It would have said to itself ‘we can’t be late’ and ‘we’ve got important things to do’! Drill sergeant mommy might have shown up to make sure we’d get there in time, “let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, we gotta hurry!”

I hear so many of my clients with young children talk about the chaos and hassle of getting out the door in the morning. We usually end up discussing preemptive strategies and preplanning efforts that will decrease the stress and effort of getting out the door. Yet the most important lesson they, and I, have learned is the simple art of “letting it go!” The more at ease and the more relaxed we are about the morning routine the easier it is and the smoother the whole thing flows. Instead of battling it, forcing it, and trying to control every aspect of it, they let IT win and by letting IT win they no longer fight it, but get to enjoy IT!  And, amazingly, the kids seem to somehow flow out the door in time.

I have many clients come to me that feel they don’t have any time left over for their own LIFE!   They are stuck in the cycle of having too much to do and get done, and there are always places to get to. In the meantime, their LIFE is right there in front of them, patiently waiting for them to choose to be present to it, but instead they keep running as fast as they can, far away from it, convincing themselves that they’ll get to IT later.

Why not let IT win? When IT wins, YOU win!

How much joy, peace and happiness is passing you by every single day because you are not letting IT win?   The IT you keep chasing is right there in front of you.  Go seize the moment, and capture IT!

“-Children Learn What They Live-

If children live with criticism,
they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,
they learn to fight.

If children live with fear,
they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity,
they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule,
they learn to be shy.

If children live with jealousy,
they learn what envy is.

If children live with shame,
they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with Tolerance,
they learn to be Patient.

If children live with Encouragement,
they learn to be Confident.

If children live with Praise,
they learn to Appreciate.

If children live with Approval,
they learn to Like themselves.

If children live with Acceptance,
they learn to find Love in the world.

If children live with Recognition,
they learn to have a Goal.

If children live with Sharing,
they learn to be Generous.

If children live with Honesty and Fairness,
they learn what Truth and Justice are.

If children live with Security,
they learn to have Faith in themselves and those around them.

If children live with Friendliness,
they learn that the world is a Nice place in which to Live.

If children live with Serenity,
they learn to have a Peace of mind.

With what are your children living?”

–Dorothy L. Nolte