Endurance

EnduranceI am coming to the end of this project in New Orleans and it has been a long, hard road.  The hours have been long. The locations have been challenging.  The project has been sensitive.  And here I am after four months discovering still that I have more endurance than I ever thought I had.  Like the trees in the swamp I have continued to stand tall, straight and quiet. Continue reading

Mother

Mother“A mother holds her child’s hand for just a short time, but holds their hearts forever.”

Mother’s Day has passed and unfortunately I wasn’t with my son.  I have been out of town on a lot of Mother’s Days which has made me rather sad.  My work, although incredibly rewarding, has tended to strip away the vital times in my life that I can never get back.  I love my son in such a deep rooted way.  I think of him everyday and hope he is well and happy. It’s hard to really know when they no longer live with you and are involved in your day to day life. But I feel he has matured into a sensitive, kind young man.

I miss my mom.  She passed away twelve years ago and it seems like yesterday I would talk with her on the phone about everything.  My mom was difficult at times as I know I can be for my son but her love for me was as deep rooted as my love is for my son.  It’s an unspoken feeling that seems to come over you the minute they are born.  I didn’t think it would happen so immediate as everyone kept telling me but once he arrived that was it.  I was hooked.

I find myself saying things to my son that are exactly the same things my mother said to me.  And my son sometimes reacts the same way I did.  Life experience seems to be the best advice as far as I can see it.  I hear my mom telling me things years ago that are happening just as she said they would.  “Wait until you get to be a certain age.  The simple things will be so much more important.”  And yes, she was dead on.  I try to tell that to my son but at his age, like me at that age, he doesn’t always heed my advice.  It’s ok.  That’s part of the deal of life.  To discover on your own terms.

I was working with someone this past week who was weighing in on whether or not they should miss work for an event happening in their child’s life.  I could see the conflict she was having as I have been there many times.  She chose to be with her child which I know from experience she will never regret.  Not only will they never forget you were there but when they are grown you will never forget you were there.

I miss my mom.  She was a working mom doing the best she could.  I miss her advice.  I miss her wisdom.   It was from life not from books.   I’m a working mom like she was and I really understand now what she felt when we all left the nest.

 

Jeremy

JeremyI have tried to avoid this subject but after reading a very poignant article entitled “Modern Love” written by a sophomore in college I felt I had to address it because it has been one of my pet peeves for quite awhile.  Modern technology.  Now I am as guilty as the next when I say my life and my work have become much easier with the cell phone, the computer, the Ipad, texting, etc. Continue reading