I will notice details about my friends and I will tell them. I think Women should PRAISE each other... We hope to hear it from our kids and wish to hear it from our husbands, but it means so very much coming from another woman. Not forced or made up compliments to be polite. Not a generic, "You are a great Mom" if you aren't feeling it to your toes... The compliment that hits your thoughts and bursts out before you even think to formulate the words... I love your spirit, your kids are so happy, I LOVE your outfit (since we all know we dress for each other anyway), your skin is so pretty it makes me want to lick your face...Put it out there. Put you out there. Sometimes with so many obligations I think female friendships can become a lost art...a back burner pot. I want deep roots within the people I am lucky to call friends. It's not the easiest thing to move to a new small town and make friendships that feel like they are life-long, but I think it can be possible. Possible...one of my favorite words today.
I want what it looked like the girls on sex in the city had. I will be never have too many problems to share yours because you let me share mine, and when I do, they get smaller and more sane and manageable. I want this summer to be full of female kid-friendly happy hours, some long Friday kid-free lunches, the color navy blue and some Pinot Grigio...
Stops at fruit stands, evenings with melty icecream cone goodness running down my arms and actually going outside at night to say goodnight to the moon.
While in Newport Beach, we took a 5 minute 3-car ferry across the water to a place called Balboa Island. Balboa is a small island only 1 3/4 miles in circumference but big on charm. Big on tiny little sweet details...
He slept during the boat ride he was so tired from playing on the sand.
Once he saw this, we had to go on it...
We bought our tickets...
And climbed aboard...
Parker and I were in the car in front of him and as the Ferris Wheel spun around I would catch glimpses of this precious face... in absolute awe. Seeing him happy is pretty much my life's mission.
Visiting Balboa Island is a magical step back in time...an array of details so sweet and so vibrant that it felt like life.
While visiting with an awesome Momma friend back South, we discussed Mom'ing types...How in college we connected with someone who had a similar party to school ratio...and then in the work world you connect with someone with a similar work ethic...and then as a Mother it's easiest to connect with women who have similar Mom'ing styles... And the truth of the matter is, sometimes we outgrow friends that were awesome at one point in our life but suddenly no longer fit.
My friend and I have a similar suck the marrow out of life Mothering styles. We let our kids get dirty, explore, have fun, experiment...sometimes we learn the hard way - because we are willing to try. We'd happily wrap our kids in bubble tape to keep them safe but know that won't work....so we take a step back and let them go. My friend sheepishly threw out words like "over-protective" and "high maintenance" in regard to her Mothering...and I think in a generation of technology where some parents are more plugged into their phones than their kids.. and they talk about their kids as if they are a inconvenience...you've seen them- they are on the phone the entire time their kids are playing at the park...
But my Momma friend and I are the moms that play on the jungle gym and run through the sprinkler too...
It's easy to compare and think you are high maintenance if you are cuckoo bananas into your kids (you can be a working Mom and be into your kids! don't worry!!!) ...and make the most of the time you do spend with them.. But I'm realizing that we are just "protective" not over...and "maintenance-y", not high. We are Momma birds that like to be by our nests.
Here are her adorable and happy kiddos...a testament to her Mothering...I bet they think their Mom's Mothering style is just perfect.
Being in Orange County made me realize something else. The more stuff I get, the more stuff I want. I did an experiment in stuff a few years ago right before I had Greyson...In pharmaceutical sales you have the constant freedom to stop wherever and whenever you'd like...and stop I did...I'd stop for gum, Starbucks, magazines, I'd stop to shop if I didn't have a lunch with a physician.
One day I decided that I wanted to see what would happen if for a few months I curtailed my constant discretionary non-thrifty ways. Every time I wanted Starbucks I instead went to 7-11 for coffee....I stopped buying magazines...clothes I didn't need unless there was a special occasion...I stopped dropping $100 every time I even drove near a Target...I stopped buying makeup and crap I didn't need....and at the end of every day I would transfer the money I "saved" that day into a special account...and then the more I did that, the more I wanted to keep doing it...and so I looked for other ways to save money for fun...I called the cell phone company and DirectTv asking for ways to save on our bill...we sold stuff on ebay...took advantage of deals...and after just a few months time I had saved over $3,000....by not buying stuff I didn't need anyway...and then I took that money and I invested it into the stock market and months after that it doubled...I swear...
Sometimes I think stuff makes me happy...but the more stuff I get...the more stuff I want...
We stopped by another island on our trip...Oh Fashion Island, if I were stranded on you, I wouldn't need to bring anything else...you have everything I need...
I hate that there is absolutely NO shopping in Fresno...and I swear, I actually heard Angels singing when I walked into Nordstroms at Fashion Island in Newport Beach... If they conducted Church at Nordies no one would ever skip...but it helped me realize, my urge for stuff is tinier now that I don't live in Los Angeles... and that makes me a happier person....because I find other better stuff to do to fulfill my want for stuff.
But I splurged just a little on these gems..since flip flops are part of my summer mom uniform I thought of it as an investment...
And on our road trip home I realized that Michael isn't the only one with a love for motorcycles in the family...
Greyson saw it and went ga-ga.
I went inside the gas station to find the bike owner...I was about to give up looking when I finally spotted a guy holding a helmet. I approached him and said, "Is that your bike out front?" I was clearly so excited...
He said, "Yes, do you want to go for a ride?" (are there girls that actually do something like that?! Get on a motorcycle at the gas station with a stranger?!!! I don't think so.) I laughed as I said, "No...I don't like motorcycles...but my 2 year old son does...do you mind if we take some pictures on it?" Luckily the guy was a great sport.
That's all for tonight. Thank you so much to my 2 new friends that became a Member of Life with Greyson today. You made my day!!!
Chrissy
Somehow I missed this one! I was scrolling super fast and saw the Ferris wheel pic and realized I had missed it! That means I missed the part about outgrowing friends. That's such a good way to put it.....thank you.
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