Category:

I Hate Weeding

3/27/2013

I am lucky enough to have a partner who loves yard work.

Unfortunately that wonderful, incredibly patient man is also a Tax Man, and is incognito until April 15, but the weeds don't know that. So, every spring, the boys and I start the yearly clean-up of our yard. It's the least we can do since he works 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. I dread the chore at first, but as I get into a rhythm, it's wonderfully satisfying and cathartic. Am I that messed up that I find writing material amongst the weeds?!

After a full day of weeding, my hands represent my future 80 year old self, and my back complains louder than my hands......now on to the laundry with a head cleared of weeds just like the yard.

What are your chore comparisons?

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

2 Comments

Attitude - Marriage

2/13/2013

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Here is the second installment of my blog series for Venture Galleries, and I hope it saves a few well-meaning, but typical men from countless hours of torture from their wonderful, hardworking wives.

One touch is all it took.

A hand on the shoulder would have done it.

She had all the power, and all the anger, and she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of being the one to make up first.

Walking into Starbucks for her morning Soy, Nonfat Mocha after Kindergarten drop-off, Jude was so engrossed in the events of last night, and the search for her debit card in her purse that she bumped into the person holding the door open for her.

Jude was surprised to see she had run into another Kindergartener mother – the one with the long salt-and-pepper hair.

“Oh, I’m sorry, how silly of me. I wasn’t paying attention. Thank you.” Jude said as both women walked to the back of the line.

“No worries,” replied the woman. “Having one of those mornings?”

“Yes!” was Jude’s exasperated response.

“Sorry to hear it,” the woman said. “Maybe the firefighters coming to school later this morning will take your mind off your troubles.”

“Oh My Gosh, I forgot all about that!” said Jude, sighing heavily.

The front of the line reached, they both ordered their respective drinks, and headed for the only available table, and with smiles, agreed to share it.

“How could you forget about the firefighters, most of the moms have been looking forward to their visit all week,” the other mother said with a sly smile.

“I know, right,” Jude replied. “It’s just my stupid husband.”

“Uh-oh”

Bursting at the seems to commiserate with a comrade, Jude explained, “You know, is it too much to ask for him to help with the chaos at bedtime by clearing the table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher? But, getting him to do just that one little thing is like pulling teeth! He just plops down on the couch after dinner, watching ‘Pawn Stars', while I have to get baths done, and get the girls in bed,” Jude spewed in one breath, then sighed. “Last night, I was tired, and asked again if he could just help me out this one time while I got the girls ready for bed, and we got into a fight, because he wouldn’t do it.”

Jude took a sip from her Mocha, and asked, “Does your husband help with the dishes?”

The woman took her time with a sip of her French Roast before she replied calmly...(Read on)

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

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Attitude - Age

2/10/2013

6 Comments

I was asked by Caleb Pirtle III to write a blog series on his widely popular site Venture Galleries, and I am very honored to accept. Here is the first installment, and while you are on the Venture Galleries site, browse around...the photos are amazing!

Jude froze, standing in the dirt parking lot, and looked around to see if anyone heard her daughter’s comment.

“What, honey?” she whispered.

“I saw it sticking straight up, mommy, it looked like a white hair,” Alicia said while carefully navigating the wide chasm every five year old must brave getting out of a Ford Expedition.

A few other late arrivals to Kindergarten were jogging with kids in tow, but no one was paying them any attention in their haste.

With Alicia standing in the dirt, Jude opened the passenger door, jumped in and flipped the visor to reveal the mirror.

“Shit!” she breathed while smoothing the hair at the back of her part.

The bell rang.

“Come on, Mommy, we’re late!” yelled Alicia.

Jude slammed the visor up, jumped down from the seat, slammed the door, and pushed the lock button on her key fob.

She grabbed Alicia’s hand, and said, “Mommy’s going to go potty when we get in class, okay, honey?” while pulling her across the street and up the steps.

“But, Mommy, you promised to read with me!” Alicia whined, running to keep up.

“I will, honey, I just need to go the bathroom first, okay?”

All the students were sitting on the alphabet rug with their little red paper books, reading to their respective partners when Jude and Alicia entered the classroom.

Jude ushered Alicia past the teacher with an apologetic, exasperated roll of her eyes, and pulled her daughter to an empty space on the rug.

Smoothing the hair on the top of her head, she glanced around the room and assessed which adults were present. The same few moms she saw during the daily drop off of kindergarteners – all in their mom uniforms of t-shirts and jeans or sweat pants, and one rather good looking father obviously on his way to work, looking uncomfortable sitting on the rug in his grey suit.

One adult and child were off to the side near the hallway to the bathroom, the little girl crying, while the adult, who Jude could only assume was her grandmother with long salt and pepper hair hanging over her face, bent low and spoke in soft, comforting tones. There was at least one student almost every day with separation anxiety, and this one looked like she didn’t want grandma to leave.

Jude thought the women’s healthy thick hair would be beautiful if she would just dye it, for Christ’s sake!

“Mommy will be right back, Alicia, so go get your book, and start practicing your reading, okay?!” And, without waiting for an answer, she was walking toward the restroom sign.

Safely inside with the door locked, she took her nail clippers out of her makeup bag...(Read on)

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

6 Comments

Einstein and Motherhood

1/28/2013

2 Comments

Sweeping and mopping the muddy paw prints and shoe prints for the second time today made me think of Einstein, and how his intellect, while vast, did not extend all the way to motherhood.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

2 Comments

Yes

12/27/2012

10 Comments

I have learned quite a few things this year, and have learned to actually live many more that I already knew. Here goes...

Say "Yes" and allow your children to be children as often as possible, unless what they want will harm them or someone else. Sometimes saying "No" becomes a habit we need to break.
Children and adults are moved by and respond to compassionate reasoning over yelling every time, and can see in your eyes if your faking.
Those who don't respond right away, probably expect and are more familiar with the yelling, so they need the compassion even more.
Show those you love that they are loved whenever the opportunity arises, not because that might be your last chance to do so, but because you actually love them.
People actually get the opposite of what they want when they don't make their own educated decisions, and instead, follow blindly whatever group will lead them.
Those older than you almost always have a wisdom worth listening to if you just close your mouth and open your heart.
"Normal" people are just not eccentric enough to imagine and create the advancements the world has enjoyed. Thank goodness enough of those "eccentric" people have not been drugged normal yet so we can continue advancing as a civilization.
It's almost always NOT about you.
When it is about you, say and show you are sorry.
The focus of your daily attention is your current reality and the foundation of your future.
That future becomes your new reality much faster than you expect.
The focus of your daily attention is also your child's current reality, and becomes the foundation for the future reality of your grandchildren.
Making a child smile brings more light and warmth to life than anything else.
It is our choices, not our talents that show who we truly are. (Okay, I stole that one from Dumbledore, but it bears repeating daily!)
Having someone in your life who has been present throughout most of your history, and still likes you is an amazing gift.
Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it. (Okay, I stole that one from Miss Stacy, but I still have to go to sleep repeating it.)

I would greatly appreciate any other wisdom you can share as we say good bye to one year, and my learning continues in another.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

10 Comments

Idea Digestion - Calling All Moms (okay Dads Too)!

8/15/2012

6 Comments

I have an idea!

I know what you're saying..."So what else is new, Mary, you get ideas all the time. How do we know this one is any different than all those others written in your little notebook?!"

First of all, my notebook isn't so little. Secondly, I'm totally devouring and digesting this one until it becomes...no not that...a book full of Everything Mommy Loves.

I need your help, however. This idea isn't about me, it's about all other Mothers who can express themselves and Everything Mommy Loves in 140 characters or less.

If you are up to the challenge, and want your Mommy Love shouted out to the world, please visit MommyLoves140 and find out how you can contribute. (The title of the actual book will be much more glamorous and catch, I promise!) Pass this on to every Mom you know, and let's see how far around the world the Mommy Love spreads. Love is the universal language, after all...or is that music?

If we get enough Moms to participate and share meaningful, insightful, snarky, loving, sarcastic, nurturing, funny (you get the picture) messages about Everything MommyLoves in 140 characters or less, I will do all the work to publish the book created by all the amazing messages by amazing mothers, and all those contributing get their name/twitter/facebook/business name/website/etc. included! I will donate all profits to a children's charity, and would love some ideas on those you love! Just give me some suggestions, and together we can make a difference in a few more lives.

The page listed above says it all, and if you have any questions or comments you know where to find me, right?!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Mom ~ Entrepreneur

Tweet Me
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Read Me like a Book

6 Comments

It Comes in Waves

7/13/2012

7 Comments

You probably don't see it, because neither do I. It's just beyond the horizon, just out of sight. That experience we've never had before...do we really want to see it before it gets here? Do we want to be forewarned in time to prepare?

Both my sons (as well as their parents) will have that experience this fall. One is going to high school, and the other is starting middle school. Just like everything else in life, there are benefits and drawbacks to knowing, or not knowing what's coming.

My high schooler has no idea what his new adventure will bring, because he has no friends already traveling the path to guide him. The campus is huge, and scary, just like the seniors. Luckily, he will play trumpet in Marching Band, so he is being exposed to the campus and some of it's inhabitants before school starts in preparation for the upcoming Football season. He is still very nervous.

My middle schooler has an even better idea what awaits. You see, his big brother had already been to his middle school, and we have toured the campus throughout three years of Orientations, Back to School Nights, Open Houses and Band Concerts. The Music Director already has a spot for him in the Trombone section, and his Principal was the Vice Principal in his Elementary School until 3 years ago. He is still scared.

Inherent personality probably plays the largest part in how we anticipate a new adventure or a fork in the road in our current one. My oldest is a "glass half full" kind of guy, so he is a little more optimistic about what awaits him, and being tall for his age, he feels a little more secure in the way he will carry himself at the start of this new journey. My youngest is a "glass half empty" kind of guy, so even though he knows most of what awaits him, he is concentrating on what he doesn't know, and since this pessimism creates some difficulties when making new friends, those fears are maximized.

Sometimes it's better not knowing what awaits, because we have an opportunity to bring a more positive outlook to new situations, however, the blind polly-anna may be blind-sided. Sometimes it's worse knowing what's around a corner, because we spend time anxiously anticipating the negatives, but the pessimist can also be pleasantly surprised when it's not so bad after all.

Even a detour in the road on the way to the grocery store can bring about these optimistic or pessimistic attitudes, so you don't need offspring to relate.

The picture above shows us watching the sunset last night, the three of us and the pups (poor dad is home working) with the entire beach to ourselves. At that moment, I knew we would all handle whatever happens...just like the waves.

Which do you prefer, knowing what awaits, or taking it as it comes?

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

7 Comments

Blossoming

6/2/2012

2 Comments

Things are Blossoming like this Chinese Dogwood!

I just love it when life takes me away from writing, and gives me more experiences from which to draw inspiration!

Thank you for continuing to visit, and I'm sorry I haven't been my usual verbose self of late. I'll be back at it very soon...life got in the way. That happens quite frequently when both kids graduate to the next level school, and the teenager just got his first phone - an iPhone 4S - and the pre-teen just got a new bike. These new freedoms make for great learning (and teaching) experiences, don'tchaknow!

Lots of life happening for my next book...stay tuned parents. If anyone of you have pre-teens getting ready for Middle School, you'll want to keep an eye out here for more details. Believe me...you'll need it if this is your first to go to The Fun House!

Hugs!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

2 Comments

52 Click Photo Challenge Week 1

1/4/2012

2 Comments

Mary Kathryn Johnson Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

My Entrance into the 52 Click Photo Challenge

Week 2 ~
What Makes You Smile?
Okay this picture was taken just last summer when they were 12 and 9. My oldest is now 13, has grown a mustache and 4 inches in height since it was taken and has a facebook account so if you are my facebook friend, DON'T, for the love of Mike use my name - he's as tall as me now, and would say "that sucks" if potential girlfriends saw him holding hands with his brother!

Week 3 ~
Favorite Room
Can you tell what my favorite room in my house is...and my favorite appliance? (oops, gave it away I think)
Mangiamo Amici, (and bring your mugs!)

Week 4 ~
Day in the Life
Pretty much says it all...with the dog in the background. The only thing to add to this is my car, because I drive back and forth to the schools 5 times each day...drop off, first recess yard duty, lunch recess yard duty, pick up middle school, pick up elementary. whew!

2 Comments

Every Mom ~ Beginning

11/7/2011

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This is the first in a series of posts for every mom. She is in all of us as we share our heart at our core, and can all relate. This is just the beginning.

It was nothing like I expected. For one thing, it was a lot messier, and I can't believe I had to actually deliver the placenta just like I delivered the baby. Okay, it didn't hurt like labor, but I still had to push again, dammit.

The most unexpected part was when the amazing little squirmer was put on my rapidly deflating bump. That feeling! That feeling was totally different than I expected. No one could have explained it fully to me. Women don't talk about that feeling as much as they talk about the process, and the pain - of course the pain is always discussed. The length and severity of labor is worn like a badge by moms just like trucks are worn by dads.

That feeling was totally overwhelming. It pushed aside all else - all my fears. My fear of becoming my mother, my fear that I married my father. It all went away.

The climax of this exhausting act, the birth of my child, gave me that same soul consuming feeling as the climax of the act that created her. Knowing that feeling is shared by generations and generations of moms gives me peace. I know I will make mistakes, and I also know I will do everything I can to help my daughter grow to a loving, nurturing, strong woman who will someday experience that feeling if she so chooses.

Any journey that starts like that is bound to be incredible, because it is fueled by love. Real love that is willing to sacrafice for the good of the other. And, it starts with sacrificing sleep. I can't wait to get out of this hospital!

I can't believe I am a mom!

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I Hate Weeding

Attitude - Marriage

Attitude - Age

Einstein and Motherhood

Yes

Idea Digestion - Calling All Moms (okay Dads Too)!

It Comes in Waves

Blossoming

52 Click Photo Challenge Week 1

Every Mom ~ Beginning

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