My personal motto

I love this girl and hope I can instill the same confidence and chutzpah in my girls.

Co sleeping

Eleanor Pettet is all Pettet in all things, except for her sleeping habits.  Those she gets from her mama.  Meredith Pettet and Lillian Pettet are frighteningly like their mama in all things except their sleeping habits.  Almost nightly one, or the other, or both end up perpendicular to me in my bed.   Most nights it's irritating.  But when I wake up just enough to remember that I will soon wake up and they will be grown, I sigh and go back to sleep.  When all three were tiny babies I wanted them in my bed but all the parenting books protested.  It didn't stop me from nursing them in my bed.  My favorite time was right after they would drift off to sleep and before I would transport them back to their beds.  It was always such a satisfied sleep.  Their breathing was so deep.  I remember laying face to face with these tiny babies and breathing in.  It was as if they were breathing life into me and my next breath depended on theirs.  Interesting metaphor for parenting.

Another mother's letter

Molly and I have a running joke that all the bloggers are beautiful Mormon moms who run Etsy shops and lead perfect lives (reeks of jealousy, eh?)  But in fact, I love to read other blogs.  I found this one tonight and it was too perfect to not share.  It's written by Sonya Audrey http://www.sonyaaudrey.com/ but posted on Sparkle Power! in honor of Mother's Week.  http://candacetodd.blogspot.com/

My advice to my young daughters:
Don't worry about perfection in life, in looks or in love. It isn't attainable, and honestly, those perfect people never have any fun anyway. Always be you. After all, no one else can do it better. Read everything you can get your hands on. Never be afraid of making a mistake. Sometimes those mistakes lead you to the most magical places. Speaking of magic, believe in it. It's real and it's out there just waiting to be uncovered. When someone shows you who they really are, listen. Love with reckless abandon. Please don't hate me when you're 15. But if you do, I promise I'll still be waiting with open arms when you need me again. If you have the change, spare it. There is nothing cute about a bad boy. The only score you should keep track of is your credit. Take care of your skin. Be silly for as long as you possibly can. When you are old enough to have children of your own, watch them when they sleep. You will never feel more peace and love than in those moments. Amazing girlfriends are a necessity in life. Smile at strangers. Trust your gut. Find the kind of music that speaks to you and hold onto it for dear life. It will get you through the toughest of times. Wear your seatbelt. Playing dress up never gets old. Sing as loud as you can in the car whenever you feel the urge. I promise to always sing with you. Don't cheat. Create and capture your moments. Know that it's ok if you can't decide what you want to be when you grow up. Be everything. And most importantly, I gave you as a gift to each other. Cherish one another and be the best friends you were destined to be

Connected but alone

Something occurred to me when I took Michelle to school this fall, in fact, I may have already posted about it.  I was alarmed at how our technological advances and mobile devices have changed the fabric of the college experience.  The dorm halls and lobbies were empty.  It was as if everyone had retreated to their small rooms to connect with people who weren't really there, but were an avatar or an @ sign away.  Of course as the proverbial old woman I had to tell Chelle about how it was when I was in school...no cable tv, expensive long distance and no computers in our rooms and certainly no internet (and I am not talking no internet in our rooms, I am talking no internet yet at all.)

Well tonight while running I noticed that same phenomenon sneaking into our own small town.  Yet this time, instead of retreating into small dorm rooms, adults were remaining in small vehicles.  I saw three folks sitting in their cars outside of homes (presumably their own) talking on the phone or texting. Remember when you had to go into your home to make a call or connect with someone?  Now we are delaying going into our houses to make a call or connect with someone.  I am not sure what it says about us as a society, but I am sure it says something.  Of course, the irony that I immediately sat down at my computer to write this post upon returning home is not lost on me.  At least I had to come inside to do it.

When a weekend is truly a weekend

I think the planets must have aligned last weekend because, for the first time in a long time, we had nothing to do all weekend.  Usually our weekends are jam packed running here, going there, marking this off of the never-ending to do list.  The only things we did on this weekend were things we wanted to do.  The weather was stunning so we went to Lowe's to buy plants.  Twice!  There was so little that had to be done I really enjoyed the things we got to do.  The girls were thrilled to be planting seeds.  Each picked out a packet of pretty flowers...Dahlias, Johnny Jump Ups and, what else you ask, Poppies.  The most remarkable thing about the weekend was how I felt on Monday morning when it was over.  Rested.  I commented to Brad that it was amazing how weekend-like a weekend feels when it's not full of weekend activities.  I hope there are more of those in my near future.