Throwback Thursday

 

I was on the phone the other day and a friend said “I really like that Throwback picture of you and your little man.”  I was ready to make my standard witty come back  about how skinny I was, or how good my arms looked or how tan I was back then.  But then it hit me, like a huge block was just dropped on my head and told me to wake up and stop thinking about the way things used to be.

 

Yes, I looked damn good back then.  I was skinny, the skinniest I have ever been.  It is one of the pictures people tell you to tape to your refridgerator door for inspiration, as if seeing yourself skinny is going to take away the craving for ice cream and a beer.  (Sorry to say, but NO picture in the world will ever replace my love of ice cream).

In the briefest moment of complimenting my picture I had a revelation.  I am not that person any more.   I am so much better. 

That skinny version of myself was young and new at being a mommy. I was unsure of myself, my body, my parenting skills,  my career.    Today,  here is no way I would fit into those pants, or even try on that shirt (why set yourself up for failure?)    My arms are thicker, but they are also stronger.  I have been able to play with my little man for 8 more years and have developed muscles that help me lift him up when he falls down, throw a football and lug a surfboard, cooler and beach chair to the ocean.  My legs are stronger, not from the gym, but from running mile after mile catching up with him on a skateboard.  My butt is definitely rounder than it used to.  Maybe it is from sitting on my behind for endless hours of baseball tournaments?  And my stomach is certainly not flat anymore, but that is because I discovered the benefits of sitting with girlfriends and catching up over a bottle or two of good wine.

I am not bashing throw back Thursday and my photos.  I love looking back and remembering fun times.  I am realizing how amazing my life has turned out to be.  Maybe I should start a new trend “Love Yourself Friday”?   Because for right now I am not going to wish I looked like I used to, or feel sad that my favorite size 6 pants don’t fit.  I am happy to embrace my version of myself and celebrate how far I have come.

 

I took a vacation and I have no photos to prove it.

I took a vacation and I have no photos to prove it.

Yep, that is correct! I took a week off with my friends and family and have no photos to prove anything happened.  And you know what?  It was awesome!

This past Spring Break I decided to cash in on some vacation days and take my little man to Universal Studios.  I was very excited to be away from work and the daily grind and to be honest, pretty stoked about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It had been a few years since my little man and I went on a vacation just the two of us and I was happy to get some alone time with him.

Of course the first thing I did was take a photo of him under the entrance to the welcome sign, next up ticket booth and another photo.

Mandatory shot walking in to park

Next thing I knew he was meeting the guys from Men in Black and I quickly hunted for my phone to get a photo of the event. 

I couldn't get my phone to work, had to improvise!

 

 

 



First Line at the park... apparently it was photo worthy?
 



 On and on it went, me rushing from spot to spot, trying frantically to get a photo of a special moment so that I could tweet/Facebook/Instagram it for all of my followers/friends/strangers to see and take part in our memories.

Then my phone died. 

DIED.

As in, stopped working, caput, no service. 

I was about ready to head to the ET ride and get him to phone home for me when I decided not to freak out.  I quietly put away my link to the outside world as I crossed under the gates to Jurassic Park.   I grabbed a hold of my little man’s hand (ok, not really, he’s too big now to hold hands, but I was allowed to hold on to the strap of his book bag). So there I was, holding on to my precious son - via his book bag and I was happy.

We had a great time!  I didn’t miss any special moments searching in my purse for my phone.  I didn’t make him wait in between rides so I could upload our most recent adventure.  After a few hours of not having my phone those who still had them out started getting on my nerves.  I wanted to yell at the lady in front of us in line for Despicable Me to put her phone down and actually talk to her kids (when else will you have all your children in one spot with nowhere to go?  Literally you are trapped like sardines; you can get some mad family bonding done in those lines!)  I was tempted to the tell kids behind us at the restaurant to put their gaming devices down and enjoy the show – their parents paid A LOT of money for this vacation and they should embrace every moment.

But I didn’t say anything.  I just sat there and was thankful that I woke up to my over use of the cell phone.

We were racing from Spiderman back to Hogwarts when I made a comment about the overuse of cell phones in Universal.  **Disclaimer, many people download an ap that has a map and wait times for the park rides. While this is useful, it is NOT smart to stop in the middle of the walkway and use such ap.  But I digress….

I said “I really think they should not allow cell phones in the park.  Too many people stop in the middle of the street and cause backups.”  My little man looked at me and said, “I know mommy, just look at how awesome this place is! Everything here is so cool.  Much better than looking at your phone.”

And that is when it happened… I realized I didn’t need any more photos of precious moments.  I was making them WITH my son, not saving them for later or posting to the interwebs.

We had a great week at Universal studios and I have no photos to prove it.

 

Sorority Life

The other morning I was texting with 2 of my Sorority Sisters.  My little man asked me who I was texting.  I told him that it was Aunt Katy and Aunt Jess.  He looked confused (as I only have one biological sister). 

I told him that we were sorority sisters and again he had a puzzled look on his face.  “What IS that Mom?” he asked.    Well, I said Mommy had a lot of friends in college and all of the girls were in a Sorority.  We lived in a house and had a lot of fun together.  “Wow, that must be a big house!” he said.

Yes, I told him, we had a big house, and a house mom who made sure the house was taken care of and cooked for us and we all had meals together.   “Whoa!” he said.  “I want one of those!”

I just sat there stunned.  (What does he think I do all day?)

I replied, Little Man you DO have one of those.  I am the MOM and that’s what I do. 

“I guess so Mom, but I really want to be in a Sorority when I go to college.”

I took a deep breathe,

replied…

let me tell you about Fraternities.

Back to Blogging

So I haven’t blogged in a while… I know you are all so sad.

 

Honestly, I have a policy of not blogging about current life events.  (As in, I couldn’t tell you about my dating life in case the man of the hour was reading my blog)  Also I wasn’t quite sure where this blog was going, it felt like it was kind of lost in the cyberworld of blogs gone bad.

When I started blogging I was just ranting about dating and being single.  Then I learned to adjust to being single and got over the rants.  I then started blogging about being a mom, got super busy actually being a mom and didn’t blog.  Next, I started listening to all of the buzz about “Leaning In” and “Girl Power” and “Ban Bossy” and I thought to myself that I too need to make a statement and be super awesome and fight some sort of injustice all via my wise words on this blog.

Talk about a stress!

I gave up.

I couldn’t think of a thing to say.  I like my life. I’m not angry at anyone or anything.  I actually don’t mind getting up and going to work as I have a cool job and I think I get paid really well for it.  I am by no means a super mom, but my kid doesn’t spend any time in the principal’s office (ok, maybe a little?), he has friends, isn’t obese and from what I can tell is doing ok.  I am not in a serious relationship, but if I ever need a date to something I can find a handsome man to take me, or I am just as comfortable going by myself.   All in all I have nothing much to rant about.

Then it hit me… the title of my blog is “DUH! Sometimes you just need to say it.”  This my friends was my big DUH moment.  People don’t read my blog for my advice.  People don’t even read my blog because they care about what I have to say.  People read my blog because it is random, sometimes funny, sometimes sappy, and 100 % honest.

So, ladies and gents I am BACK to Blogging!  I have no idea what the next blog will be or if you will like it.  But I can promise you this. I won’t have an agenda, a plan or a slogan.  I am just me blogging about the stuff that pops into my head and I hope you enjoy it.