The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

Accident

On Monday night, I was lucky enough to be included in dinner with bloggers extraodinaire - Jodi, Audrey, Jane and Sharon - at my favorite spot, The Melting Pot.  It was a wonderful evening - good food, great conversation and lots 'o chocolate.  What could be better?

On my drive home, I thought how far I'd come this year.  Alex Casey Baby is holding its own, my Being Savvy gig is taking off, and The Daily Grind is getting thousands of visits every month.  I am lucky.

Then something not so lucky happened.  After letting the traffic subside, I began to make a left turn into my driveway and suddenly I see a motorcycle swerving out of control on its side toward me.  With no time to panic, the bike slams into my car, the driver rolls off and onto the street.  I got out of my car to make sure he's ok (he's walking toward me by the time I am fully out), and went to get help.  In under two minutes, my house was surrounded by police cars, a fire truck and ambulance.  The biker said he was ok, and seemed more distraught about the shape his bike was in than anything else.  We exchanged information, thanked the really nice cops, and went our separate ways.

I got into bed that night totally shaken up.  While my husband was in the driveway (literally) picking up the pieces, so many things swam through my mind.  What if the driver of the bike hadn't swerved and had collided into me head-on?  What if he hadn't been wearing a helmut?  What if what if what if?  While I was certain I could have done nothing to prevent this accident, I felt wrought with anxiety over it.

I thought about my kids and how precious they are.  How any and every time they go for a walk with anyone but me I yell the words "be careful" out the door.  My husband can't understand why I worry when he's later than he says he'll be.  But I worry.  Because life is fragile and anything can happen in but an instant.

And because so far in this life, I am so lucky.

A Two-Fer

Dear Readers,

Today you are getting a two-fer.  In other words, I have to write about my incredible weekend I spent at the spa in Vermont AND I must review the Sex and the City movie I saw while I was away.  But I didn't want to put either topic off until tomorrow so here goes.

First things first.  Last week I blogged about my days at summer camp and what they meant to me.  This past weekend, I traveled to Stowe, Vt. to meet up with nine other women I summered with so many years ago.  The reunion of sorts was, in a word, amazing.  Amazing in the sense that I was truly amazed.  Amazed that all these ladies, most of whom have husbands and children at home, were able to block out the weekend to come to Vermont.  Amazing that these women can still bring out the young girl in me (and a bit of a trashmouth girl at that).  I was amazed at how well everyone seems to be doing and most amazingly, how a bond, forged so many years ago at a tiny summer camp in Middlebury, Vt., is still holding strong.  Some of us hadn't seen one another since our last reunion four years ago.

Among these women was my own sister.  It must be said that my sis has undergone somewhat of a catharsis over the last couple of years and has emerged a more solid, more energetic and (if possible) more hysterical person.  Shout out sista.

It also has to be said that I haven't laughed until the tears streamed down my face and my sides hurt, as I did this past weekend, for a LONG time.  We laughed so hard in fact, that a biotchy brave woman at the next table brazenly approached us to let us know we should tone it down because she couldn't hear her husband.  She left, we laughed harder and louder.

And so it went all weekend long.  We ate, spa'd, pooled and sauna'd.  We reminisced and in some cases, mended fences.  It was 48 hours, but it was 48 hours so well spent.

I cannot wait until next year.

And you'll have to wait until tomorrow for my round-up of SATC.  G'night.  :)

Happy Mother's Day

I bumped into this a few times recently and think it's great... read on!

Before I was a Parent

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Parent -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Parent

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Parent

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I w ould love being a Parent.

Before I was a Parent -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a parent and their child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Parent -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Parent.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Parent.