Life Priorities – What I would tell her

I’ve been thinking a lot about my life priorities. My big life priorities. Digging deep and really asking myself tough questions. Making decisions on how I spend my time and with whom I spend it. At the same time, really cherishing every moment and every interaction I have with people, be it my family and friends (old and new) or the folks bagging my groceries at Trader Joe’s. Life is short and I want to be present and aware of all the good things that surround me constantly or be brave enough to make the changes to make it so.

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Being this present has made me really be painfully aware of how quickly Gemma has been growing and growing up! I’ve been taking the time to love her even more fiercely than ever before. Enjoying our hugs that last so long, enjoying the silly songs and games she makes up, telling her ‘I love you’ several times a day and loving her say ‘i lub you too’, dancing with her, making her belly laugh, looking deep into her eyes and smiling, holding her sweet little hands just because… I have so much hope & love for her and so much I want to share about being a woman, a caring person, a grateful person, an independent and strong person…

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I recently came across a blog post by Deb Schwedhelm that displayed a video created by Katherine Center for the Mom 2.0 Summit.  The words really resonated with me about being a mother and woman.  It says the things that I would tell her one day…:

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WHAT I WOULD TELL HER:
(If I knew what to say.)
You are a miracle.
And I have to love you this fiercely:

So that you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep,

or even after your childhood becomes a memory.
You’ll forget all this when you grow up.  But it’s okay.
Being a mother means having your heart broken.
And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.
And it’s the best there is.  And also, sometimes, the worst.
Sometimes you won’t have anyone to talk to.
Sometimes you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten who you are.
But you must remember this:  What you’re doing matters.
And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.
The truth is, being a woman is a gift.  Tenderness is a gift.  Intimacy is a gift.

And nurturing the good in this world is nothing short of a privilege.

That’s why I have to love you this way.  So I can give what I have to you.

So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.
I have watched you sleep.  I’ve kissed you a million times.  And I know something that you don’t, yet:
You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day.
And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.

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To my Gemmita, I look forward to all our great conversations and experiences together as you write your own story.  Thank you for the opportunity to be part of it all.  To life, to love, to the balancing game!

I also want to take the opportunity to thank my friend Catie Ronquillo for being inspirational to me and helping me spur on this recent introspection with her blog Project:  Joie de Vivre.

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