The Big Top Comes to the Springs ..

As the title of this post implies, the big top - and by that I mean the Circus - came to town. A little tiny circus called the Lewis & Clark Circus made a stop in Boiling Springs this week. And we had to go. Let me interupt & say that I hate the circus. I hate that the animals are caged and made to perform or carry small children or overweight adults around and around and around in circles, I hate that circus people travel from town-to-town because I love having "roots" and think everyone must have roots. But, Mom got free passes for the boys and paid the $15 admission for us adults, so to the circus we went.

There weren't so many thrills and chills but they were lots of laughs. The "Ringleader" (I'm not sure of the official title) was great & shameless as he tried to convince the audience to spend ridiculous amounts of cash on silly things - $2 for a balloon,$2 for a coloring book, $3 for a cone icee, $5 to ride Lawrence of Arabia (the single hump camel), $5 to ride a pony around in a circle, $2 to feed the goats/llama/calf ... you get the idea. But folks were lining up like crazy (ok, kids were lining up like crazy, begging for cash) to buy what the circus was peddling. There was a family who performed a balancing act (the youngest child tumbled while the older child - who was 11 - climbed a pole while his Dad held it up on his chest & then rode a bike, there was fire-eating, there was an alligator & there were even tigers jumping through a flaming hoop. But DJ loved most were the (gulp) clowns. I hate clowns. But DJ loved the clowns who pulled off a bank heist & were chased by (stereotypes alive & well!) a do-nut-eating clown policeman. They somersaulted, the had a play fight, the tripped ... they wore black & white striped outfits & masks ala-Zorro. And the boys loved it. Elly loved Big and Little (the full-size horse and the miniature horse) - she waved at them and bounced. She fell asleep during the camel's act.

Even though it put us getting home late & getting to bed even later, I'm glad we got to go ... I'll post some of the pictures later ... For now, I need to go fix DJ's lunch for tomorrow and get myself to bed ... signing off ...

Just another Wednesday ...

Ah ... the sound of quiet. I am amazed at how God has perfectly timed the change of seasons. Just when the hot days of summer start to get old (or your air conditioner breaks?), the air starts to change and it's time for Fall sports - football, volleyball, soccer. The afternoons and evenings are starting to get cooler and it's nice to have the windows open, to smell the fresh cut grass or the rain we've been having.

So as nice as this weather is (73 degree temps during the day, low 60s at night & damp), it's also the catalyst for allergies and at our house, it's hitting hard. DJ's got all that junk built up and it's making him cough like crazy. He woke us up Tuesday morning literally coughing himself sick, so he took a sick day and stayed home. He stayed bed and watched ETV and colored and napped, and today was just about good as new. There's just something to be said for having a day of rest.

Miss Elly Belly is cutting her top front teeth, babbling like crazy and has us on our toes as we await her first steps ... yup, at just over 8 months, she's been pulling up for weeks, cruising, standing without holding on to anything and trying to stand up in the middle of a room. It's kind of crazy. Part of me can't wait for her to do all of the things that she's trying so hard to do (walk, talk, eat real food, keep up with her boys!) and there's another part of me that isn't ready to make the leap into toddler-hood. It just seems that her baby days have flown by.

So, this was just a catch-up blog. No soap boxes, no preachy moments ... just the everyday. The most precious of them all - getting to love my kids, comfort them, snuggle them, watch them learn and grow ... Hope you all are getting to do the same.

Oh! And a little welcome to my two newest cousins ... congrats Angie & family and Louis & family - can't wait to meet your sweet girls!

On another soapbox

“Motherhood is an essential, difficult, and full-time job.
Women who do not wish to be mothers should not have babies.”
- Edward Abbey

I've just taken a few minutes of my morning to read a couple of blogs, see what's going on with my friends, family ... my husband. So when I began reading his list of quotes from Edward Abbey and read that one, well ... there it is. Let me also note that from other quotes from Abbey, it would appear that he was what we would call today Pro-Choice. (Unless I'm misunderstanding certain statements, like this one: “Abolition of a woman’s right to abortion, when and if she wants it, amounts to compulsory maternity: a form of rape by the State.”) Let me state for the record that I am not now, nor have I ever been, Pro-Choice when the issue is abortion. It is my belief, based on my faith and what my heart says, that every life - no matter the circumstance of its creation - is one worthy of taking that first breath. That said, I believe that if you are anti-abortion you must be pro-education and pro-adoption. I'm not sure that any of these are issues that I want to get in to today, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. The issue of the day, at least for me, is motherhood.

First let me say (and I think all the Moms out there will agree) that Motherhood is only faintly what we thought it would be. Did I know that my heart would physically ache when my children hurt? Did I know that it would feel as if someone was tearing me limb from limb when I even think about the things that could happen to them everyday? Did I know what it would be like to not sleep the first few months of each of their lives as I checked and checked again all night long to make sure they were still breathing? Did I know what it would be like to worry that people won't like them? Did I have any idea when DJ was born that I would love him so much that I would be afraid I could never love another child again? And then to realize that in loving him and Mike, I had all this love bubbling over for more children? For Ella J? For my nephew, my niece, my cousins, for children of friends, for children I've never met? No, Motherhood is not what I thought it would be - it's so much more. More painful, for fulfilling, more terrifying ... indescribably more.

Let me also say that I do not believe that Motherhood is a right given to every woman simply by virtue of being a woman. I believe that each of us who are given the opportunity to mother - be it through biology, through adoption, through foster care, through any avenue - are given a gift. A precious treasure. An opportunity through loving our own children to just glimpse the love God has for each of us. And in case I haven't been clear enough on the love of parents for their children, let me say in no uncertain terms: While being a mother is the single most fulfilling job I can imagine (for myself), it is also the most painful - physically and emotionally - that I can imagine. Being a Mom hurts. I have the bruises to prove it!

So even though I said I was quitting while I was ahead, I'm back to where I started ... on a soapbox. I do not think motherhood is right for every woman. I may be in the wrong is saying this, but I do believe that some women - many women - are not designed to be mothers. Just as it is true that I am not designed to be the CEO of a company or a mathematician, it is true that some women are not designed to be mothers. If you saw my home, you'd know that I was also not designed to be a decorator or gardener. But motherhood is not right for every woman. So ... if i will not be a supporter of abortion - because I cannot be - instead I will be a supporter of educating young women (and men) about parenting, about sex, about God's plans for them. I will be an advocate of adoption - willing to educate young women on adoption, willing to hold their hands as they make that decision to be the best mother they can be by letting someone else be called Mommy. Because while it is true that "women who don't want to be mothers should not have babies", the fact is that sometimes, many times, they do.