Weekly Winners LXXVII {The Mother Letter Edition}
Happy Mother’s Day!
The following was written for the Mother Letter Project.
My Real Letter
A few weeks ago I started to compose a letter to my children, and then something happened. I kind of lost it; in a “mama’s having a meltdown” kind of way. I wanted to write this beautiful letter of how motherhood has changed me for the better and that these children are the lights of my life. I wanted to write how everything is perfect and grand. Frankly, I wanted to lie.
After I had my “mama-meltdown” I got in my van and drove for a while (3 whole hours) and when I got home I trudged up the stairs, embarrassed by my behavior. I got in a hot shower and sobbed. The tears met with the streaming water but, oddly, neither had a cleansing effect. It was in *that* moment that I decided to hit the big road for one of our big road trips back to our home town of Buffalo, NY. Certainly I would see the true meaning of what it meant to be a mother by getting into a van with my children. My hope was that in nine hundred miles I would figure things out.
I packed us up and early one Sunday morning we set off. When I cranked up the van, we heard a man say, “Have you tried….peace?” And it became our trip’s motto (it would become more, much more, in actuality.) Fifteen hours together in a van makes us all a little crazy, so what better than trying peace? If someone got a little cuckoo, another would pipe up asking if the crazy one tried peace. At one point I was feeling a little frustrated at the noise level. The frustration was overly apparent.
“Hey Mama….have you tried peace?” my third born son, Benjamin, asked.
“No, Benny. I forgot to try it.” I bluntly answered.
“Well, try it. You know, peace is really good.” he reminded me.
He was right.
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Thinking about what I’d write for my Mother Letter I realized that I wasn’t doing anyone justice by sugar coating and stating that this life we live together is all rainbows and ribbons and pink lemonade. It’s not; it’s chock full of obstacles, worry, doubt, and frustration. However, even with all of that we have a wonderful hardcore love amongst us. We have music flowing freely. We have laughter that infects us to the point of stomachs’ aching. We have hugs that are tight and we have kisses that are non-stop.
Nothing is perfect, nor should it be. If it was perfect, it would be a lie. And that’s why I scrapped that first letter. I could easily talk about the beauty of it all. I realize, though, that the grit of life is the beauty. Without it we would be nothing. So now, I just strive for peace. Peace in the knowledge that as we go through this hectic, crazy, strange life we are bound by a love that is indescribable. Peace in the fact that these four entities that I pushed through my loins into the world were made out of love. Peace in knowing that, while insanity may strike us daily, with all our flaws, with all our troubles, with all our being, we are what we are.
Have you tried peace?
I am. I really am. Daily. It’s the best I can do. It’s the best we all can do.
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Beautiful my friend, the photos, the words, simply beautiful. xoxo
PERFECT post my friend. PERFECT.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mishi…
xoxo
That is one of the best blog posts I have ever read. Beautifully put.
Oh…and I forgot to say…are you CRAZY??? 900 miles in a van with 4 children? What were you thinking :o
Wonderful post! Happy Mothers Day!
Very well written… I had a mommy meltdown this week too.
I must remember the peace thing
Beautiful photos and words. Well said.
awesome pics!! and so was the post. last trip was a full two days drive (FL to MI) and we are a family of 7. Not ready to travel again for a veeeerrryyyy long time. :)
Gorgeous, just gorgeous!
Honest and very beautifully written. The tulips are gorgeous too. Happy mother’s day…
This was such a beautiful post! Especially considering, I was mid-Mommy Melt Down when I logged online this morning.
I love the photos, as always! (And they fit your post just perfect. Beautiful, raw, emotion.)
gorgeous photos special words perfect post.
Beautiful post, Mishelle. Very well done!
beautiful photos. beautiful words.
we should all try peace.
happy mother’s day, my friend.
Absolutely gorgeous on all levels. And that picture is amazing.
Very nice photos!
Thanks for your note on my blog. I am so pleased to have found yours – I read it for hours tonight – you write beautifully, I am not an ardent fan
HUGS
Colleen
Jhb South Africa
gotta love peace. peace is good. It is acknowleding and accepting that it is what it is….and making peace that makes a person truly content with how they are.
hugs my friend!
Mishelle, you are wised up beyond your years, and your eloquence in expressing what you are learning is wonderful to behold. Just keep keeping your eyes and heart wide open. The “fat” years, as I call them, go by in a few intakes of breath and blinks of our eyes. Things have thinned out for Gary and me and I miss those full, crazy years. But mothering is still what I sense is my mission or contract for this life go-’round and for this I am so very thankful.
oh lordy just read my reply – i meant i am NOW an ardent fan *grin*