This is my little sister. We call her Bubba. We call her Bubba because we can no longer call her by her first nickname (she finally asked us to stop calling her unsaid nickname when she started kindergarten.) so Bubba stuck ever since.
I am nearly a decade older than my lil sis so our upbringings were so different. I am fortunate enough to have been able to experience the differences in our childhoods. The one constant is that we have an amazing Mom & Dad. They have taught us what a healthy marriage looks like (no marriage is perfect by any means, but they have a great love & respect for each other).
I am so happy that I get to be a big part of Bubbas life. She is about to bring her son into this world. I am so excited for her and for all of us. She will be amazing.
It all starts here, next thing you know, you will no longer worry about the pennies on the ground or the light sockets unplugged. They will ride their first bike without training wheels and receive their right of passages of bumps and bruises.
They will grow up. That is all we ever truly want. We want them to live a life that extends into their future. Preferably outliving us as parents.
Sometimes we have to stop ourselves when we get into the mundane cycle of life. We realize that we are creating their reality (in the beginning stages at least.) and that sometimes we too have to slow down and make a change if we want them or their surroundings to change.
Leading by example is huge. We won’t always be able to, after all, we are human and we will also have our moments of tantrums (it is ok to give yourself a timeout.) hahaha. At the end of the day, we will lay our heads on our pillows and perhaps think of all the things we could have done differently. Hopeful that we will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world.
We will find out that we cannot choose for them but only lead them in the direction we see fit. Every parent will do it their own way. I come from a broken home and I love every person that has been a part of my story good or bad.
One thing I want to instill in my children is that it is ok to mess up, it is ok to freak out, it is ok to have a bad day… but learn from it, take from it and change from it! I want my kids to know that they can feel and embrace a feeling, but that it is important to not hold on so tight that they are unable to learn and grow. A good feeling is great, but it isn’t here to stay. There has to be good and bad because life isn’t perfect and we need to be able to deal with both coming and going. It is important to know that when we feel a bad emotion that we will eventually move past it. It is important to not stay there in the bad headspace.
Becoming a mother has been the most rewarding thing in my life! I learn with every day that comes. I stop and take a look at my child that I created and I am reminded of how precious life is. Some may think I am neurotic, some may think I am overprotective… but the truth is, I am just a mom! One that my baby loves. One that I am proud of and one that I hope she will express that she is proud of too.
I am so thrilled to see my Sister coming into Motherhood! It’s a beautiful ride!
Congratulations to my Sister and Cody. So excited to meet our Clayton.
Cheers, to change, cheers to parenthood and cheers to the hard knock life!
I love ya Bubba!