The Reinvention of Me

Webster's definition of reinvention is:

to make major changes or improvements to (something)
to present (something) in a different or new way

I realize that all of life is about reinventing myself....defining and redefining who I am based on life experiences, inner revelations and maturity.  

I have reinvented myself many times......a child moving into Junior High (that is what we called it back in the day!).  A teen moving into a new high school. A graduate going into college and then into the working world.  A woman becoming a wife and a mother.  A stay at home mom becoming a working woman once again.  A mother moving into empty nest years.  A wife with a marriage that goes through crises and the day in and day out of daily life. Living on my own, living with my husband, living in a community, living with dogs, cats, fish and kids.  

Reinvention is exciting, uncomfortable and necessary as a part of life's journey.  Today, I will see where this reinvention takes me and look forward to working towards a better version of me!

Seasons.....A Time For Everything

Yesterday, while talking with my sister-in-law, I was reminded of this verse.  What a great verse to remind us all that there are seasons of life and that we cannot stay in one season of life forever.

We all grow older and can't stay young forever. 
We all have very hard seasons of life that we go through and we weep and mourn, then it is time to laugh and dance. 
We all have times we can give more than receive and times when we must receive more than we can give.
We all have times where we must be quiet and other times we know we should speak out 
We all have times we should plant and other times we have to uproot.
We all have times we have to keep things and people and other times we have to let people and things go.  

Seasons are a part of life........you can either fight them or go with the ebb and flow.  My contention is that it is much easier to ride the waves than it is to fight the current.  

How do you feel about the seasons of your life? 

I Can't Be Old Enough to Be a Grandmother - But Thank God I Am One

I am a new grandmother.  I cannot believe I am old enough to be a  grandmother.  I love being a grandmother.  I am in awe of this precious little one they call Barnes.

I was talking with some friends of mine and we all came to the conclusion that the first half of our life is spent just trying to figure out the first half of our life.  We seem to go through the days, weeks, months and years in a fog.  

When I look back on sleepless nights, PTO meetings, carpools, endless grocery shopping, vacations, sick nights with children, neighborhood kids in and out of the house, arguments, ball games, track meets, countless loads of laundry, caring for cats, fish and dogs, Halloween, Christmas, birthday parties, Valentines, July 4th, church going, hair cuts, scraped knees, hurt feelings, and the many other things that are involved in parenting, it feels like I have lived someone else's life.  I have moments that are forever emblazoned on my heart and mind, I have moments that I would rather forget and I have moments that are gone forever. 

I would not have traded motherhood for anything......now.  There were times I was sure that God had chosen the wrong women to be a mother.  Surely He meant for these children to have a mother that was not quite so high strung, quick tempered, fed her children healthier food, was more fun, spontaneous, more patient and more creative. There were times that I was ready to run away from motherhood.  This did not look at all like the pictures in the magazines and catalogs: that precious sleeping baby, that perfectly groomed and clothed toddler, that perfectly coiffed mother with three children in tow.  No, there were moments I wanted to not be a mother.  I was tired, frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed and did I mention TIRED.  Those moments were real but I knew they were not my true feelings but temporary emotions.  

The fact of the matter is that God blessed me with these children.  He blessed me with a life with them and I do mean blessed.  I would not have learned all I learned, I would not have drawn so much closer to Him, I would not have the smile lines on my face from the laughter in my home. I would not have the excitement in my heart watching my boys grow into men and my daughter grow into a beautiful woman and mother.  I would not have the friends I have because my path would not have crossed with these other wonderful people.  No, my life is definitely fuller, for me, having been a mother.  

Now, I am a grandmother. Now I am in the second half of my life and life is a little quieter, and  there is not quite so much noise in the home.   Now I get to take all I learned as a mother and prayerfully pass on the good and leave my mistakes and misshapen thoughts in the past.  Now I get to love in a new way - a way I have never known; the love of a grandmother for a grandchild.  I wasn't sure at first how it was going to feel - now I know and wow, this G-mama thing is going to be another wonderful blessing in my life.  I can't be old enough to be a grandmother, but thank God I am one.