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May 8, 2013

Breathe

Our gorgeous girl with her morning chamomile -- and some pretty serious bedhead. Sometimes the photos I think I "messed up" end up being my favorite.

Take a deep breath, and breathe.

It's easy to forget sometimes.

Some afternoons, Maile is leaning out the back door, jumping up and down yelling, "Woooooow! Jet. airplane! Jet. airplane!" as fighter jets scream overhead. I'm trying to make the most of my 15 minutes of phone time with Tim. I yell, "Do you see Mommy on the phone? I'm talking to Dada, so just be quiet for a second!" A moment later, I'm kneeling in front of Maile, apologizing ... asking for a hug. But she doesn't hug me just yet. Because I forgot to breathe.

Some mornings, as I'm dashing to the compost bin with eggshells, I trip over our mopey English Cocker Spaniel, Teddy, and I dramatically sigh, "Gahwd, Teddy! Why are you always under foot?" And I forget to breathe.

Some evenings, Tim is snuggling me a little too tightly. I'm hot and uncomfortable, and I can't move because there's a toddler on the other side of me. I shove him and hiss, "Babe! Move over!" I forget to breathe.

If I remembered to breathe, I'd see the joy of toddlerhood. A new and exciting experience. A little girl whose mind is so completely and totally blown, that she absolutely cannot contain herself. I'd put Tim on speakerphone, take Maile on my lap, sit on the back stoop and say, "We're counting the jets as they touch-and-go. Count with us! One ... two ... three ..."

If I remembered to breathe, I'd toss the eggshells in the sink, lean down, and give one of the most loving dogs on the planet a scratch behind the ear. "Good morning, Bear," I'd say.

If I remembered to breathe, I'd pull Tim's arm around me a little tighter. I'd kiss his hand and whisper, "I love you." I'd think to myself that after almost 6 years of marriage, my husband still wants to hold me as closely as he did in our first year of marriage. I'd tell myself that I'm the luckiest girl. And I'd kick off the comforter.

Don't forget.

Take a deep breath.

Breathe.


Prompt: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

Thank you to Christina, for introducing me to this project, and encouraging me to participate!

22 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness- this is fantastic. I was loving it all, totally relating, and at the end getting ready to write a comment about how this completely fits with today's prompt. And then I see that it fits because you actually made it to fit!! So beautifully done. Glad to see you joined in. :)

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    1. Hooray! Thanks, Christina!

      Really enjoying this project so far. :)

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  2. Love this post. I get real angry easily, and I forget to just stop and breathe. Thanks for the advice. :)

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    1. I do too, Marie ... and it's such an awful, awful habit. Motherhood has really made me work hard at trying to fix that part of myself!

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  3. LOVE this.... such sweet advice! :)

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  4. oh friend. how often do i forget to just breathe. no thing is more important than losing control, i need to grasp that truth for dear life.

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  5. WOW Mumma.
    You hit the nail on the head with this one friend.
    Brilliant and so very true.
    Thanks for sharing. And big hugs to M and Teddy!

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    1. Thank you, sweet friend!

      And I swear, I'm not that bad the great majority of the time. But I have a way of beating myself up over those bad moments, and only feeling worse for the rest of the day. You know what I mean? Ugh. Mom guilt is a vicious cycle! So much easier to just take a deep breath, count to 10, stretch, walk away for a moment ... then to let a flash of anger ruin your entire day!

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  6. This is such an amazing reminder my friend....and EXACTLY what I needed to read today! Thank you so so much!
    xoxo
    ♥ Kyna

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    1. Thank YOU for always being here, and being so encouraging, sweet Kyna!

      xo

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  7. Outstanding, as always Katie ♥

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  8. I should bookmark this post. Such a good reminder. Thank you for sharing and for writing so beautifully, as always! :)

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    1. Such a wonderful compliment from you, my friend. Thanks so much!

      xo

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  9. Katie, I think this is my most favourite post you've written. You always write things just 'so' - I love it :) I know this is a reminder I need, every. single. day. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thank you so much, Lu. This comment brought such a warm smile to my face; it means a lot to me that you left it here! <3

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  10. so sweet! found your blog through leah's link :)

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  11. Everything is better with sprinkles, and everything is better when we breath. I loved this! I recently lost my dog of almost 12 years and I wish I would have taken more time to stop and give her a pat... My goal is to be more intentional with my husband and kiddos! Thanks again for the reminder! :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Leah! I'm very, very sorry for the loss of your dog. I can't even imagine what it will be like when that day comes for our own sweet puppies. Best to you, and a big hug, too!

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