Tell Me Why

Not too long ago,

I was asked by a fellow parent and friend,

"Why do you blog?"

It was a fair question

and one I have heard before.

Truthfully, it is also a question that I don't have a pat answer for, 

though perhaps I need one!

While I don't have one major, compelling reason,

I do have some reasons.

1) Rose colored glasses.

You know what I am talking about.

These glasses cause women like me to have two other children

after a 26 hours labor and emergency c-section,

michelle pregnant with my nephew, Nathaniel

To look at tiny, squawling newborns and remember how sweet and cuddly they are,

and not how drop-dead tired and frustrated you are in those first two (six) months,

Richard learning the mysteries of the newborn

To look at a mother with two preschoolers and a crying infant and say "Oh, I miss those days when things were easier.."

Utter exhaustion..

In many ways things do get easier.

They certainly get DIFFERENT and challenging in new ways.

But it is important to clearly remember where you've been 

to appreciate where you are now and where you are going.

AND to have empathy for those who are slogging through some of those hard times from before.

2) Life is funny!

Life is funny and crazy and messy.

Kids say things that are hilarious and they don't even know it.

We parents make uber-mistakes and miscalculations. 

not an underwear shot, Mom!

All these day to day moments have a way of just disappearing out of the memories

of those who live them...and those are the very moments that make up a life!

3) Never doubt it.

I have no doubt that my children are racking up the therapist moments as we speak.

my teen making her list and checking it twice...

There are mistakes I know I've made, 

mistakes I will find out later that I had made

and countless others that will blow up in my face over the years to come.

But never, ever do I want my children to doubt that through it all, 

they were loved.

That as we worried over school decisions

and fretted over how much pressure was too much pressure in baseball,

a rare, focused moment. VERY rare.

as we stressed out over reading/spelling/math aptitude

and character development (or the lack thereof)-

that through it all they were always, always loved.

this picture illustrates love, not lack of character development!

4) Tales to tell

And finally, I hope that these are things they will enjoy reading when they grow up.

That this blog will help them recollect moments in their lives

and that their children will enjoy reading about their parents as children.

I hope this is a bit of honest family history that my children and grandchildren 

will weave into the fabric and stories of their lives.

If you are a blogger, why do YOU blog?

If you don't, what means do you use to record moments in your lives?