Maddy is a Vegetable!

As I mentioned in my welcome post, the idea for this blog came about because of a hushed conversation I had with my middle daughter at a wedding this past summer.  It was fairly funny and after recounting it to many people I said jokingly "I should write a blog.  I'll call it My Conversations with Maddy."  Here is that momentous exchange.

It is the first week of July 2012.  My family of five are dressed up and silently sweltering at a full mass wedding of my cousin and his wonderful bride.  It is, of course, 100 degrees outside and we had just poured out of our packed vehicle after a 3 hour drive.  As I am sitting there, silently grateful that I am just a guest,  I listen to the priest talk about the hopefulness and expectations of the couple before us.  I love weddings.  They make me cry happy tears as I remember my own and I always make sure to sit next to my husband so that I can hold his hand.  I also try to take something away from each wedding that will help me remember it from all the rest.  Sometimes this is hard, especially when members of the same family get married close together, but on this day it was easy.

The Father was mentioning the hope that the marriage would be fruitful for that is hope for every marriage.  As he says this, I turn to my daughters, smile and say "Ahh, my little raspberries".  Of course, they were not listening and look at me like I'm nuts, so I lean over and say that they are the fruits from my marriage.  As I lean back and smile happily at them, Maddy is looking unhappy and says "I am not a raspberry.  I am a carrot."  Unfortunately, this is above the appropriate church whisper and I can see my brother down the pew looking at us questionably.  I whisper across my youngest, "No, you are a fruit and I like raspberries.  Now, shhhh".  You would think this would be the end of it, but it isn't.  After Maddy explains what is going on to the oldest, she leans forward to me and announces in a soft voice "I am not a fruit Mom, I am a Carrot.  Why can't you just accept me for what I am?"

Now, as you can imagine, she has caught the attention of my husband who is looking at both of us like we are certifiably nuts.  At this point, he is right.  My children have made me slightly insane and so all I can do is agree that she is a carrot if she wants to be.  Of course, the girls and I spend the rest of the ceremony alternately giggling for no apparent reason.  I also spend the reception explaining to the rest of my extended family why we had lost our minds.  They aren't nearly as amused.

Welcome to My Life

I am a mother of 3 girls (aged 11, 15, 17).  I never saw myself raising girls.  I don't know why, but I didn't.  However, luckily for me, I fully embraced me and my mini-mes at once.  Of course, they may resemble me to varying degrees and they may act like me on occasion, but they are their own people.  They made this last point quite clear to me when they began talking and expressing opinions that I knew weren't mine.  And now I relish when they speak out with attitudes and thoughts and ideas that are wholly their own.  It is even better when they explain WHY they feel the way they do.

I feel I need to explain why this blog is necessary to share them.  Why not Facebook?   Well, we have a family Facebook account that is named after our oldest dog.  I post pictures and cute stories, but try not to put anything out there that may make the girls uncomfortable.  So after a particularly hilariously hushed exchange with my middle daughter during one of my cousin's wedding, the idea of this blog was born.  It allows me to keep a sort of record with which I can blackmail them...no, no, no I mean remind them when they have their own daughters how precious this time is for me and hopefully for them.  It just has taken me a few months to put it into action.

So Welcome...I hope you as a visitor may be as amused by my girls as I and my husband are every day.