We are so excited, and so proud. Our baby girl graduated from college a couple of weeks ago, and is now a Registered Nurse.
Our baby boy is graduating in the top five percent of his High School Class this weekend.
That equals double-fun for the graduation party we will be hosting Sunday. And, for the mom who wants to give both of her kids the best graduation party ever, and the woman who wants to be the "Hostess with the Mostest" for our family and friends, it equals stress.
If you're a regular reader here, then you know that I've struggled with what I'll call the "Superwoman Complex" - this sense that I'm only valuable as a woman if I can live up to this notion in my head of what it is to be the perfect wife, perfect mom, perfect home decorator and keeper, and perfect career woman, etc. And, if I can't, there is something seriously "wrong" with me.
I've been trying to get off of the rat wheel of performance, and while a book can plant a seed, the most powerful lessons are learned, not from reading, but from real-life experience. And, I love how life comes to your aid in the most unexpected ways - don't you?
You see, I wanted to let go of the "Superwoman Complex" while still trying my darndest to be Superwoman - ya know, stop the performance thing while still doing the performance thing. And, sometimes when you can't or won't let go of destructive patterns – well, life gives you a helping hand :0)!
I think there are two kinds of miracles in life - the tough miracles and the tender ones. The tough ones are the ones you didn't want or expect, but that have so much to teach you. Here are my tough miracles of late. Since I wouldn't stop on my own, I've been blessed with some health issues that made it impossible for me to keep going and doing and giving and trying all the time. And, the second - let's just call it a bit of sadness and confusion. As a little girl, all I ever dreamed of was being a wife and a mom. And, as our last child graduates from high school, while I'm still a wife and mom, everything is somehow different. And, to be honest with you, I can't think of any purpose in life that could come even close to brining the joy, laughter, fulfillment and even the awesome challenges that raising these two incredible kids has brought to me.
Now, thank goodness, life also sends you what I call the "tender" miracles, the kind that remind you just how awesome it is to be alive, and so overfill your heart with gratitude that you are writing a blog post about it instead of cooking, cleaning, finishing the scrapbook . . . . for the party.
To McStudly, who I'm thinking of renaming "Miracle Man", thank you for:
1. Making me feel like the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world when I was too exhausted last Friday to put on my make-up, do my hair, and clean the house.
2. Taking me to Famous Dave's last weekend, and ordering oodles of stuff on the menu so we could sample it, and having most of this party catered so I don't have to cook so much.
3. Helping me chose pictures for the kids' graduation cakes, printing them, and taking me (after you had a long, hard day of work) to order cakes and finish the grocery shopping.
4. Helping me choose party decorations on Amazon and paying more for them, just to save me a trip to the big city, since we don't have a party shop in town.
5. Encouraging me yesterday to relax, rest, do some hand sewing, and watch TCM, and promising me that somehow we'd get it all done together.
6. Buying dinner, taking me on a "car" picnic, and taking me to feed the baby geese at your office pond last night - just because you know it makes me happy.
7. Saying "Aw, come here baby" and cuddling me last night when I couldn't sleep (again) - fell right to sleep in your arms by the way.
8. Being an incredible leader, even when I'm not a very good follower.
9. Teaching me through real-life experience that, as a woman, my greatest gifts to you and the world, and the things that bring me the greatest fulfillment, lie not in performance or perfection (the doing), but in the feminine spirit of softness, warmth, love, presence, joy, laughter, submission, and gratitude (the being).
10. Being my Miracle Man, so that I can relax and be. I'm learning - slowly I know, but really, thanks to you, I am learning not to let the "doing" get in the way of what truly matters – that feminine spirit of "being".
I Love and Adore You!
TTFN,
Kelly
P.S. A funny for you girls (sure do miss you, and am looking forward to getting back to blogging soon)!
Heh-Hem – I tell you from experience – True Story :0)!!



















